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Amanda Staveley: Everything You Need To Know About Newcastle United’s Potential New Owner

Amanda Staveley

Amanda Staveley – Newcastle’s Potential New Owner

Ever since Mike Ashley decided to put Newcastle United up for sale, there have been plenty of rumours as to who would become the new owners of the club.  

There have been some outrageous suggestions that WWE chief Vince McMahon could be set to make a bid, while as many as five parties have entered into a Non-Disclosure Agreement with the club leading to a potential purchase. However, one person who is touted heavily as the next owner of the club, is Amanda Staveley.  

The 44-year old was spotted at the St. James’ Park a couple weeks back, when the Magpies took on Liverpool and entered into an NDA earlier this week and a bid of £300m is expected from the businesswoman, who runs the PCP Capital Partners. 

While fans are eagerly anticipating a shift from the reign of Ashley at the club, here we take a closer look at their potential new owner, who could be set to lead Newcastle into a new era.

Born in Ripon, UK, on 11 April, 1973, Amanda Staveley was born and bred in Yorkshire and did her early education at Queen Margaret’s School, York, before winning a place to read Modern Languages at St. Catherine’s College at the Cambridge University. Staveley used to work as a model to support her expenses, but could not complete her degree after suffering from stress, post her grandfather’s demise. 

In 1996, she bought a restaurant named ‘Stocks’ and slowly started venturing into shares and investments and was seen backing several dot.com ventures and biotech firms. In 2000, Staveley sold the restaurant and started Q.ton, a conference centre which was backed by King Abdullah of Jordan as well. However, soon, she sold her 49% of shares at Q.ton to Euro Telecom and in turn became a non-executive director at the firm.

But with Euro Telecom going out of business soon after, Staveley moved to Dubai and started establishing strong connections across the Middle East, groundwork for which was laid during her days of running ‘Stocks’, and started her own firm, PCP Capital Partners in 2005. At the time, she was also involved romantically with Prince Andrew, Duke of York, which also aided her in cultivating her contacts across Dubai and the Middle East. The relationship did not last as she rejected a marriage proposal in 2003.

A sports enthusiast from her younger years, Staveley was involved in athletics and showjumping in her school years and was a 100m sprinter as well. But an achilles tendon injury meant she had to drop her interests in the field. She also had connections in horse racing, an interest that grew during her days as the owner of ‘Stocks’. 

She became a major player in 2008, when she helped Sheikh Mansour invest and acquire 16% shares of the Barclays bank, after the institution sought out private investments following the financial crisis that year. The partnership between herself and Sheikh Mansour wouldn’t end there, as she and PCP Capital Firms helped the Abu Dhabi United Group complete the £210m purchase of Premier League club Manchester City. 

Staveley also tried to facilitate a purchase of 49% stake in Liverpool FC for Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which would have made her a director at the club, but that did not materialise. She continued to make progress in her field and has been growing as one of the most powerful players in the financial world ever since.  

In 2011, Staveley married Iranian Mehrdad Ghodoussi, who worked for her firm. The couple have a son named Alexander ‘Lexi’. 

Staveley’s firm was a part of a joint takeover bid of Liverpool FC, but were rebuffed by current owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG), who quoted an asking price of £1billion. Staveley’s company is backed by £28billion in funds from the Middle East. 

Newcastle, with its appeal worldwide and room for growth, represents an exciting opportunity for Staveley. They have a proven manager in Rafael Benitez who led them to Championship success last term and is proving himself in the top division this term. If he stays at the club for the long term, he can definitely them to the next level. 

Ashley bought the club for £134m in 2007 and officially put it up for sale earlier this week and wants a deal done by Christmas. Staveley is the likeliest to become the new owner of Newcastle, and with the amount of money she is capable of investing, the club could be in for exciting times ahead.