Businessman to hold last ditch talks with Inverness Caley Thistle to keep it out of administration after first bid is rejected

A HIGHLAND businessman, who claimed he had his original £1.2 million bid of investment into Inverness Caledonian Thistle rejected, is set to hold another meeting with club officials tomorrow in an attempt to save the League One outfit from administration.

A representative of the Highland businessman has confirmed he will meet with board members in Inverness on Thursday to try and negotiate a deal which could see him become the majority shareholder and keep the club solvent.

Yesterday, it was claimed that the businessman, who wishes to remain anonymous at this stage, had his seven figure offer for 50.45 per cent of shares in the club rejected.

The anonymous businessman has been working alongside Inverness businessman Don Lawson and Gordon Ritchie of GRM Marketing in attempting to strike a deal with Caley Thistle.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle did not respond to the claims made yesterday.

Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, the representative of the Highland businessman confirmed that they will be meeting with board members tomorrow to try and agree a deal.

But he says the businessman wants more information about the club’s current financial situation and how much debt it owes.

However, he said any deal will be dependent on the club not going into administration.

The spokesman said: “Myself and the investor will be in Inverness tomorrow morning to hold a meeting and have been in touch with the club.

“We will be doing everything correctly and the right way to see if there is a solution for a deal.”

Meanwhile, the deadline for Inverness Caledonian Thistle to raise £200,000 in its crowdfunding scheme in a bid to prevent the club going into administration is set to end tonight.

As things stand, the total currently stands at over £85,000 and still requires another £115,000 with hours remaining.

Two weeks ago, former Interim chairman Panos Thomas reached out to shareholders in a letter stating the club need to raise the six-figure sum by Wednesday, October 16 or the club will become insolvent.

It also said it needs between £1.4 and £1.6 million so it can carry on until the end of the season.

The club have yet to make a statement today about its crowdfunding target.

Yesterday, Inverness Caledonian Thistle released a statement that any money raised from the crowdfunding scheme will still go towards paying off running costs, regardless of if it meets its £200,000 target.

Interim chairman Scott Young said in an online statement yesterday: “I would just like to clarify that should we go into administration, all funds raised will be used to fund the club expenses in the Administration period and will not be expended on professional fees.

“There are no penalties for not reaching our target goal, and indeed the first payments have arrived at the club over the weekend.”

If the club does go into administration this week, Inverness Caledonian Thistle will be deducted 15 points and drop to the bottom of League One. They would be on -6, 12 points behind Dumbarton.

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