Tulloch Homes donates £6m stadium to Inverness Caledonian Thistle
CALEY Thistle are set to receive an early Christmas present worth at least £6 million from one of Inverness’s major companies.
Tulloch Homes, the housebuilder which has a controlling interest in the three stands at the Scottish Premiership side’s Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, has offered to gift them to the club, the Inverness Courier can exclusively reveal.
The deal would mean that the club would no longer pay rent to the firm for use of the stands.
George Fraser, chief executive of Tulloch Homes and a former chairman of ICT, believes it would safeguard the club’s future.
Three weeks ago Caley Thistle announced a deficit of £21,391 in the year to May 31, 2016. The main cause was a costly spate of injuries stemming from the club’s debut in European competition after winning the Scottish Cup last year.
The offer follows 18 months of work by Tulloch Homes, which was subject to a management buyout in March 2015.
Mr Fraser said: "Following the buyout of Tulloch Homes last year, we commenced planning to hand the stands back to the club, and are delighted to be in a position to do so as part of our 90th year celebrations. This will allow us to focus on what we do best in the years ahead – building houses.
"An enormous amount of painstaking work has been undertaken within Tulloch Homes over the past 18 months to enable us to make this offer.
"We are hopeful that today’s announcement can be quickly formalised, putting the club on a firm financial footing, from which we all expect it will continue to thrive."
ICT chairman Kenny Cameron described it as a magnificent gesture.
"Financially, this gesture from Tulloch is an enormous windfall for a club of our size," he said. "When George approached me and told me what Tulloch were proposing, I simply couldn’t believe it."
Tulloch’s relationship with the club began in 2001 and it built the north and south stands in 2004-05, leasing the stadium to the club since then.
The club needed new stands to meet minimum capacity and seating area criteria, as required by the Scottish Premier League, as the Scottish Premiership was known at that time, following promotion to the country’s top flight.
While construction was being carried out, Caley Thistle temporarily relocated to Aberdeen’s Pittodrie Stadium.
Under the terms of the offer from Tulloch, the club will assume immediate ownership of the three stands – which cost more than £6 million to build including associated infrastructure.
Mr Cameron said: "When Tulloch built the second and third stands for us, it utterly transformed the club’s fortunes and gave us facilities that met the SPL criteria, enabling us to return six months early from our exile in Aberdeen, which was a massive benefit to all and a huge boost for the supporters. It’s no exaggeration to say that we owe much of our status as a member of the SPFL to those decisions by Tulloch.
"The progress of the club to its present position would not have been possible without the company’s ongoing generosity and this offer represents the latest chapter in a relationship which has greatly benefitted the club.
"I will be discussing this incredibly generous offer with my fellow board members over the next few days and fully anticipate a speedy completion."
It is not yet known if the move would allow for a larger budget for players but Mr Cameron said it would enable investment.
"It is a truly magnificent offer and I am sure I speak for all the fans, players and staff when I say that we are extremely fortunate to have Tulloch as a supporter," he said. "It gives us great confidence in our future and will enable us to invest in other aspects of the club."
It is understood the name of the ground will stay the same for now. A small-scale fourth seating area already belonged to Caley Thistle.
The capacity of Tulloch Caledonian Stadium is 7812. The record attendance was 7753 for a league game against Rangers in January 2008.
Mr Fraser added: "Inverness Caley Thistle is a true community club and at Tulloch Homes, as the largest local housebuilder, we consider ourselves an important member of the Inverness community.
"As every Inverness Caley Thistle fan knows, Tulloch Construction built the north and south stands in just 47 days, bringing the current capacity to 7500. That was over a decade ago and when we completed the work we always hoped to one day be in a position where we could offer the stands to the club, enabling them to assume ownership and to safeguard the club’s future."
