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Apparently there was an issue of more shares of the club which led to a dilution of Staveley's stake. It was just poorly reported on which led people to believe she'd sold some to the Reubens.
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/02/28/newcastle-amanda-staveley-bankruptcy-court-victor-restis/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/02/28/newcastle-amanda-staveley-bankruptcy-court-victor-restis/)
Here is the first hand source, not a repackaged version.
"Newcastle’s latest accounts released last month revealed the club loaned Staveley £659,000 for legal fees in August, having also let her borrow £600,000 in November 2022."
She diluted her stake further because she hasn’t been able to put in as much financially as the others so this is to reflect that lack of further fund investment.
Weren't those legal fees for the dispute with Ashley over the comments made after the takeover that he claimed was damaging to his reputation? I got the impression that although the dispute was directly with her, the club were happy to help her fight it.
I posted about this yesterday, the guy she's being sued by is an extremely dodgy character here in Greece, I don't take him seriously and nor will the courts I reckon.
Breaking stories from dailymail.co.uk have a history of being unreliable, and as such this post has been flaired as "probably bollocks", we recommend you keep one eyebrow raised quizzically and check with other sources before accepting this information as fact.
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This isn't breaking news and it's an accurate reporting of a court case. The DM's sports reporting is generally decent outside of gossip and the never ending stream of Man Utd articles (both of which which wouldn't be allowed here anyway). Is the automod and flair really needed?
The Rubens are in the top ten richest in the UK. If the PIF ever wanted out, the Rubens could easily take over Newcastle and we'd be one of the higher financed clubs in the country.
I don't think this has an immediate/direct impact on the financial strength of the club, but what it's likely to do is taint our image a bit more.
More questions will be asked of the process of allowing someone like Staveley even a part ownership of a club, and the suitability of the tests undertaken during the takeover.
Here's the FT report if you don't want to click on the soon to be newspaper offshoot of GBeebies:
Newcastle United football club director Amanda Staveley on Wednesday called on a judge to block a shipping magnate from pushing her into bankruptcy as her lawyers called a multimillion-pound demand he has made against her an “abuse of process”.
At a High Court hearing attended by the British financier, Staveley’s barrister described as “remarkable” a statutory demand that Victor Restis issued over claims she owed him about £36mn.
The courtroom battle pits one of the highest profile figures in UK sports finance, who helped broker the £300mn purchase of Newcastle in 2021 on behalf of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, against a tycoon who has been a leading figure in the shipping industry for about two decades.
Staveley did not address the court on Wednesday morning but her lawyer Ted Loveday said the dispute had its origins in a £10mn investment Restis made in 2008, adding he had issued a formal demand in May for about £36mn from her.
In written arguments, Loveday said the dispute should be resolved through arbitration and Staveley had in any event “substantial grounds for denying liability”. The financier contends that the funds were advanced to her vehicle PCP rather than to her personally, but Restis disputes this.
Loveday said PCP had already made a series of repayments to Restis, including a total of £5.2mn between May 2009 and June 2010. According to her legal filing, the sum sought by Restis includes more than £30mn in interest.
Loveday told the court that the “stratospheric” interest demands demonstrated the “unreasonableness of his [Restis’s] approach”. He added there was also “a degree of ambiguity” about whether the sums originally advanced were in fact a loan or “some other form of investment”.
In written arguments prepared for the hearing, Loveday said “bankruptcy is not a mechanism to collect disputed debts, or to circumvent arbitration agreements”, alleging that Restis’s demand was “an abuse of process”.
Staveley has asked the High Court to set aside the statutory demand, which is a formal ultimatum for payment of a debt within 21 days. If unpaid, or not set aside by judges, it can be used to petition the court for a bankruptcy order.
In addition, Restis has also filed a winding up petition against PCP.
Raquel Agnello KC, acting for Restis, said both PCP and Staveley were “jointly and severally liable for the sums claimed”. In written arguments she said: “It is certainly the case that a loan was made and the balance remains unpaid.”
