Battery Project - Chairman's Statement

[+DoofersDad]

1 hour ago, Jack Waddington said:

Think there's more fear and alarm at the clownncils incompetence. We all saw the outburst when Cllr MacPherson called the big dogs out on their previous failures elsewhere, and we all saw that not many of them did their job with the "kids sledge there" argument.

Just one of many, MANY, cockups that the Highland Clowncil have caused, and I can't imagine many will be best pleased with all the well documented drama that unravelled on the live stream.

Money burnt on a daft river circle, the Academy Street fiasco, the Longman and Inshes Roundabouts, the potholes, Invergordon Academy, the Ironworks, the list keeps piling and thats just the start of it.

Like the club, they need a shakedown from top to bottom, and weed out the muppets.

The problem with this shower of Councillors is that we, the people, put them there.  This is what happens in a democracy when more than half the people don't bother to vote and most of those that do, simply stick their cross against the names of people who are aligned to the voter's preferred political party.  We then go and vote for them again at the next election because we haven't clocked that these are the very people who voted for for all the things we thought were nonsense.  Councillors then claim they have had a resounding endorsement from the electorate.  The muppets are there because we don't take our democratic right to vote seriously enough.  

[lightlamp2]

24 minutes ago, DoofersDad said:

The problem with this shower of Councillors is that we, the people, put them there.  This is what happens in a democracy when more than half the people don't bother to vote and most of those that do, simply stick their cross against the names of people who are aligned to the voter's preferred political party.  We then go and vote for them again at the next election because we haven't clocked that these are the very people who voted for for all the things we thought were nonsense.  Councillors then claim they have had a resounding endorsement from the electorate.  The muppets are there because we don't take our democratic right to vote seriously enough.  

We get the politicians we deserve! As I always say

[ymip]

5 hours ago, Yngwie said:

Surprised we have had no statement but on the other hand I suspect any statement issued on the day of the decision would have been written with fury. They have probably been in discussions about an appeal. Hopefully we get a measured response very soon.

Given the binary nature of yesterday's vote surely two measured statements, addressing either scenario, should have been drafted in advance. To say nothing in the aftermath of such serious news just comes across as msssively unprofessional. Hopefully our CEO was otherwise engaged penning his long overdue letter of resignation.

[BobbyDazzler]

Has anyone started a go fund me page? I'm sure if Big Dunc got behind it people would gladly donate from far + wide 

[bdu98196]

25 minutes ago, BobbyDazzler said:

Has anyone started a go fund me page? I'm sure if Big Dunc got behind it people would gladly donate from far + wide 

Or use his contacts and profile to front a consortium or individual investor to take control

 

[bdu98196]

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the club and how this is approached, this is an example of the backwards nature of the council and how projects that serve their interest and vanity get prioritisation. Rejection of a battery farm proposal only will enhance the 'small minded heathens' profile that exists with respect to the Highlanders.

Net zero, green transition and therefore battery storage is coming and on that basis full expectation of Scottish Government approval is expected setting the precedent that not just this one but several will be built locally. With BS facilities being granted approval throughout Scotland, most of the justifications for rejection will be dismissed as inconsequential and others just pushed to develop startegic solutions. Wont be long before every town/city has BS facilities whether the HC like that or not.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Am I being overly optimistic but surely there must be a back up plan in the event of what has actually happened. I would also suggest that the "investors" have much to lose - reputation and financially wise. ICT is a mere clever but emotionally utilised 'side issue' but perhaps now highly beneficial that WE are cemented in the headlights and headlines. But I still blame the eejits, not in respect of the 'plan' which was evidently built on personal gain, but rather how they executed it.

[Ronaldo]

All very sad. It pains me when reflecting on all of this that your football club should be the ticking heartbeat of your local community. In my opinion, our club is not viewed in this way, regardless of yesterday's decision. 

[Yngwie]

You are right with that, and in some respects the club certainly hasn't helped itself there.

Something that has been said many times over the years though and which sprung to mind again yesterday, is that the city doesn’t deserve the team.

[ictchris]

One question I have is who owns our club?  Scott Gardiner is the CEO, Ross Morrison is the chairman but who controls the club?  

Basically, we are able to carry on operating as a full time club because directors and benefactors write off debt or loan us money on favourable terms.  Who are the directors who are doing this, have they said they'll stop doing it? 

Since we've been relegated David Sutherland and Tulloch's seem to have stepped back from the day-to-day running of the club but they still own the club.  Sutherland is involved in the battery farm deal from what I understand.  

