Leaderboard

The Supporters Trust is delighted to announce that, starting from the Cove game on 28 December, additional bus journeys will be operating to and from the stadium on matchdays, following positive discussions between the Supporters Trust, Stagecoach and the club. Full details are in the statement below, but the additional journeys will enable fans to spend time in Bar 94 before and after the game. For 3 pm kick offs, journeys will leave the Bus Station at 1 pm and 2.15 pm, returning from the ground 10 minutes after the final whistle and then at 6 pm. The additional journeys will also be ideal for anyone attending hospitality. Stagecoach will also be donating fares revenue from the matchday service on 28 December to the Supporters Trust, and we are very grateful to them for the new journeys and the kind donation. We hope that the matchday journeys will be useful to many fans. You can read the full statement here: https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/post/improved-matchday-bus-service

I think you’ve hit on the great unknown of this whole thing. Inverness Caledonian Thistle Properties was set up late in 2000 as a vehicle to assist Tulloch’s bail-out of that period and it appears to have been the umbrella company, for the car parks at least, from that date. You may remember about seven or so years ago there was a seemingly eternal process where Tullochs gave the stadium, which was part of the 2000 rescue, back to the club and the car park part of that seemed to take for ever. At this point, there’s a section of “cold trail” where I’m not sure exactly what happened but it would appear that in August 2023, Morrison and Cameron took the opportunity to buy the Propco and hence title to that part of the lease, and the proceeds disappeared into the bottomless pit of overspending that was ongoing. In the case of Morrison, what he has put into the club therefore has very thick strings attached in that he is joint owner of the car park lease, along with the other main player Cameron, and the Charge over his £1.65M. His backside therefore appears to have been carefully covered. Ironically (and I quizzed AS about this at the conference) this situation arose at a time when Morrison was also the Chairman. There’s one further point which could become important. Did anyone notice that the Administrator said that, given the point in the process that the Charge was created, there may be grounds to challenge its validity? That, I think, is a space that may be well worth watching.

One of the things that came out most strongly once again to me this morning was the hold that Ross Morrison and David Cameron have over this situation. Morrison is owed a secured £1.65M and Cameron (I believe) an unsecured £810K, while they also hold the car parks lease. And from what AS said, there’s clearly considerable tension between himself and these two. I asked AS if it was not rather ironic that Ross Morrison should be the major creditor and also chairman of the club when it became indebted to him to that considerable extent, and he agreed. I also have a rather vague recollection that the Administrator may have made a sort of enigmatic statement to the effect that there could potentially be some question over Morrison’s security, given when in the cycle of events it was given? Meanwhile AS, who again emphasised that this should be about football and not land deals, expressed the hope that the Council would step in and refuse planning permission should any unconnected, non-football use of the car parks be proposed by RM and DC. The administrator also confirmed that the £70K against Gardiner’s name in the document released last week reflects a claim from Gardiner rather than an acknowledged debt.

