A former bidder for Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club has ruled out the possibility of making a new offer.
Moray businessman David Anderson reportedly made a £1.2 million bid to secure a 50.45 per cent shareholding in the club before they entered administration in October.
That triggered a 15-point deduction to ICT’s points tally in League One, giving them a mountain to climb to avoid relegation until Dumbarton followed suit weeks later.
At the time, Caley Thistle interim chairman said talks with Anderson had “ended amicably” and that he would be welcome back to the table in the future.
Cullen businessman David Anderson has ruled himself out of the running to buy Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
However, the Cullen-based business recovery expert has ruled himself out of the running to potential buy the club and bring it out of administration.
In a statement, Anderson confirmed: “I’ve kept my eye on events in the aftermath of my bid which I was disappointed to have repelled by the club’s bosses; but the administration has altered the situation greatly.
“My expertise lies in rescuing troubled businesses using a variety of re-structuring, fundraising and streamlining mechanisms, but these are predicated on acquiring a majority shareholding prior to a situation progressing to an insolvency event.
“I had my cheque book in my pocket when I met with the club board in mid-October and I believe there was a deal there to be done which could have prevented the administration and all its associated downsides, not least of which being the catastrophic points deduction, but that’s now water under the bridge.
“There are other business opportunities out there which I’m now focusing on.”
Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s administrators BDO last gave an update on the club’s predicament at the end of December 2024, confirming they had rejected one bid to buy the club.
They said that 15 parties from around the world remained interested in a potential deal to buy the Caley Jags, however that number clearly does not include Anderson.
Complicating a potential sale is the situation regarding the land surrounding the Caledonian Stadium.
While the stadium itself is controlled by the football club on a long-term lease from Highland Council until 2094, the surrounding areas including the car parks are managed by Inverness Caledonian Thistle Properties on a similar lease, and then sub-let to the football club.
Dubbed “PropCo”, that company is owned by former ICT directors Ross Morrison and David Cameron, who would need to strike a deal with any potential buyer of the football club who wanted control of that land.
Equally, they could sell their stake to someone completely unconnected with a deal to save the football club from administration, with a Texas consortium believed to be interested in doing exactly that.