Inverness Caledonian Thistle exits administration

Inverness Caledonian Thistle (ICT) is no longer in administration after agreements were reached with its creditors.

Businessman Alan Savage has now taken over 100% control of the Scottish League One club.

ICT got into difficulty last year after running up large debts, including £3.5m in loans, and joint administrators BDO was appointed in October to oversee its finances.

Mr Savage said he believed Inverness had a bright future and has suggested extra revenue could be generated through hosting music events, and building a petrol station at the stadium.

George Moodie, of ICT Supporters Trust, has welcomed the news of the club leaving administration, and added that he dreaded to think where it would be without Mr Savage’s intervention.

Mr Savage, Caley Thistle’s chairman, told BBC Scotland News: “It was a long process.

“We expected administration to last about three months but it’s taken nearly a year.

“Inverness has been good to me personally and for my business, and I think inevitably people like me get involved in football clubs because they think it’s the right thing to do.

“In my case I felt I owed the city and the football club.”

He thanked others at the club for their support, and said consideration was already being given to ways of generating income.

Mr Savage suggested the North Coast 500 scenic tourist route could start from the stadium, which is positioned on the Inverness side of the Kessock Bridge.

He also said the football grounds car park could be used as a park and ride to Inverness Castle when the former sheriff court is opened as a new visitor attraction.

Mr Savage made an offer earlier this year to buy the club for £800,000, if certain conditions were met including ICT leaving administration.

He has been funding the club since last year, and was acting chairman while Inverness exited administration.

The aim of the administrative process was to rescue the club.

But the move did mean the club incurring a 15-point deduction as punishment from the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) for its financial problems.

The loss of points left Caley Thistle facing potential relegation from League One last season.

But the team managed to rise up the table to seventh place and seven points clear of the relegation play-off spot.

Caley Thistle started the new season on minus five points as a further penalty for entering administration last year.

They are currently in fourth place in League One’s table.

The 2015 Scottish Cup winners has previously had spells in the Scottish Premiership and Championship.

Mr Savage along with his then wife, Linda, set up Inverness-based recruitment company Orion Group in 1987.

Much of the firm’s early work was related to the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Over the years, Orion Group’s business has expanded into construction, manufacturing, life science and renewable energy.

Linda Savage died in January 2006 aged 53 after a long battle with cancer.

Mr Savage has had a long association with Caley Thistle, and was the Highland club’s chairman between 2006 and 2008.

He took an active involvement again after the its struggles with debts became public last year.

Mr Savage has been providing funding to keep the club going, and by the end of last season had provided about £1m in support.

The businessman has spoken of the need for change at Caley Thistle to help improve its finances.

He has previously suggested its 7,512-capacity stadium, which was opened in 1996 and upgraded in 2004, was too big and costly to run.

Mr Savage said a new stadium could be built at Inverness Campus, a site already home to Inverness College UHI and the NHS’s Highland National Treatment Centre.