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If that's the case, then we are still shuffling deckchairs on the Titanic. This man must be gone as part of any deal. He should be gone already, and anything that extends his stay is pure folly. The fans do not like him, the staff do not like him, the players do not like him, and his record at other club's mirrors his record with us. All credit to him for managing to cling on by his fingernails in this situation. I just don't know how he does it. I do know however that this site, and myself personally, will not raise a single penny in sponsorship nor spend a penny on merchandise while he is employed by it. It is non-negotiable.

Short answer is they can't on the basis of what we have been told so far. I think this may be the club using the wrong language again in the same way as the manager uses "new owner" instead of "investor". Charles Bannerman has explained it well a couple of times alongside some number crunching. Major shareholder, yes, majority shareholder, no. Nope. I had a look, and instant (personal) impression is that the company seem more Del Trotter than Jeff Bezos. Varying entrepreneurial enterprises over the years, advisor to PM in 2012 etc, and a lot of circular speech on the website. If I am wrong, and they bring stability, progress and direction to the club then I will be happy to admit my misgivings were unfounded. I want them to be those knights in shining armour that pick us up and bring us back to the premiership .... However, if they hope to retain the currently resigned CEO then they have lost me already.

Smells more of a SG deal by the minute .

I sincerely hope I'm wrong but based on his Companies House profile I wouldn't trust this guy's ability to afford a round of Harry Gow pies at half time

Dundee at The Hedge We travel not to Dundee, but Brechin to face the Dark Blues in our final Group D game with little to no hope of progressing. Dens Park is still recovering from closed season work and the tie will be held at Glebe Park, Brechin. It's been a sombre week amongst our fanbase with the sad passing of Johndo Mackenzie, or as we know him on here, The Immortal Howden Ender. Tributes to Johndo can be read on the forum by clicking on the link below. News of investment came through this afternoon but it's too early to decide if this will be a sustainable solution for the Caley Jags. You can read the official statement from the club and our thoughts on the CTO forum by clicking the links below. We will post more on this subject as the investment story gathers pace. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/ Bus Info Investment Statement Investment discussion on CTO Johndo Tributes on CTO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our opponents, Dundee, had this squad on duty on Tuesday night against Annan Athletic. Dundee eventually won 3-1 with a couple of late goals to see off Annan. Simon Murray opened the scoring after half an hour but Annan levelled less than ten minutes later. Murray got his second with five minutes remaing and Seb Palmer-Houlden sealed the win in the 90th minute. Dundee top Group D table having thumped Bonnyrigg Rose 1-7 before easing to a 2-0 away win over Arbroath. It would be nothing short of miraculous should we qualify for the knock-out stages, although that might not be enough given our Head 2 Head defeat to Annan. Duncan Ferguson talking ahead of the Dundee game Last time out saw us lose a penaly shoot-out to Arbroath but football took a back seat that night as news of Johndo's departure filtered through on that day. RIP my friend, you will be missed by all who crossed your path and I will miss your colourful match reports when you offered them on away visits to far flung places. Who remembers this one at Killie with the cheerleader making an appearance at 1:40...

The jury is out for me. With SG still there I can't see this move being of any use to ICT or its supporters. I guess we'll all just have to wait and see if there are mega bucks within this company and they make this work.

As someone noted on P&B, our board consists of a bunch of retired doctors and vets, most of whom are in their 70s and they've been sweet talked / rain-made by some Web3, crypto bro. You just hope that at some point someone checks that there is money there but I don't hold out much hope.

Let's wait and see without going all google warrior on the guy. There's very few successful business people who don't have a few red flags including some who have been very good to us in the past.

Gonna be honest, I've lost all enthusiasm of this takeover after we've done our own digging into this. The entire thing REEKS of Staunch Gardiner sending the club down the Ganges.

In my day job I have been involved in IT procurement for 20+ years. I have encountered many companies in that time who have been acquired by "equity partners" or "venture capitalists" and can think of precisely none that went upwards in all that time. They either trade using the good name of a company while exponentially increasing prices which then causes the firm to crash and burn as customers leave, or they simply asset strip from day one. We don't exactly have a name that's tradeable and we have little to no assets to strip so I am not sure what is in it for this company.

Only one way all this works out. an absolute scandal that Gardiner has been allowed to inflict this on the club.

So they are selling the club to a venture capitalist? And what's the first thing that a venture capitalist does when they invest in something? Why, of course, they start planning their exit strategy - how they are going to get out and extract as much money as possible whilst doing so. Like others here, I have had a quick look at Companies House and at their (very minimal) website, and I'm not impressed. I'm not a financial person, but doesn't the most recent thing at Companies House - 28th June, Registration of a Charge - mean that they are receiving a loan from a company based in Jersey (so forget any investigation of that!) and putting up a lot of their assets (what are they?) as security for the loan? Of course, this might be nothing to do with ICTFC - but it makes me very nervous. I look forward to the new owner explaining to the other shareholders where his money is coming from. And I just can't understand why he should be interested in a small football club in a remote part of the country. We shall see.....

