THE prospect of Inverness Caledonian Thistle going into administration hasn’t been mentioned at boardroom level – but fresh investment is urgently required by the loss-making Highland club after two seasons in the Ladbrokes Championship and the departure of a group of wealthy benefactors.
Shareholders will be briefed by Caley Thistle chief executive Scot Gardiner about the challenges the 2015 William Hill Scottish Cup winners face at an extraordinary general meeting at the Caledonian Stadium this evening. Gardiner is also set to address fans at a public meeting next Tuesday night.
The amalgamated club posted a loss of £810,000 after their first season in the second tier and are expected to announce another substantial loss in their next set of financial results.
The Muirfield Mills consortium – a group of five friends from Inverness who have worked overseas in the oil industry and who have ploughed in a total of £1.1 million since 2012 – informed the club last week they would not be providing any further financial backing going forward.
That led to chairman Graham Rae resigning and director Alan McPhee also standing down. Both Rae and McPhee were members of the consortium. The club, who are third in the Championship table after seven games, currently only has three directors.
Relegation from the Premiership back in 2017 has hit Caley Thistle hard. The loss of regular home games against Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts, Hibs and Rangers has been costly.
They also no longer receive parachute payments from the SPFL. In their first season in the Championship they were given £300,000 by the governing body and last year they pocketed £150,000.
In addition, Caley Thistle won’t have two money-spinning home derby matches against Ross County in the 2019/20 campaign as their Dingwall rivals won promotion back to the top flight last season.
“All of these things have had a cumulative effect,” said a club source. “They have put a strain on the cash flow. We have cash flow issues and don’t have capital to invest. We need to be transparent and make the shareholders aware of the issues. It is clear that new investment is needed.
“The friends involved in Muirfield Mills have disbanded the group and are now just individual shareholders. They have stepped aside to allow any new investor to come in in the best interests of the club.”
However, Caley Thistle have no bank debt, no outstanding loans requiring to be repaid and also now own their stadium after agreeing a deal to transfer the lease of their Longman ground from Tulloch Homes. “There would be a lot of clubs who would be pleased to see our bank balance,” the source said. “Nobody has mentioned the word administration.”
Gardiner, who has previously worked on commercial positions at Rangers and Spurs and been chief executive officer at Dundee and chief operating officer at Hearts, was appointed chief executive at Caley Thistle back in April. He is set to outline his future plans for the club in the hope that local businesses and investors come on board and fill the void left by the Muirfield Mills group.
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