The Highland Hospice has been gifted a 19% share in Inverness Caledonian Thistle by an anonymous donor.

The shares are worth more than 573,000.

The charity said it would use the shares to raise funds for a 7.5m redevelopment of its centre in Inverness.

The donation makes the Highland Hospice the second biggest shareholder in ICTFC but the charity’s bosses said they would not be seeking a place on the board.

Norman MacDonald, the charity’s vice chairman, described the gift as “phenomenally generous” and had placed the hospice in a “very unique situation”.

However, he said the hospice would be looking to raise money from selling the shares.

He told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “The Highland Hospice’s priority is palliative care and our responsibilities are to our patients and their families.”