[hislopsoffsideagain]

4 minutes ago, ictchris said:

One question I have is who owns our club?  Scott Gardiner is the CEO, Ross Morrison is the chairman but who controls the club?  

Basically, we are able to carry on operating as a full time club because directors and benefactors write off debt or loan us money on favourable terms.  Who are the directors who are doing this, have they said they'll stop doing it? 

Since we've been relegated David Sutherland and Tulloch's seem to have stepped back from the day-to-day running of the club but they still own the club.  Sutherland is involved in the battery farm deal from what I understand.  

 

From the last info available on Companies House, I believe these are the people/groups with 50,000 shares or more:

	No. shares
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Trust Limited	729500
Caledonian Football Club	600000
Graham Rae	382400		Former Chairman (Muirfield Mills)
Inverness Thistle Football Club	300000
Orion Engineering Services Limited	275189		(Alan Savage - Former Director)
Dugald McGilvray	275167		Former Chairman
Iain McGilvray	191816
Orion Group UK Limited	191317		(Alan Savage - Former Director)
David Cameron	175000		Director
Roderick Ross	170000		Club President
Richard Hillier	164900		(Muirfield Mills)
Russell Cameron	102150		(Muirfield Mills)
Dornoch Developments Ltd	100000		(Directors include Caroline Clayton, George Fraser, David Sutherland)
Paul MacInnes	89150		(Muirfield Mills)
Alan McPhee	77150		Former Director (Muirfield Mills)
Emeric Innes	57750		(Muirfield Mills)
George Fraser	51600		Former Director
David Sutherland	50250		Former Director
Gordon Allan Munro	50000		Director
Caroline Clayton	50000
Anne Sutherland	50000
Catriona Ramsay	50000

[ictchris]

The Inverness Caledonian Thistle Trust Limited shares - who controls that?  I assume it is the Trust that was set up when Sutherland was chairman in the early 2000s, do they have a board?  As for the old Caledonian and Inverness Thistle shareholdings, again, who controls that?  My memory is that these shares reflected the membership of the pre-merger clubs.  

Companies house listing for the Trust Ltd - https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC211723/officers

 

Edited March 15 by ictchris

[hislopsoffsideagain]

10 minutes ago, ictchris said:

The Inverness Caledonian Thistle Trust Limited shares - who controls that?  I assume it is the Trust that was set up when Sutherland was chairman in the early 2000s, do they have a board?  As for the old Caledonian and Inverness Thistle shareholdings, again, who controls that?  My memory is that these shares reflected the membership of the pre-merger clubs.  

Companies house listing for the Trust Ltd - https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC211723/officers

 

I was wondering the same thing.

[ictbob]

Very sad times for the city. Looking into this it seems personal to some councillors. I live close to the site and trust me it a dumping ground for dogs to empty there guts. For the council to say its utilised by kids and dog walkers then they need to visit the site as there's no official entrance to the land. As for fire risk of course there's risk there's a risk to allowing asda to build a petrol station in a residential area and next to a school. Most houses in the area have gas thats a risk but its all about management. If the rules are followed the risk should be no more than any of the above. As for the green space the whole area was green space. Most recently they didn't have a problem extending the gaelic school onto green land used for dog walking and picnicking area. The land where shakes and cakes is got planning no problem as is the land at the roundabout next to asda and fairway. My personal opinion is the council are not interested in projects like this in the area. Building new houses generates council tax. The building contractor is then made to subsidise new schools, Road and other essential services in the area. The west link has to be justified some how.

[Charles Bannerman]

3 hours ago, IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER said:

Am I being overly optimistic but surely there must be a back up plan in the event of what has actually happened. I would also suggest that the "investors" have much to lose - reputation and financially wise. ICT is a mere clever but emotionally utilised 'side issue' but perhaps now highly beneficial that WE are cemented in the headlights and headlines. But I still blame the eejits, not in respect of the 'plan' which was evidently built on personal gain, but rather how they executed it.

Unfortunately, in many respects this IS the backup plan…. after the collapse of the Concert Company.

Edited March 15 by Charles Bannerman

[jed5697]

[highlandexile]

1 hour ago, ictchris said:

 As for the old Caledonian and Inverness Thistle shareholdings, again, who controls that?  My memory is that these shares reflected the membership of the pre-merger 

 

From memory, these shares are classed as category A shares which do not have the right to vote like ordinary shares do.  However, instead these shares came with a fixed 10% voting right which is currently  held by the supporters trust.

