- League One team saddled with more than £3 million in debt
- The consortium has made a renewed attempt to avoid insolvency
- Duncan Ferguson’s team now receives a deduction of 15 points
Inverness Caledonian Thistle will enter administration next week after a six-man consortium failed in a last-ditch attempt to save the Inverness club.
The League One team, which is saddled with more than £3 million in debt, expects to appoint administrators on Monday or Tuesday.
Earlier yesterday, local businessman Don Lawson had revealed that the consortium – including Cullen businessman David Anderson, with support from the likes of former chairman Ross Morrison and ex-directors Allan Munro and David Cameron – would make a renewed attempt to avoid insolvency.
It was also stated that the joint offer involved shareholders who already owned more than 50 percent of the shares in the club.
However, it fell apart just a matter of hours later when those involved admitted that their proposal was unworkable.
The Highlanders have been a fixture in Scottish football for thirty years
Manager Duncan Ferguson (left) has admitted it has been a challenging time for everyone at the club. Gordon Ritchie (right) was part of the consortium that made a last-ditch effort to save the club
That means the 30-year-old club, former Scottish Cup winners and Europa League qualifiers, will now suffer the biggest blow since its founding.
Their fall from grace was confirmed in a club statement on behalf of the board of directors.
It said: ‘The directors have signed an intention to appoint administrators, which will be lodged with the court.
‘The intention is that the proposed administrators will be appointed on Monday or Tuesday. A plan is in place to enable the club to continue trading while efforts to secure a long-term future are explored.”
Alan Savage, former chairman of the club and financial advisor to the board during the latter part of their current crisis, was in close contact with all parties yesterday.
Gordon Ritchie of GRM Marketing, who was closely involved with the consortium that made a late rescue attempt, and other potential buyers, said last night: ‘This morning until 1am we have been working and communicating with the board and with Alan Savage – and other shareholders – to try to find a solution to help the club avoid going into administration.
Aaron Doran (above) and Danny Devine won the Scottish Cup with Caley Thistle in 2015
‘David Anderson was prepared to consider a purchase, investment or loan of £1.2 million to the club, but when he reviewed the accounts with Alan’s accountant it became clear that an prohibitive level of investment was required.
‘Referring to the fast-moving discussions that were taking place to explore how we could make this work, previous directors – all with the best interests of the football club in mind – attempted to reach some form of agreement with the club.
‘But in the final stages, the complexity of it all meant that everyone involved felt that the board was a decision they had to think about seriously.’
Caley Thistle now face a 15-point deduction in League One if they go into administration.
Striker Billy McKay knows this weekend’s match against Annan could be his last for the club
As things stand, manager Duncan Ferguson’s team would remain on minus 6 points – 12 points behind the team currently bottom, Dumbarton.
The club will also be assessed another five penalty points next season, but more seriously, they will face possible job losses among staff, players and management.
Before last night’s statement was released by the board, Caley Thistle’s captain and record goalscorer Billy Mckay admitted the players headed into today’s home game against Annan Athletic knowing it could be their last for the club.
“You can try to block things, but you can’t block everything because it’s our job,” he said. ‘Hopefully we will have a big audience on Saturday and they can really support us. Who knows, for some boys it may be the last game for this club.’
