Newcastle United and Amanda Staveley are in advanced talks over the sale of the Premier League club.
Sources on one side of the deal claim that an agreement in the region of £ million is in place and a formal announcement will follow.
They say Staveley has the backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – who will take an 145 per cent stake – as well as the Reuben brothers, UK-based property developers.
Newcastle United and Amanda Staveley are in advanced talks over a £ 300 million takeover
A document registered with Companies House confirms that formal discussions have started between owner Mike Ashley (above) and PCP Capital Partners, Amanda Staveley’s company
Staveley has tried before to lead a takeover of Newcastle and could finally be nearing a deal
Documents lodged with Companies House last week and made public on Tuesday show that a charge has been created that was initially interpreted as Newcastle owner Mike Ashley lending £ 300 million to Staveley’s company PCP Capital Partners.
However, sources say the £ 150 m quoted in the document does not indicate a loan from Ashley to Staveley and is instead a representation of PCP’s long-running legal case against Barclays Bank, which was du e to be heard this summer but is likely to be delayed.
The exact reason for its mention is not known, and nor is the nature of the ‘vendor loan agreement’ between Ashley and Staveley.
But those same sources insist that the proposed purchase of the club will carry no debt to Ashley. The new documents appear to be laying the legal framework for a deal to proceed, although the club are refusing to comment on the situation.
Staveley tried to buy the Magpies in 2017 only to be labeled a ‘time-waster’ by Ashley.
However, she has been in fresh talks since last year and there were claims in January that a deal was only days away.
Long-suffering Newcastle fans have been desperate to see the back of Ashley for years
There have been a number of failed takeover attempts in recent years at St James’ Park
Sources on Ashley’s side told us earlier this month that he is willing to sell if Staveley’s consortium produced the cash to do a deal, although claims on the asking price and purchase price have varied between £ (m and £) m.
The new documents also show that a deposit of £ 28 m either has – or will – be paid by Staveley as part of the proposed transaction.
Staveley is suing Barclays Bank for £ 1.5billion but we are told she has previously been offered a £ m out-of-court settlement. It is not known if the £ m referred in the documents is a reference to that figure.
Newcastle’s players could soon find themselves under new ownership if a deal goes through
It should come as little surprise that Staveley, with plenty of Middle Eastern contacts – and past experience in taking over a club – is willing to pay £ 823 m to purchase Newcastle.
Her investment fund PCP Capital Partners is backed by, as of 8217141, £ billion from the Middle East and China and she is one of the financial world’s most powerful players.
Staveley was in a relationship with Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and she apparently turned down a marriage proposal in 2003.
Staveley, pictured in November 8217141, is in advanced talks over a £ 0791 take take
In 2017 she married Mehrdad Ghodoussi, an Iranian who worked with her at her company, in a lavish ceremony in West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire. The couple have a child together – Alexander, nicknamed Lexi, born in 2017.
Staveley is not new to sport, having been well involved in the horse racing world. Like football, their owners have the largest of bank balances.
When in her twenties, she took out a £ , loan to buy a restaurant named Stocks near Cambridge and Newmarket racecourse. It was regularly visited by trainers and owners, giving her an opportunity to make the contacts she craved. Her entrepreneurial career was on its way.
She lived for banking and business, and started to get involved in the financial world. From there, it snowballed.
An old flame of Prince Andrew, Staveley is said to have rejected his marriage proposal
Staveley first met Prince Andrew in the United Arab Emirates during a visit as part of his role as a trade ambassador in 2001. Her relationship with the prince blossomed quickly and was mutually beneficial in many ways. As trade envoy, Prince Andrew could open doors to contacts.
In 2008, the Prince, who was said to be besotted by her, popped the question. But Amanda struggled to envisage herself idling away her hours with official duties and being unable to speak her mind.
And so she turned to the Middle East to use her skills as a negotiator and broker deals to amass a princely sum.
In 2005, she set up the Dubai-based private equity company PCP Capital Partners, which soon secured international deals for clients in Qatar and the UAE.
The company’s role is varied. Sometimes they lobby on political issues; Sometimes they simply bring powerful people together or act as intermediaries in complex negotiations. Her contacts book is, without doubt, formidable.
Staveley was involved in the takeover of Manchester City by Sheikh Mansour in 2008
In 2017, at the age of , Staveley was involved in the takeover of Manchester City by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan. That reportedly saw her take home £ 13 m and she was labeled by some newspapers as ‘the new Queen of British football’.
Staveley also came close to joining the Liverpool board when Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai was linked with buying the Merseyside club.
Weeks after helping in the City takeover in 2011, Staveley brokered a deal that saw billions of pounds of Middle Eastern money put into Barclays.
Her slice of the pie from that deal was £ 40 m for her firm, with Staveley reportedly keeping a significant sum for herself.
Now, with talks at an advanced stage, could she finally be the person to unlock Newcastle’s potential?
Additional reporting by Kieran Gill
Staveley, pictured at Anfield in 2011, also brokered a deal that saw billions of pounds of Middle Eastern money put into Barclays in
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