Inverness in desperate race to avoid liquidation as problems scare off potential buyers

Inverness Caley Thistle consultant Alan Savage admits the club faces a desperate race against time to avoid liquidation this summer.

That stark warning came after yesterday’s announcement by joint administrators BDO that the 2015 Scottish Cup winners had failed to find a buyer by the March 6 deadline.

Savage, who held an impromptu press call in the Caley Thistle boardroom at 3pm, made it clear that the club could cease to exist unless key players in the administration saga agree to untangle issues currently blocking sale of the club.

He is trying to arrange an emergency meeting of all major shareholders by Thursday next week to thrash out a solution. 

Complex issues are said to have frightened off interested purchasers — including directors’ loan debt topping £3million, difficulty in a new owner gaining boardroom control through majority shareholding, and a tangle of confusion over land ownership around the Caledonian Stadium.

Savage, by the end of May, will have pumped in £1m of his own cash into keeping the club afloat since administration struck in October.

Consultant Alan Savage says he is running out of money to keep the Highland club afloat

But he stressed the bleak picture he was painting was no bluff, saying: ‘I need help. I’m running out of money (to support the club).’

Interested parties, including one major US investor, had been put off by those three major sticking points.

If no one else could be found to take control of the club, Savage made it clear the club faced liquidation come late May when he would be forced to walk away.

Admitting he was ‘worried’, Savage said: ‘I’m disappointed no buyer came forward. To satisfy the SFA and SPFL rules, to operate this season will cost £1m all-in.

‘The administrators reached out to me, and I have offered to fund 25 per cent of the purchase price and the funding requirement, but I do need help on the 75 per cent balance.

‘Things need to be done quickly to retain the football licences 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.’

Confirming that he wanted the meeting — which would be unprecedented in Caley Thistle’s history — ‘before Thursday’, Savage stressed: ‘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.

‘I am worried (the club might cease to exist) 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. I am funding the club until the end of the season. Nothing will happen in that period.

‘To keep the squad together is one of the most important things. We need to find out the way forward and the solution.’

Savage has been critical in the past of two key players, ex-chairman Ross Morrison and past director David Cameron. He has said they previously gave verbal assurances they would help on the three major sticking points.

Savage added: ‘Most people realise the position the club is in and I would have thought people would have been very, very helpful, as opposed to taking some of the stances they have taken.

‘I can’t see the reason for it, but maybe I have a different mindset to those people.

‘The likelihood is we will need £1.8m to get through to the end of next season.

Scott Kellachar’s team have been in a relegation battle since the club went into administration

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

‘I’d be incredulous if a city the size of Inverness can’t support a football team. With the businesses of Inverness, the Freeport, people have made a fortune out of Inverness.

‘I can’t see why it is a problem to raise (the investment). I’m not being unreasonable. The city should be able to support a football club and it is disappointing if it goes to liquidation.’

Administrators BDO have written to a number of major shareholders asking whether they would be prepared to hand back their shares at no cost to the club or any purchaser.

In a statement, BDO indicated that some of the shareholders had now agreed to hand back those shares.

The statement said: ‘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, March 6 2025.

‘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).

‘(But) a sale does not appear to be achievable in the absence of new parties coming forward, and the future of the club is now at risk.’