[Charles Bannerman]

2 hours ago, hislopsoffsideagain said:

 

From the last info available on Companies House, I believe these are the people/groups with 50,000 shares or more:

	No. shares
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Trust Limited	729500
Caledonian Football Club	600000
Graham Rae	382400		Former Chairman (Muirfield Mills)
Inverness Thistle Football Club	300000
Orion Engineering Services Limited	275189		(Alan Savage - Former Director)
Dugald McGilvray	275167		Former Chairman
Iain McGilvray	191816
Orion Group UK Limited	191317		(Alan Savage - Former Director)
David Cameron	175000		Director
Roderick Ross	170000		Club President
Richard Hillier	164900		(Muirfield Mills)
Russell Cameron	102150		(Muirfield Mills)
Dornoch Developments Ltd	100000		(Directors include Caroline Clayton, George Fraser, David Sutherland)
Paul MacInnes	89150		(Muirfield Mills)
Alan McPhee	77150		Former Director (Muirfield Mills)
Emeric Innes	57750		(Muirfield Mills)
George Fraser	51600		Former Director
David Sutherland	50250		Former Director
Gordon Allan Munro	50000		Director
Caroline Clayton	50000
Anne Sutherland	50000
Catriona Ramsay	50000

Thanks for doing that very interesting leg work at Companies House, hislop.

It’s also possible to group the holdings you list into the various “interest groups” that have been involved with the club over the last 25 years or so. I believe the still quite fragmented breakdown is as follows -

David Sutherland, family and Dornoch Investments - 300,250.

McGilvray Family - 466,983. (Includes some more of what Sandy Catto donated to the Hospice and which I believe Sandy originally bought from Ian Fraser who invested over £300K in the 1996 share issue)

Alan Savage/Orion - 466,506 (See note above)

Muirfield Mills - 873,500 (I believe that at least one other MM investment of less than £50K would take this above 900,000.)

ICT Charitable Trust - 729,500. This is Tulloch’s holding which was donated to the Trust.

The Thistle FC and the Caledonian FC blocks are “A” shares while the others are ordinary shares. I’m not sure what the voting arrangements are there or, if they have voting rights, who would exercise these. EDIT - while I was writing, Highland Exile made a post that reminded me of the A share arrangement. Thanks HE!)
Note that David Cameron, Roddy Ross and Gordon Munro also have £50K+ Ordinary holdings and will also doubtless have internal political alignments.

Many of these shares were bought to keep the wolf from the door - most notably the large Muirfield Mills conglomerate which is money that’s long gone covering losses. I’m also not sure how much is outstanding in loans that may have been made, but with no shares in return, and are still outstanding.

Edited March 15 by Charles Bannerman

[hislopsoffsideagain]

57 minutes ago, Charles Bannerman said:

Thanks for doing that very interesting leg work at Companies House, hislop.

It’s also possible to group the holdings you list into the various “interest groups” that have been involved with the club over the last 25 years or so. I believe the still quite fragmented breakdown is as follows -

David Sutherland, family and Dornoch Investments - 300,250.

McGilvray Family - 466,983. (Includes some more of what Sandy Catto donated to the Hospice and which I believe Sandy originally bought from Ian Fraser who invested over £300K in the 1996 share issue)

Alan Savage/Orion - 466,506 (See note above)

Muirfield Mills - 873,500 (I believe that at least one other MM investment of less than £50K would take this above 900,000.)

ICT Charitable Trust - 729,500. This is Tulloch’s holding which was donated to the Trust.

The Thistle FC and the Caledonian FC blocks are “A” shares while the others are ordinary shares. I’m not sure what the voting arrangements are there or, if they have voting rights, who would exercise these. EDIT - while I was writing, Highland Exile made a post that reminded me of the A share arrangement. Thanks HE!)
Note that David Cameron, Roddy Ross and Gordon Munro also have £50K+ Ordinary holdings and will also doubtless have internal political alignments.

Many of these shares were bought to keep the wolf from the door - most notably the large Muirfield Mills conglomerate which is money that’s long gone covering losses. I’m also not sure how much is outstanding in loans that may have been made, but with no shares in return, and are still outstanding.

So the folk who actually own a significant chunk of the club are the same old names from the good old days - Sutherland, McGilvray, Savage, the Muirfield Mills folk. Should they be either sticking their heads above the parapet or forcing change behind the scenes, before it all goes completely to hell?

[Super Caley Man 94]

 

On 3/14/2024 at 12:46 PM, STFU said:

I think the right decision was made, but it saddens me that it carries with it such dire consequences for ICTFC.

We need to keep in mind that it is not the Highland Council that put ICTFC into the financial position it finds itself, and it would be a dereliction of duty for the planning to have been passed on that basis.

