Inverness Caledonian Thistle 'approach insolvency practitioner' and seek new investment after Statkraft deal collapses

Inverness Caledonian Thistle have revealed that they are to approach an insolvency practitioner for advice following the club’s relegation to League One and the loss of a major contract.

The club suffered a major blow on and off the field when they lost the Championship play-off to Hamilton Accies last month, and will be playing in the third tier next season.

Along with the financial cost and loss of revenue that relegation brings, the club also saw a deal with renewables company Statkraft fall through, after the Norwegian firm decided to look for an alternative location for a ‘park and ride’ car park after failing to reach a commercial agreement with the football club.

Inverness say the club is now urgently seeking new outside investment, and is hopeful it can bring cash in, but admitted they are to have talks with an insolvency practitioner about a way forward if they are unsuccessful.

The news follows controversy at the Caley Thistle Stadium when directors announced a plan to move the team’s training base to Fife after agreeing a deal with Kelty Hearts.

Supporters said that the move, which was intended to help recruit players based in the Central Belt, meant ICT were no longer a community club and slammed the move as being ill-judged and disrespectful to fans.

It was subsequently reported that Fife Council, who own the pitch at Kelty Hearts, had not been reported and were looking into the deal.

Inverness chairman Ross Morrison has since resigned, and questions have been asked about whether the club could remain full-time and retain manager Duncan Ferguson.

A club statement released on Thursday explained the financial situation but also revealed that the club had made a U-turn on the decision to train in Fife.

It read: “The board of directors are in discussions with potential new investors into the club and remain hopeful of finding a new investor or new owners.

“However, in the circumstances we currently find ourselves in following the loss of the Statkraft contract at Caledonian Stadium which was worth seven figures to the club and given the new financial position of the club, it is also prudent to approach a suitably qualified insolvency practitioner to advise on how we may proceed should our efforts to find new investment fall short.

“For clarity, on the football front, we have decided to remain training at Fort George for the foreseeable future.”