Newcastle United valued at €340m in potential bid
Speculation over Ms Staveley’s interest in the St James’ Park club was sparked when she was seen at the ground watching a match earlier this month against Liverpool, another club she has been linked with buying in the past.
PCP Capital, which acts for investors in the Middle East and China, is one of four potential bidders for the club, the Financial Times reported this week. PCP is best known for acting as an intermediary between Barclays and a group of Abu Dhabi investors during the 2008 financial crisis, helping the British bank avoid a UK government bailout.
PCP, which has not yet put in an offer for Newcastle United, believes the club is worth around £300m with a further £150m needed to invest in players over the next two years, according to the source.
The club has said they were willing to listen to offers that would be capable of “delivering sustained investment” towards achieving their ambitions in the top flight.
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley put the Premier League club up for sale this week, signalling a possible end to his decade-long reign at St James’ Park.
“As one of the Premier League’s oldest and best-supported football clubs — and for the benefit of its many fans and supporters in the UK and across the world — Newcastle United requires a clear direction and a path to a bright and successful future,” the club said in a statement.
“To give the club the best possible opportunity of securing the positioning and investment necessary to take it to the next level, at what is an important time in its history, its present ownership has determined that it is in the best interests of Newcastle United and its fans for the club to be put up for sale.”
The club said they were willing to listen to offers that would be capable of “delivering sustained investment” toward achieving their ambitions in the top flight.
Newcastle’s 52,000 capacity St James’ Park is close to full most weeks with the club enjoying a passionate fan base.
But Mr Ashley, a 53-year-old billionaire who founded British retailing group Sports Direct, has had an uneasy relationship with Newcastle fans during his decade in control of the north east club.
Newcastle have been relegated twice since Mr Ashley took charge in 2007.
Mr Ashley’s lawyer Andrew Henderson said that the goal was to sell the club before the end of the year.