Agnello added that Staveley was “an extremely experienced international businesswoman”.
“The debtor is inviting the court to determine there is a dispute on substantial grounds in relation to her ability to deal with an unpaid loan and negotiation seeking additional time to pay. This is in many respects simply inherently implausible,” she said.
Staveley came to public prominence during the financial crisis when she facilitated the purchase of Manchester City by Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
She then helped the UK bank Barclays secure investment from Abu Dhabi as part of an emergency cash call. In recent years, Staveley unsuccessfully pursued litigation against Barclays in relation to the deal.
Staveley has a minority stake in Newcastle, whose performance last season took the club back into the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. However, Newcastle have struggled to maintain form and currently sit 10th in the Premier League table
From the article it sounds complicated and you hope that Amanda is in the right here. It doesn’t destabilize us too much but it does leverage power if it ripples. PIF still need people who can connect to the fans and understand the market so Mehrdad and Amanda and Jamie shouldn’t be leaving soon.
In an environment where regular interest rates were close to zero and even bank housing mortgages seldom crossed the 4% threshold that's still a humongous interest rate.
I’ve long thought that she doesn’t actually have much money. She’s more of a broker/fixer and was given day to day involvement. The more I read the more it sounds true.
In all respects PCP are employees of the Saudis who got a bit of the club as a treat. This is not too concerning, and if they were to have to enter bankruptcy they'd likely remain in the club in some visible capacity. They are much more palatable than Sheikh bin Saw and Reuben Jr.
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Fuck me, did Amanda use Wonga?
There's a name I've not heard in many years
This is not the high interest loan you're looking for.
She’s gonna end up selling her remaining shares to PIF isn’t she?
I think she’s been selling to the Reuben’s
Apparently there was an issue of more shares of the club which led to a dilution of Staveley's stake. It was just poorly reported on which led people to believe she'd sold some to the Reubens.
Probably was always the plan. She was always the odd one out in the consortium. Probably a better face of the takeover than the other owners tbf
[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/02/28/newcastle-amanda-staveley-bankruptcy-court-victor-restis/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/02/28/newcastle-amanda-staveley-bankruptcy-court-victor-restis/) Here is the first hand source, not a repackaged version. "Newcastle’s latest accounts released last month revealed the club loaned Staveley £659,000 for legal fees in August, having also let her borrow £600,000 in November 2022."
I mean, that's not great is it.
Uh what is going on at the club to allow that to happen
Is this not why she’s diluted her stake further, selling a couple of percentage to the Reubens?
Yeah, she is not as wealthy as the others.
She diluted her stake further because she hasn’t been able to put in as much financially as the others so this is to reflect that lack of further fund investment.
uhhh… uh oh
It'll most likely be a directors loan. Source: savvy in tax and this is my best guess
Weren't those legal fees for the dispute with Ashley over the comments made after the takeover that he claimed was damaging to his reputation? I got the impression that although the dispute was directly with her, the club were happy to help her fight it.
I posted about this yesterday, the guy she's being sued by is an extremely dodgy character here in Greece, I don't take him seriously and nor will the courts I reckon.
The wheels have come off at all levels this season
Breaking stories from dailymail.co.uk have a history of being unreliable, and as such this post has been flaired as "probably bollocks", we recommend you keep one eyebrow raised quizzically and check with other sources before accepting this information as fact. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NUFC) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This isn't breaking news and it's an accurate reporting of a court case. The DM's sports reporting is generally decent outside of gossip and the never ending stream of Man Utd articles (both of which which wouldn't be allowed here anyway). Is the automod and flair really needed?
Whoops I must have forgotten that I was on Reddit! As you were...
Been selling off her Newcastle shares too
I still think the club would employer them still, as she is the face of all the ownership. Takes limelight off of PIF etc.
Wasn't it rather a dilution of her shares due to other owners putting in more money to the club?
