Alan Savage has put the brakes on any chat of advancing Caley Thistle talks with potential Portuguese investors.
The consultant and former club chairman announced this week that around £3million of loan debt was wiped out after shareholders wrote their amounts off, while others were compensated with new share equity.
It was a monumental step forward for the League One club, which has been staring administration square on.
Reports suggested a Lisbon-based wealth management company were set to meet in Portugal with The Orion Group chief Savage along with Gordon Ritchie, whose GRM Marketing firm are on board to find a buyer of ICT.
The Lisbon-based group, who have footballing interests in Portugal, Italy, Spain and Brazil, are said to be keen to invest in Caley Thistle.
No need to rush to sell Inverness
Savage, who confirmed the potential deal could be worth €2.5million – or £2.122m – explained there’s work to be done behind the scenes to ensure he has all the financial answers to questions put to him by the would-be investors.
He told the Press and Journal: “There is no rush to sell the club now. If we go into (negotiations) in a weak position, it will cause more problems that we’ve got already.
“As long as I pay the bills, why do we need to dash into anything?
“The Portuguese have asked a lot of questions, most of which right now we can’t answer. I will be able to answer those in two months’ time.
“That will go out with a teaser document which will show what the balance sheet, for example, stands at, or what the creditors are owed. We’re a going concern, we’re in League One, so it will take that route.
“For better or worse, the club is under my control, probably for quite a while. The mission is to do it game by game.
“There are no plans for me to go to Portugal next week. They would be asking me to bring all the paperwork with me and we don’t have these details yet. We’re no longer on our knees. We don’t need urgent rescuing, because I’m here.
“There is now merchandise in the shop and we’re in a strong position.
“The state is play is I am trying to get the loanees’ deals over the line. They just need to sign their agreements, and we can go from there.
“We’re still trying to steady the ship and get things over the line.
“The city of Inverness needs a competitive football club, and I aim to help improve the situation and help rise up from League One if I can.”
No cash injection from Sir Alex
Manchester United fan Savage also offered more detail on the conversation he had with Sir Alex Ferguson on the club’s plight.
Savage, who hopes to provide funds for boss Duncan Ferguson to sign a striker before the end of the month, said: “I read that Sir Alex, or Alex Ferguson as I can call him, put money into the club, but people were putting two and two together and getting nowhere near it.
“He hasn’t put money in, but he offered to help us in any way he can.
“He wants Duncan Ferguson to be given a real shot at being the manager here. He’d like the fans here to give him a chance.
“I think people could see from the second half performance (in the 1-1 draw with Montrose) how well the team was playing.
“If we can add a striker to Duncan’s options this month, that could really help us.”
It’s understood Ketan Makwana’s Seventy7 Ventures, the early preferred major shareholders under previous CEO Scot Gardiner, has not yet provided evidence to support his hopes to inject money into ICT, unlike the Portugal-based suitors.
Fan’s donation shown to the boss
Savage revealed one tiny example of the goodwill shown towards the club came before the Montrose game last week when a Skye-base fan posted a cheque for £30 to help the club in any way possible.
The ex-chairman, who has vowed not to be distant from the playing and coaching staff, has also paid for striker Billy Mckay’s next coaching badges as he oversees the under-18s this season.
Savage also confirmed that Inverness-based Cairngorm Group, led by David Dowling and director Graeme Bennett, will be installing solar panels on the Caledonian Stadium stand roofs to reduce the electricity bill, which is “very welcome”.
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