Ex-Rangers chief Brian Stockbridge in tartan carpet row

Former Rangers director Brian Stockbridge is embroiled in a payment row over tartan carpets.

The financier is in a dispute with Glasgow-based specialists Stevens & Graham for flooring laid in his Dunbartonshire mansion last year.

The business claims it has been left out of pocket by the 41-year-old former football boss.

They say only part of the bill understood to be £25,000 has been paid.

But Stockbridge, who is said to have had the house decked out in a special tartan carpet, is understood to be unhappy with the work carried out to his posh pad.

He has asked for the work to be rectified immediately before any further payment is made.

A source, who revealed the flooring row has been rumbling on for a number of months, said: “The work was for a job in his house in Dumbarton. It was a complete overhaul of the place, with £25,000 spent on these exclusive tartan carpets alone.

“Although he’s paid a bit of the money, it’s not all that’s owed for the job.

“The building firm who were also on-site are supposedly out of pocket too. It’s a real mess.”

John McIlvogue, owner of Stevens & Graham, was unavailable for comment.

A spokesman for Stockbridge last night confirmed the businessman had “issues” with the work carried out.

He said: “Mr Stockbridge had carpets and flooring installed by Stevens & Graham at the beginning of this year. He has paid for the carpets in full.

“However, there were issues with the work carried out with the carpets and particularly with the flooring, which Mr Stockbridge raised directly with the owner of the company, John McIlvogue.

“Mr Stockbridge asked him to address these issues before he paid the outstanding balance for the flooring, which Mr McIlvogue agreed to.

“Mr Stockbridge is surprised because he has received no further communication from Mr McIlvogue since July, despite being promised the work would be rectified, and he has not been made aware of any formal action.

“He would be delighted to discuss the situation with Mr McIlvogue and reach a satisfactory conclusion.”

Stockbridge is founder and CEO of London-based financial advice firm International Financial Strategic Associates.

He left Rangers in January after 20 months as the club’s finance director, arriving at Ibrox as an associate of Charles Green and Imran Ahmad, who put together the £5.5m purchase of the club’s assets in June 2012 following its liquidation.

He is believed to have been given a six-figure salary, which doubled after Rangers won promotion from Scotland’s lowest professional league in 2013. When he left earlier this year, he walked away with £200,000 under the terms of his contract.

The tartan carpet row has emerged just days after former Rangers owner Craig Whyte was brought before a sheriff in Glasgow.

He appeared in court on Friday after being seized in Mexico.

Whyte, 43, is accused of fraud in his 2011 takeover of the Ibrox club. He made no plea or declaration and was released on bail.

The club need an urgent £8m cash injection to survive the next 12 months.

It is not known if sports shop tycoon Mike Ashley will bankroll the vital funds. He has already sunk a seven-figure sum into the Ibrox side.