No buyer found for Inverness Caledonian Thistle

The administrators of Inverness Caledonian Thistle have revealed that they have had no offers to buy the club, five months after taking control of the struggling club.

The League 1 side appointed BDO as administrators last October after admitting they could not pay their debts.

The administrators immediately launched a series of cost-cutting measures, including the departure of some staff and players, and have been working to put the business into a shape where a new owner could take control.

However, a deadline for offers passed nearly two weeks ago with no formal bid made.

BDO say that existing loans of around £3.5m are a concern for interested parties and they are now concerned that a sale might not be possible.

In a statement published on Monday, the administrators identified three barriers to a sale. In addition to the existing loans, they highlighted the fractured nature of the existing shareholding as a problem and also uncertainty about ownership of the land around the stadium.

The statement read: “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.

“Feedback from interested parties highlighted three concerns.

“Firstly, as any transaction would include the use of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to compromise ICT’s debt, interested parties expressed concern re the current level of loans (circa £3.5m) from former directors of ICT (the Loan Creditors).

“A CVA requires 75% or more of creditors voting in favour. Interested Parties indicated agreeing any sale and purchase agreement was problematic as a number of loan creditors were at a value where they could veto a CVA proposal.

“Secondly, the nature of the club’s disparate shareholdings is impacting the ability of a potential acquiror to have adequate control.

“And finally, the uncertainties stemming from the ownership of land surrounding the stadium.”

BDO said that they are still working to resolve the issues and try to find a deal acceptable to interested parties.

The administrators also said that they have approached former ICT chair Alan Savage to see if he would consider continuing to support the club financially.

Savage took over the running of the club last year and put in a substantial amount of his own money to try and help avoid insolvency. The support he has in place until the end of the season will amount to around £1m and he has now said that he would be prepared to cover a quarter of the funding for the next two seasons as well as covering 25% of the cost of the new owner taking over.

A BDO spokesperson said: “We appreciate that this latest update will be disappointing for players, fans and the wider community.

“Given what has been achieved both on and off the pitch throughout the Administration period, we would very much like to see a sale of the club to ensure that its future is secured and we would encourage all parties to cooperate in this endeavour.

“We are grateful for Alan Savage’s ongoing financial support and would urge any interested parties to come forward with a view to acquire the club. The JAs would welcome the opportunity to discuss and provide a guide in respect of an acceptable price.”