Alan Savage confident that Inverness Caley Thistle creditors will green light CVA that will see Highland capital club finally exit administration: ‘It’s better to get it right rather than trying to rush it through’
Alan Savage says he is confident a deal will finally be done tomorrow that will see Inverness Caledonian Thistle exit administration – with planning already well under way for next season.
The football club was placed under the control of joint-administrators BDO in October of last year, with Savage bankrolling the process to ensure the Caley Jags would be able to see out the remainder of the 2024/25 season.
Then, in April, Savage was named as the preferred bidder to buy Caley Thistle, paving the way for a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) to be secured with the club’s creditors and clear the path for an exit to administration.
Originally BDO were set to meet with creditors on Thursday, May 22, but that was pushed back by two weeks to ensure there were no outstanding conditions to the deal.
Tomorrow, then, BDO will meet with creditors to get the green light on a CVA, allowing ICT to exit administration before the start of the 2025/26 campaign under Savage’s control.
Savage, who has already served one stint as the club’s chairman, says he has not been particularly concerned by the recent delay, calling it a natural part of any significant business deal.
“I’ve never gone through the (administration) process before, but we haven’t seen anything growing out of the woodwork that’s going to stop the process,” he explained.
“Most people are of the mindset now that the club is going to be functioning, and have better prospects, than it has had for years.
“As a businessman, you work under pressure. You sort of get used to that, and what you have to do is respect the process.
“Things have got to be done in a certain way, and sometimes it just takes time to do it. It’s better to get it right rather than trying to rush it through.
“I’ve never been very good at being patient, but I’m a bit older now so I’m more patient and pragmatic than I’ve ever been.
“BDO have had a very difficult job because of the fragmented nature of how the club evolved. There were shares here there and everywhere, all over the world and in trusts and all sorts of complicated situations. All of that had to be unravelled properly, so it was a very complex deal with the way Inverness was structured.
“I think that’s why no other buyers came forward, because it was too complicated. Presumably some very rich people who would have very good financial advisors would have been told it was a dog’s breakfast, and it would be very difficult to sort out.
“It was quite complicated, but there won’t be any issues within the club itself now.”
With an administration exit now appearing imminent, Caley Thistle fans should be able to look to the future with a degree of optimism.
Work is already being done to ensure that Inverness can hit the ground running on the pitch when administration becomes a thing of the past too.
Despite the exits of players like Musa Dibaga and Charlie Gilmour, Savage says the football department at the Caledonian Stadium have already identified players who could come in and help the club battle for a return to the Championship next season.
Even then, Savage has sounded a note of caution over how quickly Inverness can rise up through the ranks if he alone is financing the club for years to come.
“It will be run as a business, and the football people – Charlie Christie, Scott Kellacher and Graeme Bennett – will make sure we get a good squad together so that we can compete in League One next season and hopefully get into the Championship,” Savage added.
“I’ll look after the football club while it’s under my tenure, but we’ll need help. We need fans to buy season tickets and other revenue, and with that process it might take a couple of years to get back into the Championship.
“If we get two rock stars coming in, and they pass the SPFL and Scottish FA fit and proper persons standards – as well as our own standards of having the right mindset – then that will accelerate the process.
“If it’s solely under my control, it might take a bit longer because I don’t have millions and millions to spend on it.
“We’ll cut our cloth according to our measure, but we still think that with the contacts our people have got across British football – Ryan Christie’s agent has some good ideas that we’ll embrace – we can do well.
“We’ve got a couple of really good players lined up with experience in the positions that we need them.
“We also have guys like Jake Davidson coming back, so I have every confidence that Scott Kellacher and his team can put good, happy players out on the park and people can come down and watch good games of football.
“That’s what football is all about, and I can make sure that the finances remain under control, so I think it will work out very well.”
