Admin by Oct 16th - It's here now!

[Jack Waddington]

Hopefully Ross "Superpri...fan" Morrison does the right thing and cuts his losses, but rest assured he officially NEVER show his daft mug or tattoo at an ICT game for as long as he lives.

But if we do go under, and have to start in the North Caley, I desperately hope he, Cameron and Gardiner all qualify for an automatic banning order

[CaleyD]

10 minutes ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

Liquidation wouldn't remove the problem about ownership of the land surrounding the stadium.  (or is it ownership of the lease on that land?)

Or were you meaning start again in a different location?

Common Good Fund owns the land, what's being talked about with car parks and stadium is who holds the lease/s.

Should the club liquidate, it would for the Common Good Fund to negotiate/agree a lease with whomever was running a "new" club setup.

I don't personally believe the car park situation is any real issue. The club already has a sub tenancy on it, and I understand the terms of that are very favourable and allow the club to use them as they please (within relevant planning rules/restrictions etc.).  A prime example of that is the gym building that was put there!  Everyone has become focused on it because that's all that's been talked about for the last 6 months.

I'm not suggesting for a moment that liquidation should be taken lightly or that it wouldn't be without challenges, but it would provide the least complicated foundations to build from again.

[+snorbens_caleyman]

19 minutes ago, LisleRightPeg said:

My heart says ... Alan Savage will buy the club.

I think the BDO statement makes it pretty clear that he won't.

[CaleyD]

38 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

The shareholders lost the value of their investments (aka donations) a long time ago, some maybe just didn’t realise until now. The shares are effectively worthless as whatever value remains in the club and its assets is owed to the secured creditors.

No monetary value, but they certainly aren't worthless when it comes to control...and as we are witnessing...making the decision on who else may or may not hold that control going forward.

[+snorbens_caleyman]

7 minutes ago, CaleyD said:

Common Good Fund owns the land, what's being talked about with car parks and stadium is who holds the lease/s.

Should the club liquidate, it would for the Common Good Fund to negotiate/agree a lease with whomever was running a "new" club setup.

I may be being stupid here (so what's new?) but....  the lease on the land surrounding the stadium - not the land on which the stadium stands - is owned by a company that has no formal connection to the club.  In which case - unless there's something in that lease which cancels it if the club is liquidated - then surely the lease would continue as is?

Edited March 17 by snorbens_caleyman

[CaleyD]

4 minutes ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

I may be being stupid here (so what's new?) but....  the lease on the land surrounding the stadium - not the land on which the stadium stands - is owned by a company that has no formal connection to the club.  In which case - unless there's something in that lease which cancels it if the club is liquidated - then surely the lease would continue as is?

It would, yes....as would any sub lease the club has on the car parks.

Here's a question to ponder.  What's the monetary value in the car parks to those who currently hold the lease? Especially when the land use is tied to the stadium...i.e. primarily for the provision of parking to support stadium operations.

Then ask yourself why those who control the car parks would want to jeopardise the main income they get from it...no club, no sub lease, no income.

I have no doubt that Alan Savage is doing what he thinks is the right thing, just the same as David Cameron, Ross Morrison and anyone else involved in any way think they are doing the right thing.  The problem is, they don't all agree on what that right thing is, and we're all left trying to work it out based on very limited information and understanding of the politics at play.

[CaleyD]

1 hour ago, LisleRightPeg said:

Edit - I notice the club haven’t issued a statement on social media

BDO are the club at the moment.

[Scotty]

6 minutes ago, CaleyD said:

BDO are the club at the moment.

Club just sent out a notice for Alan Savage hosting a press conference at 3PM today. 

[big cherly]

On 3/9/2025 at 6:27 PM, big cherly said:

I don't know if there is enough willingness between the main players to look for a route that allows the Admin process to make substantive progress anytime soon. All we can hope is these people see the football side are meeting their part of the equation by almost certainly avoiding relegation. And with that spur the big hitters at the table make the effort to reach a settlement they all can sign up to.

I posted the above a week back hoping there was enough willingness between the main players to attempt to see a way forward to a settled position. 
Clearly the gap, egos and embitterment remains stubbornly as obstacles to any deal. I know Cameron has taken umbrage against Savage and wants him to ‘Sweat’. When you have this spiralling and deteriorating relationship its difficult to see a settlement anytime soon. 
I think we have entered the ‘who blinds first’ stage in a poker game with the club the at the heart of the ‘pot’ and the car parks the bargaining chips. 
All messy and a bit of serious brinkmanship on the go with people picking sides. 
Finish the season still in Admin? Maybe CaleyD can shed light on Administration options when faced with a deadlock, set a deadline (again) or go into liquidation?? 
bc

PS - I envisage Cameron, Sutherland and Morrison see BDO the mouthpiece of AS (handpicked and paid by) and hence kept at a distance! 

