Conservative Peer Malcolm Offord is unlikely to become the next chairman of Rangers after his move to Ibrox stalled.

The Rangers Review reported last month that Offord was in line to replace John Bennett as chairman. It is understood that is unlikely to be the case, however, as interim chairman John Gilligan continues to search for the next head of the boardroom.

Bennett stepped down from the top table in September after a season at the helm. Health reasons were cited for Bennett’s departure as he was thanked for ‘his service and significant commitment over the last nine years' and he remains a strong investor at Ibrox.

Read more:

Offord carries the title Lord Offord of Garvel in the House of Lords and is a former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department of Business and Trade. He was the front-runner to land the top job at Ibrox but Rangers remain in the market for a chairman ahead of the Annual General Meeting in Glasgow on Thursday. An appointment is still expected in the coming weeks and sources are confident that a high-calibre individual will take on the position.

The Rangers Review revealed that Patrick Stewart would be appointed as the new chief executive officer at Ibrox and fill the role that had been empty since James Bisgrove quit the club to move to Saudi Arabia earlier this year. Rangers confirmed that move just days later as Gilligan outlined the search for the next chairman.

“On behalf of the board, I’m delighted to welcome Patrick to the club as CEO," Gilligan said. “Patrick comes with an excellent reputation and background, bringing extensive experience of operating at senior levels during his 20-plus years in football. The board continues in discussions with several excellent candidates for the role of Chairperson and expect to make an announcement of an appointment in the coming weeks.”

The structure of the board and executive team will be at the forefront of minds when shareholders and supporters gather for the AGM this week. Creag Robertson's departure was confirmed to Companies House on November 8, while Rangers are also operating with an interim head of academy after David McCallum was asked to fill the void left by the exit of Zeb Jacobs. Accounts for RIFC plc that were posted last month showed a loss of £17.2million for the financial year.

Former chairman Dave King told the Rangers Review that he would be open to a return to the club on a two-year basis. Those plans were quickly knocked back by Gilligan, however, as he dismissed calls for an EGM to be held at Ibrox.

“Dave is a major shareholder and he can say whatever he wishes to say,” Gilligan said during his first press conference as interim chairman. “My view is it’s a bit unrealistic. Dave is a real businessman, he knows how shareholdings work. He is a 15 per cent shareholder, the other directors are 10, 12, 13 per cent shareholders. It is unrealistic.

“It’s only destabilising if the people who are the main shareholders and operating the business don’t have a plan and don’t have people in place to execute it. We have had difficulties recently with the stadium and things but destabilising, no not particularly. Dave is entitled to say what he wants. It’s a free world. But I don’t feel it’s destabilised at all no.”