Mike Ashley's Sale Of Newcastle Moves A Step Closer

The sale of Newcastle United has moved a step in the right direction following news that businesswoman Amanda Staveley's company PCP Capital Partners have signed a confidentially agreement.

Back in May 2007, Ashley, the owner of Sports Direct, bought a 41.6 per cent stake in Newcastle for £55,342,223. In the decade since that takeover the club has twice been relegated to the Championship, and bounced back twice.

Image: PA

Much to the delight of Magpies supporters, Ashley announced on Tuesday that he was putting the club for a sale and wanted any potential deal to be wrapped up before Christmas.

Image: PA

And Staveley and her firm are the clear candidates to takeover at St. James' Park. They will now enter a period of due diligence, with a bid set to be in the pipeline. As per Sky Sports, Ashley is looking for a sum of around £400 million.

44-year old Staveley,a former girlfriend of Prince Andrew, was in the stands at St James' Park for Newcastle's 1-1 draw with Liverpool last month and got Toon fans seriously excited.

Image: PA

She has expressed her interest in taking ownership of a Premier League side for quite a while now and referred to the opportunity as "an attractive investment" during an interview with Arab News in July.

The Yorkshire financier runs £20 billion private equity firm PCP Capital Partners and has a number of links within Premier League football.

She was involved in two failed bids from different companies attempting to purchase Liverpool, while she advised on the game-changing deal that saw Sheikh Mansour buy Manchester City and dramatically change the club's fortunes.

Ashley's lawyer Andrew Henderson released the following statement on the current situation:

"Since Monday, a number of additional parties have come forward which we believe to be credible.

"We are also continuing to engage with a number of parties with whom we had entered into negotiations prior to Monday's announcement."

Staveley is the 126th wealthiest woman in Great Britain, and is worth a cool £110 million, as per the 2017 Sunday Times Rich List. She is widely regarded as one of the best dealmakers in the business.

Topics: Football, Newcastle United

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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