I'll call it now - these guys won't take over. They won't be able to prove funds. If they do manage to take over, we'll be in administration and probably out of existence in a few months.

Not just you

This does not fill me full of confidence.

STATEMENT FROM ICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The Board of Directors of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club can confirm that they have accepted an offer for a majority shareholding in the club. The club have been involved in intensive discussions with Seventy7 Ventures, a UK-based sports, entertainment and leisure group and are confident their investment will secure the future of the club. Panos Thomas, spokesperson for the Board of Directors, said: “We have received a formal offer to acquire a major shareholding and voting rights of the company and this has been unanimously accepted by the Board." "Ketan Makwana, the Executive Chairman of Seventy7 Ventures has been a most dynamic suitor for the club in the past few weeks and following the most recent meeting with him in Inverness when he outlined his vision and passion for what the club could become, it was clear those plans and the financial backing of Seventy7 Ventures will give ICTFC the best opportunity to flourish again. This is very good news for the club as we strive to establish a more sustainable business and build a team that will in the first instance, return us to the SPFL Championship.” Ketan Makwana, Executive Chairman of Seventy7 Ventures, said: "We at Seventy7 are delighted to have achieved this result, we want to thank the Board, Chief Executive and former Chairman for their continuous workability and open mindedness to see our vision of the future for the Football Club and the community of Inverness. We are relishing the opportunity to drive sustainability and growth in the Club and lead them to future prosperity." More information will be released in the coming days and weeks and again on the legal completion of the deal.

Following today's announcement by the club, the Supporters Trust has issued this statement, which is also being e-mailed to members: https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/post/ict-supporters-trust-statement-on-ictfc-new-investor The Trust Board is grateful for the continued support of members. We will continue to work on behalf of our members and the wider fan base and, if you are not currently a member, joining is easy using this link (and only £5, or £1 for Under 16s): https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/join-us

Three other questions. Firstly if, as has emerged today, 77 is a one man band - a company with a single director - what would he want to do about a board that he can be confident would protect his investment? Secondly, 77 appears to be a tiny company that has dealt in five figure sums for its entire three year existence and has net liabilities. So where is the money going to come from in order to fund Caley Thistle? Is there any significance to this company having become the Borrower in a Charge that was created on 28th June, where the Lender is a Channel Islands-based finance company? And thirdly, if this deal went through and then the club went really badly wrong, could there be any danger of the remaining 69 years of the lease on the stadium site being asset stripped and sold lucratively by 77 to a buyer such as a large retail company?

Sadly I’m one of them Yngwie but do agree with you and Robert. I have no depth of knowledge in the field so it’s mostly just perception. From what I’ve been able to gather I struggle to see that in depth due diligence would find this company to be ‘fit and proper’. At the moment it all seems very dodgy with Gardiner’s fingerprints all over it. I hope for the best but fear for the worst…

Why would any new owner want to meet with the Trust given they have advised not to buy season tickets etc. How many Trust members are there, a few hundred? Definitely not representative of everyone. I bought my season ticket a week ago despite the Trust advising not to. Not a very coherent organisation which has very little credibility!

This stinks of corruption.

I’m just about fed up with all this risky crap! As if I wasn’t already! I’m back to thinking I’d rather just work our way back to the safety of the Highland League!

Isn't this statement a bit premature? According to the club statement, they've only accepted an offer thus far. The legal deal is yet to be concluded. It also mentions 'new owners', but won't they be 'majority shareholders'?

Don… I think we also have to take into account the fixed 10% that the Supporters’ Trust have. With 4M existing shares as you say, I think that would mean around £5M of straight new money to acquire the 50%+1. That could, of course, be reduced if they bought some existing shares along with putting in new money if people were prepared to sell, but the proceeds of the sale of existing shares by their owners would bring in no extra money (as was the case when Alan Savage and the McGilvrays bought the shares donated to the Hospice by the Catto family. I believe that 77 could also get 50%+1 if there was an agreement that their shares had greater relative voting power than the existing ones. A lot of this would presumably require approvals at a General Meeting of shareholders, although the statement seems to want to imply that this is already a done deal. And the statement is also internally inconsistent since at one point it refers to a “majority” interest and then seems to change seamlessly to “major” but there is a difference. For instance when Tullochs had around 30% they were called the “major” (ie biggest) shareholders (although I always preferred “biggest”) but not “majority”.