Edited March 17 by big cherly

[RednBlackComeback]

35 minutes ago, CaleyD said:

The problem is, they don't all agree on what that right thing is, and we're all left trying to work it out based on very limited information and understanding of the politics at play.

This seems to me to have been an issue at the club since day 1. A battle of too many egos, d#ck measuring contests, and wallet weighing competitions. Like toddlers fighting over a toy . . . . . and now they've finally broken the toy!

[CaleyD]

22 minutes ago, big cherly said:

Maybe CaleyD can shed light on Administration options when faced with a deadlock, set a deadline (again) or go into liquidation?? 

Administrator will continue to run the club so long as there's money there to do so and some hope that creditors will see some of what they are owed returned to them.

AS has said he will do that until the end of the season so, unless someone else steps in, that's pretty much the deadline before they'd pull the plug and start liquidating.

[Robert]

1 hour ago, CaleyD said:The club already has a sub tenancy on it, and I understand the terms of that are very favourable and allow the club to use them as they please (within relevant planning rules/restrictions etc.).  A prime example of that is the gym building that was put there!  Everyone has become focused on it because that's all that's been talked about for the last 6 months.

 

I will defer to CaleyD’s greater knowledge, but I’m sure it was said at one of the Fans Meetings that the owners of the car park lease can exercise a right to give the club six month’s notice on the use of the car parks.

[KennySim93]

1 hour ago, Scotty said:

Club just sent out a notice for Alan Savage hosting a press conference at 3PM today. 

Anyone know if this is being streamed or going to be available afterwards?

[tm4tj]

I'm assuming this statement from the club covers it???

Club Statement

 

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.

Read more in the link provided above

 

[CaleyD]

1 hour ago, Robert said:

I will defer to CaleyD’s greater knowledge, but I’m sure it was said at one of the Fans Meetings that the owners of the car park lease can exercise a right to give the club six month’s notice on the use of the car parks.

Even if such a clause did exist, the question remains....to what ends?

They pull the lease, and then what? Restrictions on use of the land prevent it being developed/used for other means, they'd effectively be cutting off their own income.

It should also be noted that Cameron and Morrison will be paying rent to the Common Good Fund. If they transfer the lease to the club then we have to pay that instead, so it doesn't wipe out the need to pay rent.

The current setup may be messier than needs be, but it's not a financial obstacle in the whole scheme of things.

[ymip]

Any news from the Alan Savage presser?

[tm4tj]

From P&J

Caley Thistle latest: Alan Savage says he’s ‘run out of money’ and calls on key figures in Inverness to save liquidation-threatened club

The Inverness consultant spoke to the media about the real threat of liquidation on same day administrators revealed no buyer for Caley Thistle has been found.

By Paul Chalk

March 17 2025, 5:21 pm

Caley Thistle consultant and former chairman Alan Savage at Monday's press conference.

Consultant Alan Savage has called on key figures in Inverness to save Caley Thistle – saying he has “run out of money” after it was revealed no buyer has been found for the liquidation-threatened football club.

A press conference hosted by Savage on Monday afternoon followed a shock morning statement from ICT’s joint administrators BDO.

In it, the administrators said Caley Thistle were “at significant risk” after last Thursday’s deadline for buyers passed without any offers to buy the club.

Former chairman Savage came to the ICT’s aid when debts of around £4 million forced them into administration last year, and has pumped a significant amount of his cash – around £1m – into Caley Jags to allow them to see out the season.

He vented his frustration no long-term takeover solution has been found, and made a plea to the Highland capital’s rich and powerful to help the city’s only full-time professional football club escape liquidation.

He said: “Needless to say, I’m disappointed no buyer came forward.

“To satisfy the SFA and SPFL rules, to operate this season will cost £1m all-in.”

In the same BDO statement, the administrators revealed Savage had agreed to fund 25 per cent of ICT’s purchase price to help achieve a sale, as well as 25 per cent of the funding requirements for the next two seasons after 2024/25.

Savage added: “The likelihood is we will need £1.8million to get through to the end of next season.

“That is on the basis we stay in League One as opposed to go down to League Two. We want to keep full-time football.

“I will have put in £1m, so I have done my shift – I need help. I’ve run out of money!

“I think a city the size of Inverness, with the businesses of Inverness, the Freeport, people have made a fortune out of Inverness doing various things… I can’t see why it is a problem to raise (the investment).

“If we got three people putting £300k in, I’d have put £1.3 million in by then.

“I’m not being unreasonable. The city should be able to support a football club and it is disappointing if it goes all the way to liquidation.”

Savage told the media on Monday afternoon they intend to get Caley Thistle’s major shareholders together this week “to find a solution” to the obstacles.

He said: “The administrators reached out to me, and I have offered to fund 25 per cent of the purchase price and the funding requirement on the basis that no buyer came forward.

“But I do need help on the 75 per cent balance

“It needs doing quickly. Allan Mackenzie (former vice chairman) has offered to pull together the major shareholders this week, as he did last August, to get something going and to find a solution to the 75 per cent shortfall we would have.

