Clach business plan agreed

Members of The Highland Council’s Inverness City Committee have agreed a package that will enable Highland League football side, Clachnacuddin FC, to have a sustainable future.

At a meeting today (Monday), they accepted a proposal by the joint administrators for a company voluntary arrangement, which allows the Council and other creditors to recover 37.17p in every pound it is owed. This should see the Council recover £18,080.21 of the £48,641.95 debt to the Inverness Common Good Fund in relation mostly to unpaid rent. The Council had already received a significant payment from the club to reduce their ongoing debt to the Common Good Fund.

Members noted that a Business Plan pointing the way forward for the club was predicated on significant investment being made by new shareholders.  The Orion Group was contributing £15,000 each year for a minimum of two years, as well as marketing and fund-raising support.  The youth section would be brought back into the mainstream of the club, helping reconnect the club with the community.

The Committee agreed to enter into negotiations over the purchase of the car park at Grant Street Park to provide the Council with more options for the future development of the area if football facilities are moved to a new location, and over the terms of the lease for the club’s future use of Grant Street Park to play their Highland League fixtures.

Provost Jimmy Gray, chairman of the Inverness City Committee, said: “Clach has a long a proud history and I am pleased that the Council has been able to play its part in securing a package that allows Clach to continue playing in the Highland League.”