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

[ictchris]

Another amazing meeting, which we seem to have had many of recently.

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/sport/football/inverness-caledonian-thistle/6716456/transformational-ict-shareholders-summit-lessens-liquidation-fear/

 

[+snorbens_caleyman]

20 minutes ago, CaleyD said:

If such a person existed, how might they go about making the above happen?

They'd start about 2 or 3 years ago 

Seriously, though, it's an intriguing idea.  

Especially if that person was of an age where they might be considering what sort of legacy they would eventually like to leave.  Although they might equally be thinking "Sod it!  I'm out of here.".

[+Stu160284]

Anyone able to extract what the article says

[Scotty]

Quote

ICT FC Press Statement  -  Thursday, 19th March, 2025

 

Issued by Allan Mackenzie (former vice Chairman and adviser) following a meeting held earlier today with key Shareholders.

 

Meeting attendees – Allan Mackenzie (Chairman), David Cameron, Ross Morrison, Allan Munro, David Sutherland, Graham Rae, Roddy Ross, Alan Savage, Graeme Bennett and George Moodie (representing the Supporters Trust). Craig Maclean (Minutes).

 

(Apologies were intimated from Dougie McGilvray (Weldex) and Richard Smith (ICT Trust).

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Following the Statement issued on Monday 17th March, 2025, by BDO, the Joint Administrators (JAs) of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC, (ICT), I offered to convene a meeting of the key shareholders of ICT to try to explore the possibility of finding a fast and meaningful way forward, to addressing the key 3 issues identified by BDO as currently inhibiting their drive to procure a sale of the club to a new Buyer.

 

I was delighted by the attendance at the meeting and thank all attendees for coming with a positive intent to look for solutions, geared to an aim of wanting to do their very best for the club to ensure its survival.

 

The 3 key uses from the BDO statement have been identified as

 

(1) Loans

 

(2) Shares and

 

(3) Land. (surrounding the Stadium).

 

 

I am pleased to report, that after long, commercially focused and collaborative debate, all parties agreed to sensible proposals to address all 3 matters, subject, of course, to getting appropriate assurances from BDO on each matter.

 

For my part, I undertook to engage with BDO, as a matter of urgency, to ask that they capitalise on this tremendous goodwill and to assiduously advance the Administration with a view to securing a successful CVA, securing a buyer and exiting the process by the end of the current season.

 

BDO should now have a very much better “sales pitch” for the people who have expressed interest in buying the club and, needless to say, the parties today and the staff at the Club will use best endeavours to assist them in that enterprise.

 

Much needs to be done in a very short space of time, but I am now very much more optimistic that this exercise, which has been necessary, albeit painful for all, can advance to an early conclusion.

 

We owe it to the loyal and dedicated staff at the club and to Scott Kellacher and the team, (all of whom have done their best from their perspective) to demonstrate the same commitment and focus.

 

Inevitably in a commercial deal, such as this, there will follow a period of “purdah” whilst detailed negotiations take place. Please do not treat this as stasis. Rest assured everyone is working diligently to secure the positive outcome mentioned above and as soon as is possible, a further update(s) will be issued publicly.

 

Meantime, thank you all for your patience and commitment to the ICT cause.

 

See you on Saturday!

 

 

Allan Mackenzie

Inverness.

19.III.25

 

[Scotty]

12 minutes ago, Stu160284 said:

Anyone able to extract what the article says

https://archive.ph/UjiYT

[hislopsoffsideagain]

Managing to get all those folk around the same table without any blood being spilled is an achievement in itself.

[DWH]

We can but pray for a positive outcome......................

[Charles Bannerman]

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.

[Satan]

1 hour ago, hislopsoffsideagain said:

Managing to get all those folk around the same table without any blood being spilled is an achievement in itself.

Getting all the bigwigs together at the same table,  revolutionary concept!!

Why wasn't this done last year?

(Did BDO not think of this??)