“Things need to be done quickly to retain the football licenses with the SFA and SPFL, and to retain the squad for next season, to keep the football and commercial momentum going, and to avoid liquidation.

“I need help but that’s where we are at, at this point in time.

“I’m disappointed no buyer came forward and we’re in this situation.

“We’ve been trying since pre-administration – the administrators have tried to fix the problems.

“There is a lot of noise about the club, as we all know. We are where we are.”

No ICTFC ‘unthinkable’ – Savage says, as crunch meeting day revealed

When asked when this meeting with key shareholders will be, Savage added: “We want to have the meeting before Thursday.

“We want to have everyone concerned involved – all the big stakeholders and shareholders to see if we can thrash something out.

“It would be criminal for the city of Inverness not to have a football club. It is unthinkable.”

Savage is keeping his fingers crossed that Thursday’s meeting will lead to a step forward.

He said: “I am worried and I have tried to help.

“I have tried to give the club breathing space all the way through to try and find a buyer.

“For whatever reasons, amid a lot of noise, people didn’t come forward.

“It was too complicated – you were not buying 100 per cent of the shares from one person. It was trying to corral people and say ‘you have to cease some of your shares to jump the first hurdle’.

“Once you jump that hurdle, you have got to go to the creditors and see whether they will accept whatever pay-out.

“If you have amongst those creditors someone owed £1.5m, then he will get the lion’s share of the pay-out.”

[+snorbens_caleyman]

45 minutes ago, tm4tj said:

“If you have amongst those creditors someone owed £1.5m, then he will get the lion’s share of the pay-out.”

And, sadly, it's not "If you have...", it's "Since we have..."

[big cherly]

I know the latest statement by BDO/AS is as stark as it can be given the negotiations appear to have come to a shuddering halt. 
There’s going to be an uncertainty hanging over the club until we get a settled resolution and outcome. The biggest immediate impact is of course on the players. It takes the wind out of there sails and must leave them a wondering about what the future holds. The statement today can only help the clubs we are directly fighting against relegation. Liquidation by ICT alone will almost certainly save any club finishing below that happen to end up in 9th place a safety line. 
bc 

[Scotty]

IF the club does go to the wall, then Alan Savage will be able to hold his head up high at his efforts. They are and will be appreciated.

The club has been a pissing contest for too many people over the years, including - it has to be said - AS first time around. However, he has absolutely stepped up to the plate since admin raised its head all those months ago and has been trying to drive things forward as far as we can see.

Egos and squabbles seem to have been the order of the day over the years with the average fan simply having to watch from the sidelines because we can't afford to be in this particular game. I really hope that something can be done, that some miracle can be worked, that some of this cold reality brings some people around. The idea of ICT not being around after 30 years is unthinkable for all of us. It is a community, a family, a link back to our hometown for many of us, and important to us all. If those who own the shares, and who profess to love ICT can get around a table then FFS, put those dam egos aside and get it done! The money in your wallet may have been real, but the longer this goes on, the more it resembles and is worth as much as, monopoly money. 

 

[tm4tj]

[Yngwie]

I was expecting Savage’s statement to be all about encouraging/pressuring certain parties to do what is required to allow a sale to proceed, ie remove the obstacles the Administrator’s statement referred to this morning. But there was none of that. It was all about seeking other people to put money in.

Does that mean he is giving up on Morrison reducing his demands? Or does that still need to happen to enable a sale and long term solution, and today’s plea was just to get funds pledged to keep us going in the meantime?

[Jack Waddington]

3 minutes ago, Yngwie said:

Does that mean he is giving up on Morrison reducing his demands? Or does that still need to happen to enable a sale and long term solution, and today’s plea was just to get funds pledged to keep us going in the meantime?

Morrison needs to just jog on and cut his losses. The reason why no sod has come in, despite all the interest is because of Gardiner's cockuppery, and "Superfan"'s land ownership being up in the aether.

Dunno how that muppet doesn't also clock that doing what he's doing is also going to likely lead to a lot of businesses in town shuttering.

The club provides a year round supply of supporters to those bars n resturaunts when the tourist season lulls over winter. They already had a kick in the gut after we went down in 2017, and last year's relegation was a kick in the teeth, but going out of business is both of those with a kick in the knackers as a bonus prize. They can't survive as they have done without us providing an away support. They can't leech off County cos they're miles away, and they can't leech off Clach cos the Highland League travelling support can usually be counted on two hands.

The club needs the city, and the city needs the club. Ross Morrison is doing a fine and dandy job at stealing the thunder off Jaki from Muir of Ord for "most despised business owner in the Inverness area"

[bishbashbosh]

1 hour ago, tm4tj said:

Q&A session added on

 

[bishbashbosh]

Paid 7.5K for longstaff hernia op with no Aron dorran issues. That was news to me. 
well done that man.