SPFL club enters administration with points deduction imposed as statements issued

Inverness Caledonian Thistle has received a points deduction from the SPFL after being formally placed into administration as it fights for survival.

An urgent fundraising appeal was issued by the Scottish League One club at the start of October when it revealed it required £200,000 to avoid becoming insolvent within two weeks, with £1.4million-£1.6million needed to make it to the end of the season.

An online crowdfunding page helped raised over £87,000 but to no avail as a club statement on Tuesday confirmed that "James Stephen, Malcolm Cohen and Shane Crooks at BDO have been appointed Joint Administrators of Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club".

A spokesperson at BDO said: “We can confirm a formal appointment has been made and Inverness Caledonian Thistle is now in administration. We understand this will be a difficult and uncertain time for the club, its staff, its loyal fan base and the local community. The Administrators will be in a position to provide further information and their plan to seek to secure the long term future of the Club in due course.”

Caledonian Stadium, the home of Scottish League One side Inverness Caledonian Thistle. (Photo by Paul Byars / SNS Group) | SNS Group

The club has also been deducted 15 points with immediate effect, placing them bottom of the table on -3 points, 12 points adrift of Dumbarton, and at risk of relegation to League Two. An SPFL statement read: “The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has today confirmed the imposition of a 15-point deduction for Inverness Caledonian Thistle, as per SPFL rules on clubs suffering an insolvency event. The William Hill League One table has been updated accordingly.”

Redundancies are also possible among both playing and non-playing staff. Manager Duncan Ferguson has been working for free in an attempt to help protect jobs at the club.

Talks had taken place last week with businessman David Anderson about a possible takeover but they ended without agreement. The club said online donations would be used to fund the club's expenses in the administration period and would not be spent on professional fees.

A recent financial report conducted by former chairman Alan Savage found that the club suffered a £1.2million loss last season as it was relegated from the Scottish Championship with another £1.2million deficit predicted for the current campaign. Trade creditors including HMRC stood at £600,000 in early August with loan debts to former directors standing at £3.425million, leaving the club facing a projected negative £3.8million balance sheet by May 2025.

Inverness had pinned its survival hopes on a proposal to build a battery farm on adjacent ground which could be worth around £3.4million to the club through the sale of land. The initial planning application was rejected by Highland Council in March but an appeal has been lodged with the Scottish Government.