It's time that our CEO, Chairman and Board showed some accountability instead of resorting to the victim mentality we've been subjected to from them the last few years.

They chose to continue spending beyond the clubs means to chase promotion back the Premier League, have failed to achieve that, and have pinned our future on a series of failed initiatives.

Enough is enough.

Not many fans are disputing that the board have messed up financially chasing a return to the Premiership. But to say that was the "right decision" yesterday is a load of crap. The club had the application accepted under legal circumstances then the Highland Council took it away from the club cause they didn't like the outcome. No legit reason to refuse the applications. The club has been shafted & if you're siding with the council & still calling yourself a "fan" then you need to give your head a shake. Wether you love, like, or hate the board this absolutely stinks. 

 

23 hours ago, STFU said:

This idea that everyone should support the club at all costs is the kind of knuckle dragging mentality mostly exhibited by fans of the OF.

A lot of fans backing the club on this have been very vocal about the board & how they are running the club but majority of us can see that this was actually a great idea for once to generate income.

 

23 hours ago, STFU said:

Being overdeveloped is even more reason to protect the green space, is it not?

We live in the Highlands there's loads of green space! It's filled with dog crap & long grass it's hardly worth protecting. The battery farm would've been so much more useful & beneficial then a few acres of long grass. 

Majority of the green space would've remained anyway you can still walk your dog etc. Plenty of places people could've went to get their nature fix if the battery farm put them off that much 

Edited March 15 by Super Caley Man 94

[tm4tj]

As a floorshow, here's the Duncan MacPherson v Convener bitchfest...

A heated exchange took place in a Highland Council meeting today.

During the debate of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club’s application for a battery storage facility Councillor Duncan Macpherson was told that he would perhaps be thrown out of the chamber by Highland… pic.twitter.com/l9jCcrzj78

— Inverness Courier (@InvCourier) March 14, 2024

[RednBlackComeback]

58 minutes ago, tm4tj said:

As a floorshow, here's the Duncan MacPherson v Convener bitchfest...

... they said that the previous meeting (when the application was approved) wasn't a good look for the council !!! This meeting couldn't have looked/sounded any worse!

What a shower !

[ICT Supporters Trust]

The Chairman has issued a statement just now following yesterday's decision:

https://ictfc.com/club-statement-19/

At this critical time, it is more important than ever that the voices of fans are heard and listened to.

If you are not already a member, the best way to do this is to join the Supporters Trust. Joining is easy on this link:

https://www.ictsupporterstrust.org/join-us

As we advised yesterday, the Trust is seeking an urgent meeting with the club, and we welcome the views of all our members on the challenges the club is facing and the actions it should now be taking.

We are grateful to all our members for their continued support.

[Charles Bannerman]

1 hour ago, hislopsoffsideagain said:

So the folk who actually own a significant chunk of the club are the same old names from the good old days - Sutherland, McGilvray, Savage, the Muirfield Mills folk. Should they be either sticking their heads above the parapet or forcing change behind the scenes, before it all goes completely to hell?

I think what the breakdown shows is that the ownership of the club is extremely diffuse, with no single group holding an especially large holding. The biggest is clearly the Muirfield Mills syndicate where a block of around half a dozen people own around 900K shares but even that is less than 20%, with the Trust block coming in at less than 15% and the Savage, McGilvray and Sutherland holdings all less than 10%. I’m also not sure what the personal relations are like among these biggest players. It’s also worth noting that those involved are almost all over 70 years old and may not be in a position or have the inclination to do much.

[Douglas Mackenzie]

Highland Council were happy for five of them (Councillors) to make a decision on this one,until three of the five voted in 'favour' and went off script. This was deemed a bad look. Then they scrambled about,broke a few rules and arranged the vote to go to the full Council. At this meeting we have the laughing show piece of Councillor MacPherson versus the Convener,three Councilors abstain,six cannot take part because of their interests ,or what they previously said or discussed on the issue,23 voted for and 30 against and this is deemed a good look. They are a laughing stock and it shows us all that when you put a group of unqualified people in a room and ask them to make key decisions on our future and that of the community,anything can happen. This is a classic example of you get what you voted for. Just a pit more people would not show an interest in local elections and vote for people that can do the job.

In this case we have an area of 2% of the land available,which I understand is waste ground that could be turned into something thatwould generate income for ITC,but as important all the community work they do.In fact it would allow them to enhance all that and better serve the community at large in many ways. Unfortunately I guess politics came into play and blinded the views of some of these Councillors who were unable to open their eyes to the bigger picture.

As for the club,  credit where it is due for pursuing this idea, just a pity that they had to come up against the great and good of HIghland Council.