Meet the new owner of Caley Thistle Ketan Makwana who has secured stricken club’s future
Caley Thistle’s new owner Ketan Makwana does not lack business experience having set up his main firm – Seventy7 Ventures – during the Covid pandemic.
The club has well-known financial troubles and has gone through a turgid time after relegation from the Championship, sparking fury from the fans, the resignation of the chairman and chief executive and the loss of not one but two major revenue streams.
Fans and insiders will hope that those times are over so they can at least enjoy some stability and eye a return to the Championship.
But the lifelong Liverpool FC fan is anything but the typical football club owner and his public social media posts provide the best indication to what direction the club may take in the future.
Mr Makwana already owns one club Hayes & Yeading United FC which plays in London’s mostly semi-professional Isthmian League, he also had a look at Reading FC but decided it was “beyond my capacity to recover”.
Now, however, he is the proud new owner of Inverness Caledonian Thistle and his proposals for the club, if he follows a similar course, can best be categorised as ambitious.
So how will he go about stabilising the club’s finances?
One post indicates that the club might, rather than rely on cash injections to balance the books, adopt a completely new approach.
And that means recognising that football in terms of what clubs earn from individual games or competitions “is now actually the last element in the business cycle”.
Mr Makwana said: “For the last three years I have been studying football ownership, management and discovering good and bad practices.
“Football is no longer a business entity that can rely on owner/chairman to keep injecting money in the bid that they will secure a payday by getting into Championship or Premier League – in fact some reports suggest nearly two-thirds of Championship clubs are operating with negative EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation).
“The business of football has grown up and matured, football is now actually the last element in the business cycle… commercialisation, fan engagement, entertainment, leisure options and community building is paramount for success.
“It is my opinion that blockchain technology and digital assets are integral to the transition of business success.”
When he got control of Hayes and Yeading United, he laid out what he immediately wanted to start working on and if that is replicated in Inverness then it will mean a lot of changes.
“One of the first things I want to instil at the club is better facilities for fans and visitors plus develop a multifunctional site that will allow us to maximise usage of space,” he said about Hayes and Yeading United.
“New food and beverage is being introduced over the next 12-24 weeks. The reconfiguration of the ground floor of the main stand will bring better facilities for the staff and playing team.
“The construction of the upper floor of main stand will bring a chairman’s lounge, media suite plus two incredible function halls (150 and 500 capacity). Three new entrances: Directors and Media, Terrace Bar and Atrium will provide a more logical flow.
“Fan Park will be pedestrianised and allow for match day hospitality and private events. New changing facilities and referee rooms for the 3G pitch.”
He added: “There is a lot of work to do but the early indications to the proposed strategy is showing a 10x return on the investment and rollout”.
That was after he got control of Hayes and Yeading United, saying: “After weeks and weeks of due diligence, audits, reviews, planning and modelling I am delighted to confirm that my deal to acquire majority shareholding has been accepted.
“Both deal structure and terms have been set out and now it’s a matter of specific conditions that need to be met before I open my cheque book and receive the keys.
“I have been on a steep learning curve engaging in this type of business, but I am learning fast and really enjoying the process.”
But perhaps the most important point for Caley Thistle fans was: “First order of business is facilities expansion and promotion to National League South.
The last point will not be lost on fans who are desperate to see the side return to the Scottish Premiership and Mr Makwana laid out his philosophy of running a football club.
The inspiration for that was binge-watching the documentary series about Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney takeover of Wrexham AFC with Mr Makwana saying: “I consumed both seasons in two days”.
He said what he had learnt about owning a club is:
• The business of football is both exciting and exhausting;
• Be prepared to invest both emotionally and financially;
• Building a football club starts with the local community;
• Patience is both your friend and foe;
• Have a vision, commit to it and never look back;
• When you are minutes from failure, this is where your greatest opportunity lies; and
• Build a business that creates the wealth to reinvest into the team and club.
