Get your free copy of Editor’s Digest
FT editor Roula Khalaf picks her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and the Reuben brothers are strengthening their control over Newcastle United soccer club by buying up the minority stake held by British dealmaker Amanda Staveley.
Newcastle announced on Friday that the Gulf state’s Public Investment Fund and British businessman RB Sport & Media would buy the stake 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 consistent and credible competitor in domestic and European competitions” and would give it an 85% stake in the club. The Reuven family will hold the remaining 15%.
Staveley’s departure marks a significant moment for the Premier League club. PIF bought Newcastle for £305 million in October 2021 and he played a key role in facilitating the takeover from British retail tycoon Mike Ashley and emerged as the face of the ownership group. Day-to-day running is now handled by Darren Eales, who took over as chief executive in July 2022.
Staveley and her husband, Mehrdad Ghoddoussi, appeared in an Amazon series about Newcastle alongside PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. Staveley’s PCP investment company owned around 6% of the club.
A person close to Staveley said she was likely to remain involved in football.
Mr Staveley has been embroiled in a costly legal battle with Greek shipping tycoon Victor Restis since the beginning of the year, losing a British court case in March and being awarded £3.5 million in damages.
Newcastle chairman Al Rumayyan congratulated the outgoing shareholders as they “focus on other areas”, saying the ownership group would “continue to build on these foundations for the long-term, sustainable success of the club”.
PIF has billions of dollars invested in sports ventures around the world, from golf to motor racing, but Newcastle is currently the fund’s only asset in European football.
Newcastle is the majority shareholder in the PIF, which manages $925 billion in assets, but the club operates under a stricter regulatory environment than when Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 or Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, bought Manchester City in 2008. The club is limited to losses of 105 million pounds over three seasons, excluding investments in infrastructure and other areas.
Since the PIF takeover of Newcastle, Premier League owners have passed a resolution to tighten rules on sponsorship deals with related organisations, a move designed to stop PIF-backed companies funneling money into clubs, but Newcastle have struck sponsorship deals with events organiser Sela and online retailer Noon, who fly to Saudi Arabia for training camps and bolster the club’s finances.
On the pitch, Newcastle have enjoyed immediate success since their acquisition, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League at the end of the 2022-23 season and seeing revenues increase by nearly 40% to £250 million that season.
“We’re delighted to have played our part in helping the club achieve further success,” Staveley said. “We will remain fans for life.”
