Bridge_Ender

I’d argue that’s more making the stadium asset work for the club rather than a sideshow? It would be different if the idea was proposing to operate our own restaurant, but a seeking a franchise is basically just leasing the space out and (hopefully) letting the ££ come in for something that’s just sitting there. As someone who left Inverness over 20 years ago, rarely attends home matches and doesn’t wear football kits, it’s pretty difficult to financially support the club. With a focus on football, two possible income generators could be: - 1/2 season vouchers (ie, buy a 10 game voucher book rather than a full season ticket to target out of town/offshore/shift workers) - Away season ticket (reflects the split in our support. Many fans only go predominantly to away games) Not new ideas as loads of clubs do it, but another couple thoughts are: - Club membership scheme aimed at the out of towners and those who can’t justify a season ticket but who want to contribute. Possibly something like £50 a season, essentially just to feel part of things. - Kids club. Similar idea to the club membership one, but with a couple parties with players attending, mascot opportunities, etc. Are free season tickets for u12/u16 still a thing? Incorporate within this if so?

Exactly this. Whatever happens over the next few weeks and months, I hope that fan engagement and experience is at the front and centre of the recovery. There are multiple examples of how to do it well among our contemporaries, and often it costs next to f**k all to implement. Pretty much none of which have been utilised at ICT over the years.

I suspect his main motivation would be the awareness that his football related career would effectively be over unless he could make things work at ICT. If he was questionable pre-ICT he’ll surely be absolutely toxic to any club now.

Brilliant news that the absolute nonsense of Seventy7 / Makwana has been kicked into touch. It’s mind boggling how it got to the stage it did. Also very positive that Gardiner has gone. Definitely a sense of ‘the grown ups have entered the room’ with this news. It doesn’t look like Savage/Orion will be taking control of the club. But they will be assisting in getting it on the right footing and getting new long term partners onboard. That seems to be the remit of the marketing agency mentioned. The green shoots of recovery are there. But there is a long way to go to get ICT back to a stable footing. It looks like the first steps have been taken though

He’s a busy guy…

Aye… Don’t let facts get in the way of a good gut feeling, eh? Not sure Ambramovich is the best example of a ‘not dodgy’ investor either… As much as I’d love a white knight to be riding to ICT’s rescue, absolutely nothing that Makwana has said, or his track record, suggests he is that guy. For what it’s worth, to my mind there are 3 possible scenarios playing out, with 2) being the most likely: 1) Makwana / Seventy7 (who are technically insolvent) have somehow managed to arrange a credit facility and will purchase 50.48% of the shares for a controlling stake. The security for this will be ICT assets, and the club will be saddled with significant repayments for the foreseeable. See Glazers/MUFC as a template. For this to succeed, a massive change in operating/business plan will be required. Not to mention the further significant investment to get a failing business to a self sustaining, and profitable, level. 2) As Makwana / Seventy7 are technically insolvent, no takeover will happen and the deal collapses in a few weeks/months. As per the reported 6 months he apparently spent courting Hayes & Yeading before disappearing… Admin inevitably follows as the deal collapses. 3) Makwana / Seventy7 is the front for some bigger investors. Potentially the reputed Jersey/offshore connection? In that scenario, I’d argue that secrecy is quite the red flag… It’s just so depressing watching this whole episode play out. ICT really have become a circus.

Up to £8400 now, which is really good news for Aaron and no less than he deserves. It’s simply shameful that he has been put in his position and I hope this shows him how much the ICT support, and wider football community, value his contribution.

It’s going to take a lot more than season ticket sales and a few shirts to plug the gap. Assuming ICT come through this, there needs to be a concerted effort to radically rethink how the club is financed. The existing business model does not sustain full time senior football in Inverness. To set up in the same way would be pointless.

If ICT go into admin, and Ross Morrison is still on the board (in whatever capacity), does that affect his status as a secured creditor? i.e. is he better placed to get his ££ back as a secured creditor than he would be as a director of a business in administration? During the podcast interview he said he wouldn’t leave the board but would happily resign as Chairman.

What an absolute shambles of a situation this is. We’re an absolute laughing stock and a complete embarrassment. How could this be released without it being absolutely watertight?

I’m absolutely not an expert… but from Companies House it looks like Morrison (and also Morrison and Gordon Munro on shares) is a secured creditor on the money he has lent to the club. Folks that know more about this stuff than me please correct if I’m wrong, but does this not mean that were ICT to go into admin, only Morrison (and the RBS) would be the ones getting their money back (or a % anyway) from the sale of any assets…? Something that no other Chairman seems to have felt the need to do? https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC149117/charges

Is there any chance that this could be ICT trying to play politics by trying to embarrass the Highland Council? The hope being that by arguing that it’s too difficult/expensive to compete being based in the Highlands that it leverages enough pressure through fan and media indignation and incredulity (tick…) that the Council will intervene and perhaps push through on the battery farm, or more? It’s a helluva Hail Mary to throw if so.

Thanks for providing such a solid and honest response, really appreciated. There’s clearly been a lot of hard work gone into the trust over the last couple of years to get it to this point and kudos to all involved for that.

Doubt that there are many, if any, football clubs that operate successfully purely on football activities. Be it retail, sponsorship, leasing, alternative investments or whatever. All are used to feed the football operation. In the absence of those, property makes sense. They talk elsewhere about Conferencing facilities. I’d imagine that there is plenty scope for these sort of activities (done properly) to potentially drive significant revenue.

I’m all for greater fan involvement and think it can only be a positive. Particularly for a club like ICT where engagement between the club and the support has typically been pretty poor. I’m also generally in support of the Supporters Trust fund plan (although you could have come up with a better name for it!), and applaud the efforts of the folks who have taken it on and turned things around, but I’m just feeling a bit unclear on how it’s going to work and what it’s objectives actually are. At the moment it reads to me that we’re being asked to sign up for cash donations (regular or one off) to go into a separate fund that at some indeterminate point in the future could be used for something that the supporters trust board of the time deem worthy? Be it shares, players, running costs, whatever? It just feels a bit vague, albeit I’m very open to being proved wrong. Given the club stance, for as long as I can remember, seems to be that they don’t recognise the Supporters Trust as representative of all fans due to low membership levels it would be helpful to understand what the board/CEO do consider an appropriate level if a seat on the board is the target. Is there a risk this could just become a sluice fund for offsetting running costs from mismanagement? Are there trigger points where if certain funding levels are achieved then doors start opening? Are the club engaged and supportive in this process, or just sitting back to see what happens? Perhaps the summary of the discussion will answer these points when posted. I suppose what I’m saying is that football is expensive enough already, and asking the same pool of supporters to stick another £20/30/50, or whatever, a month into another pot with with no firm target or objective feels like a challenging ask.