Charles Bannerman

I take your point about the need for fan recruitment but I think you are perhaps being a bit pessimistic about yesterday’s attendance. There have been 16 home League One games this season so far and yesterday’s 1655 is actually the seventh biggest. Top and third - 1974 and 1894 - were during the festive period and the second biggest -1902 - was at the first home game after Gardiner finally left the building. The smallest league attendance is 1439 for the very first game, at the time of the boycott. Yesterday’s 1655 is also, predictably, above the average of 1625. The attached table showing the whole of League One makes interesting reading. I’d suggest that given the club has fallen to the third tier, attendances have held up not too badly, although I’m not sure for how long this might be sustained.

Obviously this statement is to be welcomed but, given the number of upturns and downturns there have been in this crisis even since mid-summer, that welcome must remain cautious until the bones carry more meat. Those attending cover all three areas of concern since these individuals hold most of the debt, include the joint owners of the car park lease and account for around half the shares. I note that the Charitable Trust and the McGilvrays weren’t represented. Between them they account for more than a quarter of the equity but it is, of course, impossible to guess any reasons - innocuous or sinister - for their absence. We also don’t know the extent of agreement that was reached, and in particular how much if any of the debt has been volunteered to be written off, and how many shares have been handed back - or indeed donated to the cause. The benefits of share movement could make impacts respectively of up to 5 and 10 times the value of the shares in question. I have to say that I am also mildly encouraged by the suggestion that there could be a large local presence in any initiative. We await in hope.

Precisely. I’ve been trying here to highlight how difficult the provision of a new stadium was even back in the mid-90s for a brand new initiative of a club, with strong backing from the Local Enterprise Company and a great deal of public funding plus the incentive of bringing national league football to Inverness. For starters, and before you even consider the huge obstacle of a site, where would the substantial seven figure construction sum come from, given that the real value of the club’s assets is very likely exceeded by the extent of its liabilities? The manner in which debts were allowed to accumulate is open to intense criticism, but that money is actually owed and it would be a generous creditor indeed who would accept less than £1 in the £ if the club had any prospect of wallowing in the kind money a brand new stadium would cost. Unfortunately, I sometimes detect the sentiment that the local community somehow owes ICT a living in some way. It doesn’t.

Without weighing up the pros, cons and feasibility of the UHI in detail, the first thing that comes to mind is traffic on match days. That part of Inverness is already stretched past its limits in terms of traffic capacity in relation to how much development is already there. Presumably some cooperation would also be required from UHI regarding parking.

The fundamental nature of football… where clubs almost invariably spend more than they earn, principally because they pay players more than their realistic market value… makes it inevitable that the game will be critically dependent on rich men. This could be looked upon as a form of Socialism where the assets of the rich are redistributed to people who might otherwise find it more difficult to survive.

I’m thinking more “soap opera”. “Mainstanders” maybe?

“Best Short Quote Of The Week” award!

I think it’s morally incumbent upon Ross Morrison to take a look at his role in all of this and perhaps concede that he “owes the club one”. It has been abundantly clear since at least 2019 that the club had become fundamentally and chronically loss making, as demonstrated by £1M in share capital having to be raised for cash flow across the 18 months or so up to October 2019. However that difficulty simply never seemed to be addressed and the hat kept getting passed round during the years that followed, drawing the club more and more deeply into debt. This, on Ross Morrison’s watch, seemed to be justified by a series of catastrophic attempts to raise money through non-football activities that came outrageously unstuck, as one “jam tomorrow” scheme after another nosedived in a manner which the board seemed completely unable to foresee. The biggest component is Ross Morrison’s £1.6M loan which - uniquely as far as I am aware - carried security with it. Quite frankly, I have always been very uncomfortable with this scenario where the man in charge of an obviously failing business makes an enormous loan which is exclusively secured against the assets of that business. In so doing, at a time when the business was already failing badly and non-football activities had begun to fall apart, Ross Morrison was arguably putting the already ailing club’s assets at risk in a scenario he had created himself, with no risk to himself. As a result, given his role (and Gardiner’s) in the club getting into the state it did, I hope that Mr Morrison’s better nature and sense of his own legacy will lead him to make substantial concessions with respect to what he allowed himself to be owed here, and that he will begin to act quickly. Just one slightly unrelated post script here. The car park situation is actually a legacy of the previous crisis of 1999-2000 from which Tullochs extricated the club with an input of £5M, most of which was eventually written off.

