Newcastle Co-owners Staveley And Ghodoussi Set To Sell Their Stake In The Club

Newcastle minority shareholders, Amanda Staveley, and Mehrdad Ghodoussi are set to sell their stake in the Premier League club, according to reports on Wednesday.

Staveley played a key role in facilitating the agreement that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to acquire an 80 percent stake in in October 2021.

Along with her husband Ghodoussi, Staveley initially held a 10 percent stake in Newcastle.

Both Staveley and Ghodoussi were actively engaged in managing Newcastle following the takeover backed by Saudi Arabia and supervised the hiring of Eddie Howe as manager in November 2021.

Eddie Howe and Amanda Staveley in November 2021

Newcastle finished fourth in the Premier League in 2022/23 to qualify for the Champions League and also reached the League Cup final.

Last season, they had a tough time as they were eliminated from the Champions League during the group stage and finished a disappointing seventh in the Premier League.

Staveley and Ghodoussi saw their ownership stake reduced to six percent as a result of recent equity fundraising rounds in which they did not take part.

Amanda Staveley’s Departure Marks End of an Era

Staveley was crucial in orchestrating the highly contentious £300 million agreement that concluded Mike Ashley’s 14-year ownership of Newcastle.

Afterward, she played a key role in facilitating the negotiation of several major player transfers, such as the acquisitions of Bruno Guimarães and Kieran Trippier at St James’ Park.

Newcastle coach, Eddie Howe and Kieran Trippier

During the 2022-2023 season, Howe’s team secured a fourth-place finish in the Premier League and made it to the League Cup final, where they were defeated by Manchester United.

Staveley also placed significant emphasis on the club’s women’s team, playing a crucial role in its advancement from the fourth tier to the second tier.

The appointments of Darren Eales as Newcastle’s chief executive and Dan Ashworth as sporting director led to a decrease in her responsibilities. It appears significant that she decreased her ownership to 6% last year, while Reuben increased theirs to 14%.

It remains uncertain whether the Saudis, the Reuben Brothers, or both have bought her out at this point as there have been no indications of seeking new investors.

In March, the removal of Staveley as a director from 20 companies associated with Newcastle United, as listed at Companies House, sparked inquiries about her future involvement on Tyneside. However, she clarified at the time that it was simply a routine administrative.

During that month, the financier found herself in a legal battle as she was unsuccessful in her efforts to convince a judge to dismiss a bankruptcy claim filed by the Greek shipping tycoon, Victor Restis, who alleges that Staveley owes him £36m.

Staveley has expressed her intention to appeal against the judge’s decision.

However, if Staveley and Ghodoussi were planning to leave Newcastle in the spring, their departure was likely postponed by Ashworth’s move to Manchester United and the subsequent necessity to find a new sporting director.

Following Paul Mitchell’s recent appointment to fill that role, and the recent transfers of winger, Yankuba Minteh to Brighton and midfielder Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest, generating a combined total of over £60m, Newcastle maintained a profitable and sustainable position.

Newcastle United new signing Yankuba Minteh

This seemed to indicate that Staveley’s duties at St James’ Park had concluded.

Newcastle declined to comment on her departure.