Caley Thistle owner-in-waiting Alan Savage is poised to give the green light to fresh investment from his business which would see the Caledonian Stadium renamed the Orion Group Stadium.
Savage, who is the founder and chairman of the Inverness-based oil and gas recruitment firm, is ready to rubber-stamp a total £600,000 youth academy and stadium renaming investment from his company.
However, that will only go ahead if shareholders agree to pass their shares over to him for 100% control.
Last week, Savage, who was ICT chairman from 2006-2008, was confirmed as the preferred bidder as his £800,000 for the administration-hit club stood unchallenged and backed by administrators BDO.
‘Sensible and pragmatic manner’
Letters are now landing with shareholders and the feeling from BDO and Savage at last week’s press conference was they didn’t envisage any shareholders NOT passing their shares over – as liquidation would be the shattering alternative.
Given the size of Savage’s offer to pull ICT back from the brink, he believes it’s only right he has the full control to prevent too many voices getting involved in decisions at the top.
He said: “I can’t have people calling an EGM (emergency general meeting) every three weeks because they might not be happy with something I’ve done. That’s not how I do business.
“My offer being accepted means we have a clear go at running the football club in a sensible and pragmatic manner.
“Letters have gone out, asking the shareholders to cede their shares and the future is looking really good in terms of reshaping the board and the potential renaming rights of the stadium.
“We’re ready to put some oomph into the process as soon as the deal is approved. Let’s get this club out of administration as soon as possible.”
Youth will be key to club’s future
He told The Press and Journal that money from the Orion Group, former shirt sponsors of the Caley Jags, is earmarked for ICT if he’s given the nod to lead the club out of administration by the end of this season, which is just three weeks away.
He said: “If the deal goes ahead, I have secured, through the Orion Group, three years’ worth of sponsorship at £200,000 per year, meaning the Caledonian Stadium would be renamed the Orion Group Stadium.
“This includes sponsorship of the youth academy for three years.
“We see youth as the key to the future, not just within football, and that’s why The Orion Group plan to invest the youth academy over this three-year period.”
As part of a boardroom shake-up, a headline figure within the boardroom will be former vice chairman and current director Graeme Bennett, who will become deputy chairman, while a range of other key positions are at an advanced stage and waiting for his deal to be approved.
It’s understood Savage, 74, plans to be at the helm of the club for no more than three years and he will be looking to bring “new blood in” to take on leading roles at the club for many years to come.
Savage is also keen to explore links between ICT and larger clubs within Europe and Scandinavia as he sees this as a progressive route of business for the Highland capital club to operate in.
Positive talks with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the economic and community development agency for the region, have encouraged Savage, and he says he “hopes to stimulate” other businesses to get involved.
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