Inverness Caledonian Thistle confirm they will appoint administrators next week
Inverness Caledonian Thistle have announced it is set to appoint administrators next week after failing to agree to any investment deal.
The club have confirmed in a statement tonight that directors have signed a notice of intention to appoint administrators.
It is expected that the administrators will be appointed on either Monday or Tuesday after attempts to find investment to avoid insolvency have failed.
But in a statement released at 6pm on Friday, Inverness Caledonian Thistle say they expect administrators to be appointed at the beginning of next week.
It says: “The directors have signed a Notice of Intention to appoint administrators to be filed at the court.
“We envisage that the proposed administrators will be appointed on Monday or Tuesday.
“A plan is in place to allow the club to continue to trade whilst efforts to secure a long-term future are explored.”
It means that Inverness Caledonian Thistle will be deducted 15 points for going into administration, although that will not be implemented before tomorrow’s League One clash with Annan Athletic at the Caledonian Stadium.
Gordon Ritchie of GRM Marketing, who was closely involved in the consortium’s last-ditch bid as well as other potential buyers - spoke about why no deal was agreed.
He said: “All through to 1 am this morning, from meetings that started at 8 am in Inverness, we have been working and communicating with the board and with Alan Savage - and other shareholders - to try and find a solution to assist the club in not going into administration.
“David Anderson was prepared to look at a £1.2 million purchase or investment or loan to the club, but on a joint look over the accounts with Alan’s accountant, it clear an insurmountable level of investment was needed.
“In reference to the fast-moving discussions that were ongoing in exploring how we might make it work, previous directors all with the best interests of the football club at heart, were all looking to come to some form of conclusion with the club.
“But at the final stages, the complexity of it all meant all concerned felt administration was a decision they seriously had to consider.”
Earlier this month, Inverness Caledonian Thistle attempted to raise £200,000 in a crowdfunding scheme which it said it needed to reach by Wednesday, October 16 to pay for costs in October.
Former interim chairman Panos Thomas, who resigned from his position earlier this month, wrote to shareholders that the club was facing a loss of £1.2 million in the current season.
He said in the letter that the amount of money the club required to get to the end of the season was in the region of £1.4 to £1.6 million.
As of Friday, the crowdfunding scheme had just raised over £86,000, leaving £114,000 short of what was they said was required to avoid administration this month.
Despite not reaching the target, all donations made will still go towards running the club and helping with any administration costs.
Interim chairman Scott Young and interim chief executive officer Charlie Christie are set to attend the meeting and give an update to fans who are in attendance.