Edited March 19 by Satan

[+TheCaleyOne]

https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/i-m-so-hopeful-alan-savage-ready-to-launch-1-2-million-377436/

[big cherly]

35 minutes ago, Satan said:

Getting all the bigwigs together at the same table,  revolutionary concept!!

Why wasn't this done last year?

(Did BDO not think of this??)

I for one was pleased BDO were not present. Maybe some progress can be made now. BDO have more than made a healthy return for their overseeing the Administration to date, so maybe they feel things can move forward quicker.
bc

Edited March 19 by big cherly

[Satan]

10 minutes ago, big cherly said:

I for one was pleased BDO were not present. Maybe some progress can be made now. BDO have more than made a healthy return for their overseeing the Administration to date, so maybe they feel things can move forward quicker.
bc

I was thinking with their exorbitant fees, they might have got this addressed at an earlier point in the proceedings,  rather than wait until we are washing our dirty linen in public (again) and an ex-chairman does it for them.

I mean they have been 'running' the club have they not?

[CaleyD]

Need to keep in mind that the administrator is there to get the best possible outcome for the creditors, which effectively "on the side" of everyone due money.  This means they have to be cautious about how they deal with writing off debts, and why their statement made it very clear they were asking people to fulfil previous intimated intentions to do so.

In relation to the car parks, they are not part of the club, so not part of what they are dealing with. Whilst it may improve the value of the club, they aren't going to get involved in any of those talks directly.  That would be akin to a scenario where you're selling your house but the buyers want the neighbours garden, so the estate agent starts putting pressure on them to just hand it over so they can get a deal done.

As uncomfortable/upsetting as it is, the club have no legal claim on the carparks beyond any existing lease with Ross Morrison and David Cameron.

In short, it's not within the administrators duty, and would possibly breach their obligations, to have hosted or attended this kind of meeting.

Edited March 19 by CaleyD

[CaleyD]

3 hours ago, Satan said:

Getting all the bigwigs together at the same table,  revolutionary concept!!

Why wasn't this done last year?

(Did BDO not think of this??)

This happened in August last year. My take on it from the info available is that agreement was reached to write off debts/exchange them for shares.

What then seems to have happened is that disagreement arose over the car parks, people were getting slated in the press etc. and the whole thing quickly fell apart.

In that regard we seem to be right back where we were then, but 15 points worse off and facing a huge invoice from BDO.

Hopefully the outcome is different this time!

[ICT Supporters Trust]

The Supporters Trust has e-mailed members tonight about this week's events.

The content of the e-mail is also on our website, and you can read it here:

Supporters Trust: Administration Update

[Starscape]

[Huisdean]

20 hours ago, Satan said:

I was thinking with their exorbitant fees, they might have got this addressed at an earlier point in the proceedings,  rather than wait until we are washing our dirty linen in public (again) and an ex-chairman does it for them.

I mean they have been 'running' the club have they not?

Totally agree,  surely this was one of the first things that should have been done and might have generated more goodwill sooner.

[CaleyTennis85]

On 3/19/2025 at 6:46 PM, TheCaleyOne said:

https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/i-m-so-hopeful-alan-savage-ready-to-launch-1-2-million-377436/

I know I've banged on about needing a "sugar daddy" in the past, maybe not so much so now because we seem to be doing ok without one! But I am 100% in favour of Alan Savage being part of "A Highland Consortium" that takes control of the club because, firstly they'll have the club at heart and won't ruin it like certain previous chairmen and a crook of a CEO did! And importantly, it means that we can continue going down the road on terms of transfers, as we have in the past where we don't pay fees for players and instead look at the free agent and loan market. We've discovered in the past that there ARE good players available even on loan or pre contract agreements so tbh I don't see the reason to change that if it's served us well in the past .

Again, I know I've said it previously that we could work on the 8-8-8 formula that Charlie Christie seems keen on so when have I become more balanced in my posts and even had a go at my own previous comments .  

I think its because I'm getting older maybe .

[Scotty]

12 hours ago, CaleyTennis85 said:

I know I've banged on about needing a "sugar daddy" in the past, maybe not so much so now because we seem to be doing ok without one!