This is not looking good. The attempt to achieve surrender of shares (Dated March 13th) appears to be a response to there being no offer by March 6th. Date: 17 March 2025 Subject: Statement by Joint Administrators of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC STATEMENT BY JOINT ADMINISTRATORS OF INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE FC Despite a strong level of interest from several parties, the Joint Administrators (JAs) of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (ICT) are disappointed to confirm that no offers were received for the club by the deadline of 5pm on Thursday 6 March 2025. Feedback from interested parties highlighted three concerns. Firstly, as any transaction would include the use of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to compromise ICT’s debt, interested parties expressed concern re the current level of loans (circa £3.5 million) from former directors of ICT (the Loan Creditors). A CVA requires 75% or more of creditors voting in favour. Interested Parties indicated agreeing any sale and purchase agreement was problematic as a number of loan creditors were at a value where they could veto a CVA proposal. Secondly, the nature of the club’s disparate shareholdings is impacting the ability of a potential acquiror to have adequate control. And finally, the uncertainties stemming from the ownership of land surrounding the stadium. While the JAs are continuing to work towards a resolution, which would include a transaction and CVA to allow the club to exit the Administration free from historical debts and retain its status in the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), a sale transaction does not appear to be achievable in the absence of new parties coming forward and the future of the club is now at significant risk. The JAs are continuing to work to seek resolution to these issues. Prior to the JAs’ appointment in the summer of 2024, the Loan Creditors had agreed to write off their loans. The JAs have written to the relevant former directors requesting that they now fulfil their agreement. Some have agreed, others are pending. The JAs remain hopeful that this issue can be resolved shortly. To address the concern about the nature of the disparate shareholding, the JAs have also written to a number of material shareholders setting out the position and requesting that their shares are returned to the club, or the potential acquiror, at no cost. Further letters will be issued this week. A number have agreed to this request and the JAs hope that this issue can also be resolved. The JAs have also approached Alan Savage, former club Chair, to ascertain if he could be prepared to support the club on an ongoing basis. Mr Savage has provided support to ICT in administration and has ensured funding is in place for the club to complete the 24/25 season. His commitment since the summer of 2024 until the end of the season will be circa £1million. Mr Savage has indicated he would be prepared to provide the following level of support to enable the survival of the club: • Provide 25% of the acquisition price of the club, and • 25% of the funding requirements for the next two seasons after 24/25. This funding would be based on prepared budgets, with cost controls in place. Any deal Mr Savage would support will also require the resolution of the issues outlined. If an acceptable offer is put forward, the JAs hope to present a CVA to the creditors for their consideration with a meeting of creditors to take place by the end of April. A BDO spokesperson said: “We appreciate that this latest update will be disappointing for players, fans and the wider community. “Given what has been achieved both on and off the pitch throughout the Administration period, we would very much like to see a sale of the club to ensure that its future is secured and we would encourage all parties to cooperate in this endeavour. “We are grateful for Alan Savage’s ongoing financial support and would urge any interested parties to come forward with a view to acquire the club. The JAs would welcome the opportunity to discuss and provide a guide in respect of an acceptable price.” ENDS

Yes… it was my story on RS local news bulletins this morning. BDO have written to “material” (presumably larger) shareholders (and I have seen the letter) asking if they would be prepared to give up their holding at no charge to club or any buyer. There is apparently at least one prospective buyer who would want 75% (effectively total) control and the proposed move would “assist” the CVA which may now be fairly imminent. (In other words they presumably don’t want to pay up to the £20 million that would cost if current shareholders retained their interest. Oh for goodness sake! As I write, BDO have just issued a statement saying that there have been NO offers, quoting the “disparate” shareholding and problems over surrounding land. This suddenly doesn’t look good!

Legalities need to be absolutely spot on to prevent troublesome holes being picked in any agreement that may be made. This club already has in its history an instance where it nearly collapsed on the strength of such a technicality. Back in 1995/96, when funding of the stadium depended on a £900,000 grant from Inverness District Council, the motion that Divid Stewart put forward to secure it contained the word “payable”. Some weeks later, councillors and, incredibly, officials who opposed the grant took advantage of that word and obtained a QC’s opinion that it created a meaning which (to cut a long story short) made it impossible for the council to hand the money over. The Common Good Fund eventually paid the cash but this is a classic instance of a legal technicality almost sinking the club.

I think that the only playing objective this season is to remain in League One (which is now looking fairly likely but not in the bag) and the club has needed to deploy the best forces it can muster to that end, whatever their origin. Let’s not also forget that there’s a game on Saturday that could see the safety margin back at just two points. Inevitably there’s been some talk about the pretty unlikely chance of making the promotion playoffs and the even more unlikely prospect of going straight back to the Championship. I don’t even see an immediate return to the Championship as especially desirable at the moment and believe that it would carry considerable risks, so it would be far better instead to consolidate and get administration processed. And if an immediate Championship return is neither likely nor desirable, there seems little point being in the playoffs - also remembering that the extra cash per League One place is minimal. It would be far better to bale out of the season after 36 games, hence avoiding risk of further injuries and disruption to the pre-season, and consolidate both on and off the field from there. Ideal finishing place - fifth

Another Churchill quote! And another reminder of what a disastrous appointment Duncan Ferguson was… and of the self satisfaction of Scot Gardiner’s claims about his role in making it.

