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Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and the Reuben brothers are consolidating their control of Newcastle United football club by buying out a minority stake held by British dealmaker Amanda Staveley.
Newcastle City said on Friday that the Gulf state’s Public Investment Fund and British businessman RB Sports & Media will buy shares held by Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners.
PIF said the deal was “part of a long-term plan to develop the club and make it a consistently credible competitor in domestic and European competitions”, and would leave them with around 85 per cent of the club. The Reubens family will hold the remaining 15 per cent.
Staveley’s departure is a pivotal moment for the Premier League club. Although Currency Leading the £305m takeover of Newcastle in October 2021, she played a key role in facilitating the takeover from British retail tycoon Mike Ashley and became the public face of the ownership group. Day-to-day operations are now run by Darren Eales, who becomes chief executive in July 2022.
Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi appear in the Amazon series Newcastle, appearing alongside PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. Her PCP car owns about 6 percent of the club.
A person close to Staveley said she would likely continue to be involved in football.
Since the beginning of the year, Staveley has been involved in a costly operation legal dispute with Greek shipping magnate Victor Restis. In March, she faced a £3.5m compensation claim after losing a British court case.
Newcastle chairman Al-Rumayyan wished the departing shareholders well as they “move to focus on their other business interests”. He said the ownership group would “continue to build on this foundation to achieve long-term, sustainable success for the club”.
While the PIF has invested billions of dollars in sports businesses around the world, from golf to motor racing, Newcastle is so far the fund’s only asset in European football.
Newcastle is the majority owner of the PIF, with $925 billion in assets under management. But clubs operate in a more stringent regulatory environment than when Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 or when Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, bought Manchester City in 2008. Clubs are limited to a loss of £105 million over three seasons, excluding investments in infrastructure and other areas.
Following the PIF takeover of Newcastle, Premier League owners voted to tighten rules on sponsorship deals with related parties, a move designed to stop PIF-backed companies funnelling money into the club. However, Newcastle signed sponsorship deals with events organisation Sela and online retailer Noon, and flew to Saudi Arabia for a training camp, boosting the club’s finances.
On the pitch, Newcastle have enjoyed rapid success following the takeover, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League at the end of the 2022-23 season. Club revenue increased by almost 40 per cent to £250m that season.
“We are grateful to have played our part in helping the club achieve even greater success in the future,” said Staveley. “We will always be fans.”