We are holding on by the skin of our teeth because Alan Savage has (rapidly emptying) deep pockets, as have other potential members of that consortium.  If we assume it would be made up of some combination of the 10 people who were around that table and the couple that were not, then all of these people have put money into the club at one point or another, but I don't think any of them are so wealthy that the taps would never run dry.

Many of them have led the board successfully, but in my personal opinion, two of them expedited the mess we got into over the last 6 or 7 years either by direct action, or, just as culpable, by inaction. There are also so many well publicised inter-personal choke points in the relationships of these people that a successful structure seems nigh on impossible. IF we could get all of these people to agree and to partake in the rebirth and rebuild of ICT then we could indeed be very positive, but for me, for now, I will take it one step at a time hoping that we get back to a scenario where financial responsibility and sustainability were the watchwords and ethos of the club. 

As for the structure of the team, I will trust in Kells and the backroom team to put the best team we can afford on the park. It may not be exactly what we want in one way or another, and you will never please everyone, but that's for the football management team to worry about. If its a team full of local boys coming up through the ranks of the academy then that's great, but if it involves some loanees or some veteran journeymen then that too has its benefits. How many points have Alfie Bavidge goals won us since he came in for example?  The best teams have a combination of all types and source of players. 8-8-8 may be the aim, but if its 6-10-8 or 7-7-10 or something like that, I am not going to lose sleep over it. The more important thing is that we pull together, re-establish our identity, and don't lose focus. Our best days as a club came when we had that identity, ethos and mindset.       

 

   

[IcyT]

Well done, Allan Mackenzie!  And, to be fair, all parties in attending. 

"Purdah", "stasis" - colourful stuff.  

It is crazy, though, that the administrators have not managed to do anything similar in the whole period of their appointment.  But then what incentive, when Alan Savage has been providing constant cash to pay their bills...

[+snorbens_caleyman]

4 hours ago, IcyT said:

It is crazy, though, that the administrators have not managed to do anything similar in the whole period of their appointment.  But then what incentive

The incentive would have been to show that they could achieve a quick result. Which would be good for attracting future business of this type, which, I fear, will be inevitable. I think they would have preferred this.

I believe that what we have witnessed is what you find in any negotiation. People holding out as long as possible to see what they can get out of it.  Not folding before "the last minute" - the first "deadline" is never the last one.  Call it brinkmanship, or chicken, or just plain stubbornness.

Not until they believe that they are staring down the barrel of a gun will they concede.  In this case it was the fact that there were no offers that was the catalyst for action.

[Council Juice]

On 3/21/2025 at 9:53 AM, snorbens_caleyman said:

The incentive would have been to show that they could achieve a quick result. Which would be good for attracting future business of this type, which, I fear, will be inevitable. I think they would have preferred this.

I believe that what we have witnessed is what you find in any negotiation. People holding out as long as possible to see what they can get out of it.  Not folding before "the last minute" - the first "deadline" is never the last one.  Call it brinkmanship, or chicken, or just plain stubbornness.

Not until they believe that they are staring down the barrel of a gun will they concede.  In this case it was the fact that there were no offers that was the catalyst for action.

Yeah it's weird how at one point it seemed like there were a bunch of prospective owners and things were going well to then a long period of silence. No preferred buyer and then the statement from BDO on the 17th stressing that liquidation was a real risk.

Is the fog finally clearing and we can find our way forward. Fingers crossed but still cautiously optimistic at best for now.

[Scotty]

11 hours ago, Council Juice said:

Yeah it's weird how at one point it seemed like there were a bunch of prospective owners and things were going well to then a long period of silence. No preferred buyer and then the statement from BDO on the 17th stressing that liquidation was a real risk.

Is the fog finally clearing and we can find our way forward. Fingers crossed but still cautiously optimistic at best for now.

I am going to say they might have fallen into two camps ...

• The 'Makwana' camp where the idea/ambition of owning a football club was larger than the capability or bank balance to actually do so and rejected by BDO as a non-starter.
   
