Amanda Staveley has become the fifth potential buyer of Newcastle United to sign a non-disclosure agreement with the club but any sale is understood to be months rather than weeks away.
Although matters appear to have accelerated since Monday when Mike Ashley publicly placed Newcastle on the market, no would-be purchaser has yet had access to the St James’ Park books.
Ashley has been open to offers since the turn of the year but the formalisation of the owner’s intentions may have succeeded in smoking out prospective interest. Even so, it remains early days, with no concrete offers on the table and the signing of the non-disclosure agreements merely signalling a starting gun for the commencement of due diligence. Although Staveley’s interest has quickened pulses on Tyneside, Ashley is unlikely to get his wish of being rid of Newcastle by Christmas.
“Since Monday, a number of additional parties have come forward which we believe to be credible,” said Andrew Henderson, Ashley’s lawyer, on Thursday. “We are [also] continuing to engage in conversation with a number of parties with whom we were engaged in negotiations prior to Monday’s announcement.”
Staveley heads the Dubai-based financial advisory firm PCP Capital Partners – which has access to around £28bn of Middle Eastern wealth – and is a renowned deal-maker in football circles. The 44-year-old Yorkshirewoman helped broker the purchase of Manchester City by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan in 2009 and fronted Dubai International Capital’s £400m bid for Liverpool in 2008.
She is believed to be keen to purchase a Premier League club herself and there are suggestions she could make a formal bid for control of Newcastle during the coming weeks. Although talks with Ashley’s representatives have been ongoing since Staveley attended the 1-1 draw with Liverpool at St James’ Park at the start of this month it is understood the key issue of price has still to be discussed. While Staveley is believed to value the club in the region of £300m, Ashley was thought to hoping for a sum closer to £400m.