The Courier’s report on the Press Conference: Caley Thistle administrators have rejected a bid to buy the club Inverness Caledonian Thistle administrators BDO say they have already rejected one bid for the club – but 15 parties remain interested in buying the football club. Joint-administrator James Stephen revealed the news this morning, stating that he hopes to appoint a preferred bidder next month. It is now over two months since Caley Thistle brought in BDO to take charge of the club’s affairs, with former chairman Alan Savage providing a stable financial footing for the club to continue the 2024/25 season. However, long-term a new set of owners will need to be found, and Stephen has revealed the latest state of play in the Highland capital. “We still have significant interest in the club – around 15 parties,” he said in a statement. “Discussions are ongoing and we had a call on Thursday with a potential investor. That went well and they have asked for further information. Interest is both UK and worldwide. James Stephen was addressing the media for the first time in two months. "From a buyer's perspective, there are two parts to consider. The first is the funding to buy the assets and allow me to promote a credible voluntary arrangement. "The second bit is they need to understand what the funding is going to be like for the club moving forward as it strives to move away from a loss-making position. "Parties have asked to see budgets beyond the end of this season. We are preparing them and they will be ready in early January. "We will continue those discussions in January, and I am still very optimistic and pleased with the interest we have still got. We've been having sensible and credible discussions. "My desire is to conclude the sale as quickly as possible, but it has to be a transaction that works for everyone. Thanks to Alan's support, we have breathing space to iron out some obstacles we're facing.” Elaborating further after questioning, Stephen continued: “Some foreign investors have asked to see budgets going beyond the end of this season. “They see it as a long term project, they want to be in it for seven to 10 years or more. “They have a very strong affinity with sport, in the country that they’re in they are connected to a lot of sporting institutions, and one of them in particular has a strong affinity for Inverness and has visited quite a lot, so that has sparked their interest.” “I’m optimistic, and Alan has given us a great period of stability to iron out all these issues. “I would like to get to a preferred bidder stage in January with a view to putting forward a company voluntary arrangement proposal to the creditors.” Stephen did confirm, though, that the Caley Jags would not exit administration next month, meaning they will be limited in what they can do in the forthcoming January transfer window. Complicating matters is the land situation around the stadium. On that issue, Stephen said: “I just want to be crystal clear, the stadium and all the land around it is owned by Highland Council and the Common Good Fund. "The club has the lease until 2094 for the stadium. When I say stadium, I mean exactly that. We are a sub-tenant for the 9-10 acres of land around the stadium, which includes the car parks. "The head tenant is a company called Inverness Caledonian Thistle Properties. Our sub-lease is with Inverness Caledonian Thistle Properties. That is controlled by Ross Morrison and David Cameron, who are two former directors of the club. That was purchased by them in 2023. These leases run until 2094 as well. Former Caley Jags chairman Ross Morrison still has an influence on a potential sale due to his shared control of the land around the Caledonian Stadium. "In simple terms, the club doesn't control the destiny of the land. The sub-lease is terminable at quite short notice. That means we are in quite a weak position in that respect in terms of security of tenure. "I can't hide that is a potential obstacle to the sale of parties. They are quite understandably concerned the land could be subject to a change of use or the sub-lease could be terminated within a relatively short notice. "Given where the club sits, a major portion of the land is important to the club as it is not a city centre club and transport links are not great. Having that lands allows the club to promote non-football revenues which could be a big factor in the club being successful going forward. "I have been in touch with the council to say, in these circumstances, if the property company decides to do something different – sell them on or look for a change of use – then we are to be notified. We have a sub-lease and are a neighbouring party. "I did seek to get PropCo agreement from the reading that I had from the books and records of the company to agree what had been agreed prior to my appointment. That would have been of great assistance to the process. "However, following administration the PropCo position has changed. Their proposal is basically to offer a significant portion of the land to the club or a prospective purchaser. So there would be financial recompense for that. It's not fatal to the sale but it does add another significant cost to any acquisition. "The offer that was on the table prior to administration would have been good. "I remain committed to trying to seek a commercial agreement with all parties involved. I will also consider what other options around administration we may or may not have.” Again, upon further questioning, Stephen said: “What they are asking for now is markedly different now to what it was before administration. “There’s the triangle in the corner which is called the Bermuda Triangle – that wouldn’t form part of any acquisition of the club. “The Bermuda Triangle would potentially be sold off to someone else, and then the club would either get back the remainder or seek a sensible commercial deal to buy the remainder. “(Potential buyers are) totally aware of the situation, and we’re trying to look at alternative options that may work without having to get embroiled in a long-running negotiation.” On his chances of coming to an agreement with Morrison and Cameron, Stephen added: “I’ve had one conversation with Ross since I was appointed, and to be fair he has asked for a meeting in January which I welcome. “Previously I was dealing with him through his solicitor. He has duties as a director to co-operate with me. “I wouldn’t say he has been uncooperative, but I would like to see it move a bit quicker. “I’m very keen that the meeting in January goes ahead.”

I well remember the season when the Canaries were number 1 at Christmas and got relegated!

A photo that was taken about 5 seconds too late as Musa was already heading back into his goals after a group hug. Meanwhile the other ten are over by the left touchline

Fill your stockings with the latest podcast from The Wyness Shuffle this month featuring a guest appearance from Mr Craig G Telfer from A View From The Terrace. Cheers Craig!

I think there will be a fair bit of brinksmanship going on here. There may be people willing to write off their loans, but if they do so now then the likes of Gardiner will get more of what is in the pot if it comes down to a CVA as his £70K would then be a larger proportion of the remaining debt. Similarly, if Savage pays off the debt to local companies now, then Gardiner ends up getting more. By seeing these businesses "OK" Savage might be meaning he will make up the difference after the admin process has taken its course. I would suspect that the list of creditors has been thoroughly checked and by making it public the administrators are acknowledging these are all legitimate debts. The fact that he is owed such a large sum is a reflection of how naive the Board have been. Similarly, it beggars belief that the Board were hoodwinked into agreeing the terms of Morrison's secured loan and the relationship with the property company which are now the biggest stumbling blocks towards a secure future for the club. Remember, though, Gardiner had been claiming he was owed more than £70K so the fact that the document only lists £70K suggests that the administrators have concluded he does not have a valid further claim. I have to agree with Charles though. Despite the administrators' best efforts, the future looks very uncertain. Hopefully Monday's press conference, just 2 days before Christmas, will bring us all some much needed Christmas cheer.