• The Realistic camp who may have had the funds but pulled back when they saw what a cluster**** our situation was. Former directors owed large sums, fractured shareholder base with many small and large shareholdings, loans with security needing to be paid back, questions over land access or ownership of leases. Many people would just pass (very) quickly by at that point. 

That leaves us with where we are now ... no external buyers or billionaire rescuers, but a potential consortium of local people who have all done things for ICT over the last 30 years. We (or they) can have a pissing contest to see who did it best, and we will all come up with different answers. Alternatively, we can hope that for once, all (or most) of these people will work for the good of ICT to get us back on an even keel. I would love to see Sutherland, Savage and Mcgillivary put their varying business experiences together for ICT. One drove our formation, another instilled financial stability and fiscal responsibility, and the third brought some flair first time around and without doubt prevented us from already being out of existence more recently. 

... as they say, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" and that seems to fit well here. 

 

[big cherly]

14 minutes ago, Scotty said:

I am going to say they might have fallen into two camps ...

• The 'Makwana' camp where the idea/ambition of owning a football club was larger than the capability or bank balance to actually do so and rejected by BDO as a non-starter.
   
• The Realistic camp who may have had the funds but pulled back when they saw what a cluster**** our situation was. Former directors owed large sums, fractured shareholder base with many small and alrge shareholdings, loans with security needing to be paid back, questions over land access or ownership of leases. Many people would just pass (very) quickly by at that point. 

That leaves us with where we are now ... no external buyers or billionaire rescuers, but a potential consortium of local people who have all done things for ICT over the last 30 years. We (or they) can have a pissing contest to see who did it best, and we will all come up with different answers. Alternatively, we can hope that for once, all (or most) of these people will work for the good of ICT to get us back on an even keel. I would love to see Sutherland, Savage and Mcgillivary put their varying business experiences together for ICT. One drove our formation, another instilled financial stability and fiscal responsibility, and the third brought some flair first time around and without doubt prevented us from already being out of existence more recently. 

... as they say, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" and that seems to fit well here. 

 

Spot on Scotty! I was hesitant about expressing an opinion as last week as I was just pleased we had some positive indication the club could avoid going into liquidation and retain the Scottish league licence. It was also revealing as it was despairing that the same old egos emerging as pack that will unite as the new ‘saviours’ of the club going forward. 
I’m hoping for the best and a new (completely different operating governance) structure is in place and not a retread of the past. The devil is always in the details however, and ‘old dogs and new tricks’ is a well used phrase, let’s see if there is a chairman, CEO and board group that can work together with the club’s interest above any personal leaning. Only time will tell!! 
My preference (that others had earlier muted), was for a completely new outside individual or group to take ownership and work with AS for a period until they could take full control of the reins. 
A birdy mentioned that a Canadian party was one of the interested parties . Know anything? 
bc

[Scotty]

2 hours ago, big cherly said:

I’m hoping for the best and a new (completely different operating governance) structure is in place and not a retread of the past.

The devil is always in the details however,

Two key points for me also. Whatever we do, we need to live within our means or develop revenue streams to increase those means. It was not ideal when we had to have a cup run each year to make the books balance, but that was a hell of a lot better than recent past. 

 

2 hours ago, big cherly said:

A birdy mentioned that a Canadian party was one of the interested parties . Know anything? 
bc

Can't think of anyone well-known off the top of my head. I know one of the MLS teams was interested in investing in 2019, but that ship has sailed, and they not only have new ownership structure in terms of shareholders but also all new backroom team in place including team president. One of the others (Vancouver) is up for sale right now and may end up moving or being bought out locally and the other has an Uncle Roy type figure running the show but I can't see it being him.  Other teams outside of MLS (eg. CPL or USL) would not have the finances as far as I would be aware. Ryan Reynolds of course is Canadian, but I think he is busy with Wrexham and Deadpool movies.  Having said that, there are plenty of other rich Canadians floating around. Unfortunately, I am not one of them