A 50% +1 shareholding is required for it to be "majority". The Supporters Trust situation does not change that because they have a "Voting Right" and not a "Shares Right". This only becomes effective when votes are being cast. There are approx 4,000,000 issued shares at present and the board can take that up to 6,000,000 (assuming the resolution was renewed appropriately at an AGM in the last couple of years). If the new investor were to purchase those shares, that would give them a 33% holding. If they were to be given control of the shares sitting with the Football Trust (about 730,000, currently controlled by Muirfield Mills), then they would only need to acquire about 270,000 further shares to get to 50%. Not an insurmountable task. As for dealing with existing directors' loans. That could be taken care of by offering them shares/equity in the parent company, foregoing any claim to money from the battery farm etc.

This announcement fills me with as much joy and optimism as did the appointment of Scott Gardiner 5 years ago.

Crypto bro's registered office. An impressive campus facility which puts Google to shame.

Have to also consider the fact that we have a CEO who forgot to buy seats for a football stadium. Hardly the brighest bulb in the drawer when it comes to finances

It seems to have been doing the rounds almost week I've heard the same from separate unconnected people. I am very very cautious about this takeover. I can't see where these investors have made their money (if they have any) or why they would be in any way interested in ICT. They don't appear to have the type of money where we can even be their little plaything on the side. I'll give them a chance though.

Surely you are on the wind up? If true, the club are screwed, on MANY levels!

I'll see Kilmarnock and raise you a Europa League draw song:

How could we forget this. 3-0 down at Kilmarnock and who else would start a conga........ Absolutely brilliant. Some guy! Jump to 1:40 and all will be revealed

I would hope that the new majority shareholders will have done at least a little research on the current state of the club and be very keen to mend bridges between the club and its fans? Whilst the trust might not be perfect its membership has swelled significantly in recent weeks for obvious reasons. What other body is at all representative of the fans?

A new owner could see the Trust as being representative of the supporters, in which case it would be in their interest to get the Trust onside. I like the idea of the Supporters' Trust and see it as a practical route to uniting the fans and giving us a voice. You say it's not representative of everyone, but it seems it's the best we've got at the moment.

Yes, jury out for me too although I am coming from a position far further down the negative scale. The CEO has to be held to his resignation, that is non-negotiable for me as a (tiny) shareholder. A lot of questions and I am running low on benefit of doubt where our board are concerned. If we hadn't reached for a multitude of other 'Hail-Mary' solutions over the last few years, I might have a more open mind, but after pixellot, concert, park-and-ride, and the battery farm, the monorail video from the Simpsons is all i can see. Please prove me wrong!

To our knowledge, not one penny has changed hands yet. Nothing is done, until it’s done.

Wow, I could buy ICT!

The club have managed to create a whole new category of fan expectation in addition to the established under promise / over deliver over promise / under deliver We now appear to specialise in under promise / under deliver ICT #HopelessNESS

So its Trotter Trading? We should be fine then.

Perhaps desperate times require desperate measures?

And this is where the final decision will be made. Hopefully the shareholders will see the exact detail of what is happening and what it means for the club...after the shambles at board level it's now time for them to step out of the shadows for once.

Notable that the statement includes thanks to Ross Morrison for “continuous workability and open mindedness” which I would take to mean his acceptance that he won’t be getting much of his secured loan back.

Might get a (quality)match day live stream at least

Here's his LinkedIn AboutAbout With extensive career experience in IT, Electronics & Healthcare, Ketan moved into self-employment and entrepreneurship in 2009 during the economic crash. Since then Ketan has successfully launched, scaled and sold multiple ventures in the recruitment and marketing verticals; in 2011 Ketan launched Enterprise Lab - a talent and business innovation agency operating in 26 countries with a network of 250 experienced professionals delivering in their niche; in 2022, Enterprise Lab got acquired by the Innovation arm of European Central Bank In 2021 during the core of the pandemic, Ketan co-founded Seventy7 Ventures a platform that focuses on the digital and technology acceleration of the Creative Industries offering Strategic Consulting, Capital Raising and Venture Partnering services. Seventy7 Ventures was awarded the Best of British Business 2023 by The Independent for its impact on British Businesses. Ketan has served as a Special Advisor to a UK Prime Minister and a former President; he is regularly involved in economic policy shaping for several governments with a high focus on digital economy. Ketan is a renowned international speaker having delivered keynotes across 5 continents and 42 cities.

I believe it was an exclusive early bird offer that was up for grabs today.

There are no words. Just absolutely shocked by this news. I knew he had had a bad turn a few weeks back but nothing other than a full recovery was expected. Awful, awful news. Thoughts are very much with his family and friends right now

Member #25 .. I will need to look at who pre-dates him, but pretty much in with the bricks on here since 1994 and definitely a cornerstone of the site for decades. Some may try to emulate him in future, but I am guessing none will quite reach that bar (although a large Voddie and coke should be ordered if they do reach the bar). Strangely enough, when I look at his profile, he got his last warning as far back as 2009 and I think that wound him up as much as he wound me up in the previous years where he was forever trying to get under the skin .

Johndo in typical attire at Fleetwood, 2010. "The Howden End will never die... the Howden End is in the sky".