“NOW THS IS NOT THE END. IT IS NOT EVEN THE BEGINNING OF THE END. BUT IT IS, PERHAPS, THE END OF THE BEGINNING.” Winston Churchill, 1942, speaking after victory at the Battle of El Alamein. We just need to get the Administrator moving!

Yes, that’s the bit I struggled with too, that winning all games would do it - but wouldn’t happen. But imagine- as it looked round about 4:30 - if it had gone to seven points adrift. Completely different scenario.

It’s been a hugely important afternoon, not the least because a landmark has been reached, although I’m not sure how to define it….. “it” being that for the first time since the 15 point penalty, Caley Thistle’s game in hand alone is enough to take the team out of the bottom two. But what an day! At 0-0 and Annan (and Dumbarton) winning, the gulf is potentially heading for seven points. But then Alfie Bavidge, plus the other two games turning on their heads, created one of these superb and dramatic “Six Pointer Afternoons”.

When someone raised the “dragging on” issue here at the end of January, I wasn’t unduly concerned. Two weeks on and into mid-February, I’m now also saying “Dragging on, isn’t it?”, although there was the statement from Charlie Christie that there had been three or four fairly serious expressions of interest.

I can’t help noticing that David Cameron seems to be under pressure as regards some of his other business interests. For instance he is reportedly the sole director of Upland, the company involved in the St Giles Centre in Elgin, and the Courier is reporting that this same company’s attempts to sell on the Ironworks have run into trouble. In the Courier report, Mr Cameron is quoted as telling the paper that this is “none of your bloody business”. Given that Mr Cameron is also owed £410,000 by Caley Thistle and, jointly with Ross Morrison, runs the company that owns the stadium car park lease, I hope that his other difficulties aren’t going to impinge negatively upon the football club’s situation.

Is that not Scott Gardiner’s remake?

That’s a very valid point. The team will probably end up with more points under SK and with the penalty than they would have done with DF and no penalty.

That’s a very important point DD. It becomes more difficult to catch a lot of teams above you because these points have to go somewhere, so it’s a trade off between welcoming Annan and Dumbarton beating teams ICT might still catch and accepting the squeaky bum you get as a result of not pulling away from these two to an extent that gives more complete confidence about avoiding relegation or the playoffs.

This large colour photo appeared in today’s PandJ. It’s of Billy Urquhart receiving a barometer from Chairman Norman Miller on the occasion of Billy’s 600th appearance for Caley in 1992. Among those who can be seen elsewhere in the photo are John Beaton, Derek Dewar and Jimmy Falconer. In 1994, Billy would appropriately have the honour of scoring the last competitive goal at Telford Street in a 1-0 victory over Thistle in May 1994… predictably with a header. Ironically, Billy was no longer a registered Caley player by this time, but was played for sentimental and “political” reasons… attracting a £250 fine. He went on also to play a limited number of games for Caley Thistle in the first season 1994-95.

Sorry, CT - I have absolutely no information to update about anything. However as I write, I’m not getting the feeling that we are now outwith any timescale that the Administrator may have implied at the December briefing. I would just add that the flurry following the Jan 8th Companies House posting was probably much ado about nothing and probably just a bogstandard procedural thing. I remain convinced that Cameron and Morrison, as joint owners of the car park lease and respective creditors to the extent of £410K and a secured (or maybe not as secured as he thought) £1.65M, are the two main players in this and the biggest potential obstacles.

Remember the Fluttering Guttering at Celtic Park 25 years ago this weekend? Looks like Celtic are having similar problems again this time. It was on 29th January 2000 that the Scottish Cup tie between Celtic and Caley Thistle was postponed due to structural problems at Celtic Park and a large contingent of Inverness fans had to come back down the A9 ten days later…. to witness history. Because I had a press pass for the game, I actually got into the ground and had pre-match access to the pitch along with various club luminaries of the day such as Pele, Jimmy Falconer and David Sutherland at a time when the Tulloch rescue was just getting underway. (I also had access to as many of the 20,000 surplus pies as I could take off their hands.😊) For reasons I won’t go into, the task of doing the Courier report fell to me… duly appearing on the back page under the massive headline PARADISE LOST. Then, then days later, Paradise was duly Regained.

Aye… best not to get too carried away.😊 When a team is second bottom, it’s difficult to catch large numbers of clubs since the points they are playing for have to go somewhere, although a preponderance of draws among them would help. But I digress. Avoiding relegation, preferably by not finishing in the bottom two, has to be the immediate priority and a 3-0 win away to the side you need to catch to do that is an absolutely superb outcome. OK… Cove and Arbroath were disappointing but there have been one heck of a lot of Saturdays since SK took over when it’s got to 5pm and I’ve said to myself “Well that’s an incredibly important result!”