Caley Thistle shareholders will find out on Wednesday the full extent of the club’s cash troubles – along with an 11th hour bid to avoid administration.
Administration appears the most likely route for the struggling League One club but the club’s financial position will be revealed on Wednesday morning in a letter from interim chairman Panos Thomas.
It is understood ICT stand to lose £1.7million this season with significant cash needed before the end of the year.
Former Inverness chairman Alan Savage, who has been working as a consultant at ICT over recent months, has been trying to find a buyer for the stricken outfit.
But administration is a real prospect for ICT – who are competing in League One after being relegated at the end of last season.
SPFL punishments imminent for ICT
In August, Orion Group chief Savage revealed a period of up to six months for the club to find an investor, while also injecting more than £200,000 himself to keep Caley Thistle running.
Football administrator Bryan Jackson has put Inverness on to BDO, the accountancy firm who oversaw the liquidation of Rangers and were administrators for Hearts and Dunfermline Athletic.
It now seems BDO will be taken on to lead the club into administration, which would almost certainly spell redundancies on and off the park and a league points deduction – a hammer-blow for a Caley Thistle side already five points off the top of League One.
A points deduction of up to 15 points would be handed out by the SPFL. ICT have nine points from eight games, so could drop to bottom spot with a minus-six points tally.
The club would also be under review of the SPFL, meaning any further financial dip might well lead to their licence being stripped, which removes the right to play professional football.
The first part of the indicative administration Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) is to lay out a way to save the club by agreeing with creditors repayment amounts, be it in full or not.
Club in pre-administration mode
The Caley Jags are in phase one of three – which is the pre-administration period.
This considers cash flows and costs being met – something the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Scotland will have an eye on.
The next stage of the process is ensuring all funding can be met to cover any trading shortfalls and to cover the cost of administration itself.
Sales memorandum and non-disclosure agreements would then be drafted and there would be the consideration on whether the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) would need to be notified prior to the appointment.
A SPFL spokesperson said: “We do not comment on discussions with individual member clubs.
“The rules on clubs entering into administration can be found in section E of the SPFL rules.”
Clubs going into administration can expect to be hit with a 15-point deduction in the current season plus a five-point deduction the following season.
A second insolvency event within a five-year period would lead to a higher punishment – a 25-point deduction in the season in question then a further 15-point deduction in the season after that.
Striker Charlie Reilly signs amid Caley Thistle turmoil
Meanwhile, amid the impending administration turmoil, Caley Thistle announced the loan signing of striker Charlie Reilly from Dundee on Tuesday morning.
The 22-year-old former PFA Young Player of the Year – which he won during a remarkable scoring spell at League Two Albion Rovers – has been brought in until January after an opening to the campaign where Inverness have struggled to hit the back of the net.
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