Ketan Makwana speaks publicly for the first time after it was announced that Seventy7 Ventures had agreed a deal to become the new majority shareholders of Inverness Caley Thistle.
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00:00I think it's important to understand that both entities right now, the club and 77,
00:08are under an intense and robust non-disclosure. So we can't talk about the specifics of the
00:15current deal. And that includes things like the capital amounts, etc. I appreciate and
00:22I understand that everyone wants to know what's going on and how it's going to happen and
00:28everything like that. But what's more important right now is that we get this deal done. But
00:34with that in mind, I'm already speaking to the board about actually coming together at
00:39some point in the not so distant future to be able to give a little bit more in lights
00:46or details as to the actual deal, its structure and stuff like this. So we keep everyone informed
00:54as we go through the process. But right now, we're in a delicate situation and position
01:00where the club needs this deal to get through quite quickly. And we just don't want to create
01:06any sort of delays or anything that would cause further delay in getting this deal through.
01:13So bear with me. We will come out and tell you more about what this deal is and how much
01:19is being put into it. But that will be in due course.
01:28So again, when we come to the deal being completed, I think, you know, there is a period of audit
01:35and review that first needs to happen. But with any case, the club in the position it's
01:41in the situation it is, it sees sees itself within, we can't go into, into sort of automatic
01:50mode to see like we're fighting for a championship or something like this. I think our priority
01:54in one sense is obviously to try and bounce back out into championship football at the
02:01first time of asking, but I'm very conscious that we put in a very, very well thought out
02:08well constructed risk mitigated strategy, which incorporates rehabilitation first.
02:14So it's all about actually reviving the club to both in its finances and its performance
02:21to a stage where we can then move towards stability. By building stronger foundations
02:26at that point, we can then really launch pad quite quickly into exponential growth in more
02:33ways than one. So it's not just about what goes on on the field. It's also what goes
02:38on around the club itself as well. So our interests are actually focused around the
02:43club, but we're also and that's where our priorities lie in terms of rehabilitation,
02:49stabilization, and then, and then growth. But the same thing will apply with the local
02:56economics around the club itself as well. So we're going to be looking to currently
03:01revive it and build it. And that's why I'm working with creditors, trade creditors right
03:07now to make sure that we we block out all of these kind of leaks, make sure that all
03:12trade creditors are either settled or have an arrangement for settlement by the end of
03:17August. I'm committed to paying the club's wage bills as well. So there is no last minute
03:26scramble for money just to make sure that we the club avoids any sort of insolvency
03:32event. All of these measures have been taken to make sure that we can put all our energy
03:38and focus the right way to get this deal over the line correctly. So that's me kind of
03:44putting out that I'm committing myself to the club just as much as anyone else out there
03:49would and should do. That I'm putting myself at risk that if this deal doesn't go
03:54through, the risks of insolvency and administration could mean that I lose everything
03:59that I'm putting into it. But I'm prepared to take that because I'm determined to make
04:05this work.
04:10Look, I've already been up to Inverness. I came up on the 13th of July and I spent the
04:17weekend absorbing the city, absorbing its people. It was amazing to see so many tourists
04:25there. I mean, it's a beautiful place. The two words that came out of my mouth were oh
04:30and wow. And they still resonate right now. I think I'm still getting a little bit of
04:36that kind of missing feel factor of what the vibe and the feeling that I was getting when
04:42I was there. Part of the work of, you know, part of the reason I'm coming up was obviously
04:49for me to physically experience and visit the stadium, the site and see everything
04:55that's there. I didn't really have to meet any particular people and we didn't do that.
05:01But what it did do is it allowed me to really cement where my vision is going. I had
05:08meetings with the Highland Council on Monday before I flew back to London and I
05:14imparted just a snippet of the vision to which I received an unbounded, unanimous level
05:23of support and excitement with. And that gave me even more kind of drive and motivation,
05:30I'd say. So look, I'm going to share a little bit about the vision with you, with
05:35yourselves. I think it's important that you can see things from the way I see them. The
05:40club, as I've said, is already is paramount. It's the first thing. But the irony of this
05:45is, is that the club is actually situated in the centre of land that sits around it. And
05:53for the last 18 years, that land has been separated from the club. Well, we're about to
05:59make history because after 18 years, we are actually dedicating to put that land back
06:05under the club's ownership. And that's the first line of rehabilitation to stabilisation,
06:11in the fact that basically, what goes on on that land will have financial impact and reward
06:17to the club, which could be reinvested back in. The other side to this is, is our
06:23backgrounds in entertainment, leisure and sports. We have a phenomenal amount of
06:28expertise in building these types of ecosystems. So if you look at a lot of the
06:38football clubs in the United Kingdom right now, some of the bigger clubs are now
06:43transitioning to have leisure and entertainment attached to sports, it's becoming a common
06:48theme. So the reason why you're doing that is it creates a multi purpose use of the space,
06:55which allows also for tourism, sports, tourism, entertainment, tourism, leisure,
07:00tourism. So what we're trying to look at doing is building the area around the stadium to
07:07become a hotbed for events, activities, entertainment, leisure, not just for the people
07:13of Inverness to enjoy, but also for those that come and visit or give people a reason to
07:19come and visit Inverness, bring people into the environment, let them fall in love with
07:24the football. That's the way that we want to build this. It allows us to produce multiple
07:29revenue streams, which then allow us to reinvest back into the club, reinvigorate it and
07:35be able to put the right amount of money in the right place, depending on where in the
07:39strategy line where it's rehabilitation, stability or growth that the club sits in.
07:44Furthermore to that, it futureproofs the club in itself that if one line of income happens
07:52to fall or fail, you've still got another three or four, which kind of allows the business
07:58to still continue while we remedy the one that's actually failed itself.
08:02And the last thing I'll say to you, it's not just an impact on the football club and the
08:07community and the fans.
08:09What this allows us to do is actually start to not regenerate, but build further into
08:15Inverness. It allows us to produce this whole thing of a point of destination, sports,
08:20tourism, whatever you want to call it in this particular way.
08:23So it's going to bring more economic value to the local economy.
08:29It's going to increase the number of jobs.
08:31It's going to increase the quality of life.
08:34It's going to increase the diversity of type of events and activities that can actually
08:39happen. And last but not least, we are also heavily involved in e-sports and e-gaming
08:46and stuff like that, which means that making Inverness one of the capital cities of
08:52Scotland for e-sports and e-gaming is a must.
08:55You know, alongside this, you've got the whole green energy movement that's going on, and
09:01that requires some form of facilitation as well.
09:04So why shouldn't we take the opportunity of being able to generate that income and then
09:10spend that in the football club?