Newcastle United takeover: Financial firm tables formal bid in region of £300m

By Dan RoanBBC sports editor

Last updated on 20 November 2017.From the section Newcastle587

St James' Park — Mike Ashley took over the running of Newcastle United in 2007

A financial firm headed by British businesswoman Amanda Staveley has tabled a formal takeover bid in the region of £300m for Newcastle United.

PCP Capital Partners has been in talks with club owner Mike Ashley for about a month, and a source close to the deal said an offer has now been made.

Newcastle are yet to comment publicly on the news, although a club source has disputed the value of the bid.

Ashley said on 16 October he wanted to sell after 10 years in charge.

He reportedly dropped the asking price to £380m in an attempt to complete a sale by the end of the year.

Ashley, 53, has been a divisive figure at St James' Park since taking over in 2007, with some supporters regularly protesting about the way the businessman has run the club.

He bought Newcastle for £134.4m in 2007. Their latest accounts - up to 30 June 2016 and before the club's relegation to the Championship - showed a profit of £900,000 and turnover of £126m in 2015-16.

Staveley helped broker the purchase of Manchester City by Sheikh Mansour bin-Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in 2009, and it was reported she led Dubai International Capital's £400m bid for Liverpool in 2008.

The 44-year-old watched Newcastle's 1-1 home draw against Liverpool on 1 October.

The Magpies have been relegated twice from the Premier League during Ashley's reign.

After winning promotion last season, Rafael Benitez's side are 11th in the Premier League after 12 matches.

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587 comments

Comment posted by Paris, at 20:26 20 Nov 2017
What is refreshing to see, is that there is a lot of goodwill for Newcastle United from a lot of football fans of other clubs. The premiership is a lot richer having a great club with great fans such as the Magpies. wishing you all the best!
Comment posted by NJD, at 20:28 20 Nov 2017
If Newcastle fans think Mike Ashley is a bad owner then perhaps they need to read-up about private equity companies and how the vast bulk of them function&make money.Asset sweating/stripping, borrowing against the clubs assets,ticket price increases-this is all but guaranteed and at best a mediocre team.But the directors and a few others will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Comment posted by Stoney, at 20:11 20 Nov 2017
Careful what you wish for, Geordies. It might not be the promised land you think it is.
Comment posted by Jon, at 20:06 20 Nov 2017
PCP Capital Partners? Another set of bean counters using English football to enrich themselves at our expense.

I hope my fellow fans don't assume *anybody* is better than Mike Ashley!
Comment posted by Lew G, at 21:02 20 Nov 2017
Stopped watching football years ago..Teams used to be part of the city/town the stadium is in.Now the teams are full of greedy mercenaries and the clubs are just tax escapes for greedy foreigners who are just interested in ego's and how much that can earn.They dont give a stuff for the club..Good luck foolish followers.
Comment posted by User0506637143, at 20:06 20 Nov 2017
Where is Ashley going then ? Glasgow Rangers look a good bet .......nearest Greggs ?
Comment posted by Superd79, at 21:07 20 Nov 2017
Re93

Vile eh?!!

Start with lying to Keegan, proven in court.

Appointing Joe Kinnear

Relegating the club twice

Free advertising season after season for no return.

Sacking Hughton as he wouldn't get players to sign up to a bonus scheme.

Telling Pardew to field weakened teams in the cup.

Disposable way he treat Jonas Gutierrez when he developed cancer!

Fans still vile?
Comment posted by awaywin, at 22:01 20 Nov 2017
As a Sunderland Supporter i am delighted that ye are getting a new owner. both clubs have been run by idiots looking after number 1 only. The Mags i know are definitely not deluded most of them are hoping for 17th place or above. I couldnt believe the support they had all season in the championship last year puts us to shame . But we are all just too annoyed to support any more just like the owner
Comment posted by Sam, at 21:31 20 Nov 2017
As lifelong nufc fan we aren't deluded or have a sense of entitlement; all we want is a team of players proud to wear the shirt who give of their best and a club that are all going in the same direction (financial and managerial). To guarantee top 4 would take >a billion in total so not realistic...realism = respectable owner who provides funds to strengthen and a decent cup run would be nice too!
Comment posted by NickB57, at 22:12 20 Nov 2017
@210

Newcastle are in the top 20 european clubs for attendances. I hope finally the geordies get a board who want to put the club first and compete for trophies with the big clubs, and not use it as a cash cow.
Comment posted by The Mouse King, at 20:03 20 Nov 2017
Please accept the bid!
Comment posted by Superd79, at 22:51 20 Nov 2017
Re235

They're a big club in a provincial northern fading town.

---------

Ha last time I checked it was a City and in the top ten metropolitan areas in the U.K. in terms of GDP.

Or do you think we still live in some kind of f...... Lowry painting?!

Go visit Darras Hall estate, they put a Sainsbury's near there for the poorer folk!
Comment posted by David, at 08:24 21 Nov 2017
298tired_england_fan You appear to be poorly informed. There are few NUFC supporters who hold Sir Bobby Robson in anything but the highest esteem. Sacked when we were in the top 6 made no sense to anyone other than Freddie Shepherd. That the Sir Bobby Robson foundation in Newcastle continues to raise huge sums (predominantly from the North East) for cancer treatment/research speaks volumes
Comment posted by Trippynet, at 20:45 20 Nov 2017
@13: As a Newcastle fan, I don't demand to see millions poured into the club. All I expect is sensible investment. There have been too many transfer windows in the past where the club has raised millions by selling players, yet have spent a fraction of that on new players. If you get £40M from player sales, all the fans want to see is it re-invested back into the team.
Comment posted by Henry Diablo, at 23:57 20 Nov 2017
How on earth did the BBC manage to run this story without mentioning Harry Kane?
Comment posted by bolf, at 22:16 20 Nov 2017
I really think that Mike Ashley bought the club with the best of intentions. He tried to endear himself to the fans & pumped a lot of money into the club when required. He made some badly advised appts. alienated the fans (& Mr Shearer) and was honest enough to admit that he had tried & failed. But after all of that, we are in the Premiership & have Rafa; a lot of clubs would take that at present.
Comment posted by Nikolai, at 01:30 21 Nov 2017
Goodness, there's a lot of wise guys on here telling Newcastle fans be careful what you wish for - who clearly know more than us about Mike Ashley's ten years.
They also seem to know all about Amanda Staveley & PCP Capital Partners.
I wish I had their knowledge and foresight...
Comment posted by JCB, at 04:03 21 Nov 2017
What on Earth does Alan Shearer do to deserve to be in the top 10 highest paid at the BBC? What an insult, not only in terms gender pay gap, but the fact he does next to nothing to earn it
Comment posted by David, at 08:10 21 Nov 2017
Blofeld1965 Expectations are that the Directors, Management and players put in a hard days work for the Club and ultimately the supporters. If that means we lose to Liverpool 4-3 and finish in the top half we'll live with that. FYI not the Shearer years, it was the Keegan and Robson (Hearts on sleeves and in club) years when we were the entertainers. We won nothing but the games were terrific!
Comment posted by K A G S, at 20:16 20 Nov 2017
@14

Are you serious? You think Mike Ashley is unpopular on Tyneside?

At Ibrox he is the devil incarnate!!!