[1] This followed several years of internecine squabbling amongst major Rangers shareholders, including Jack Gillespie, John Paton and Tom Dawson.
[2] In doing so, Holmes was able to capitalise on the modernisation of Ibrox stadium in the late 1970s and early 1980s, several years in advance of the upgrading of most comparable British grounds.
Both factors proved critical in enabling Graeme Souness, appointed manager at Holmes's behest in 1986, to attract leading English internationals.
Rising attendances, increased turnover, and a profile heightened by the capture of numerous high-profile English internationalists were widely regarded as evidence of the success of Holmes and Souness in revitalising Rangers.
Before his time at Rangers, Holmes was chairman and chief executive of John Lawrence, the largest independent house builder in Scotland.