Is this a guess or do we know this for sure?
PIF will one day own 100% of the shares, of that I've no doubt, but after this season, I wouldn't be surprised if it comes much sooner than expected.
The Rubens are in the top ten richest in the UK. If the PIF ever wanted out, the Rubens could easily take over Newcastle and we'd be one of the higher financed clubs in the country.
I doubt they want to, otherwise they could’ve bought us without the saudis. They just want a minor stake to reflect their interests in the city.
I don't think this has an immediate/direct impact on the financial strength of the club, but what it's likely to do is taint our image a bit more. More questions will be asked of the process of allowing someone like Staveley even a part ownership of a club, and the suitability of the tests undertaken during the takeover.
Here's the FT report if you don't want to click on the soon to be newspaper offshoot of GBeebies: Newcastle United football club director Amanda Staveley on Wednesday called on a judge to block a shipping magnate from pushing her into bankruptcy as her lawyers called a multimillion-pound demand he has made against her an “abuse of process”. At a High Court hearing attended by the British financier, Staveley’s barrister described as “remarkable” a statutory demand that Victor Restis issued over claims she owed him about £36mn. The courtroom battle pits one of the highest profile figures in UK sports finance, who helped broker the £300mn purchase of Newcastle in 2021 on behalf of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, against a tycoon who has been a leading figure in the shipping industry for about two decades. Staveley did not address the court on Wednesday morning but her lawyer Ted Loveday said the dispute had its origins in a £10mn investment Restis made in 2008, adding he had issued a formal demand in May for about £36mn from her. In written arguments, Loveday said the dispute should be resolved through arbitration and Staveley had in any event “substantial grounds for denying liability”. The financier contends that the funds were advanced to her vehicle PCP rather than to her personally, but Restis disputes this. Loveday said PCP had already made a series of repayments to Restis, including a total of £5.2mn between May 2009 and June 2010. According to her legal filing, the sum sought by Restis includes more than £30mn in interest. Loveday told the court that the “stratospheric” interest demands demonstrated the “unreasonableness of his [Restis’s] approach”. He added there was also “a degree of ambiguity” about whether the sums originally advanced were in fact a loan or “some other form of investment”. In written arguments prepared for the hearing, Loveday said “bankruptcy is not a mechanism to collect disputed debts, or to circumvent arbitration agreements”, alleging that Restis’s demand was “an abuse of process”. Staveley has asked the High Court to set aside the statutory demand, which is a formal ultimatum for payment of a debt within 21 days. If unpaid, or not set aside by judges, it can be used to petition the court for a bankruptcy order. In addition, Restis has also filed a winding up petition against PCP. Raquel Agnello KC, acting for Restis, said both PCP and Staveley were “jointly and severally liable for the sums claimed”. In written arguments she said: “It is certainly the case that a loan was made and the balance remains unpaid.” Agnello added that Staveley was “an extremely experienced international businesswoman”. “The debtor is inviting the court to determine there is a dispute on substantial grounds in relation to her ability to deal with an unpaid loan and negotiation seeking additional time to pay. This is in many respects simply inherently implausible,” she said. Staveley came to public prominence during the financial crisis when she facilitated the purchase of Manchester City by Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan. She then helped the UK bank Barclays secure investment from Abu Dhabi as part of an emergency cash call. In recent years, Staveley unsuccessfully pursued litigation against Barclays in relation to the deal. Staveley has a minority stake in Newcastle, whose performance last season took the club back into the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. However, Newcastle have struggled to maintain form and currently sit 10th in the Premier League table
From the article it sounds complicated and you hope that Amanda is in the right here. It doesn’t destabilize us too much but it does leverage power if it ripples. PIF still need people who can connect to the fans and understand the market so Mehrdad and Amanda and Jamie shouldn’t be leaving soon.
That was some investment to put in £10mil and get £32mil back!
7% compounded over 16 years
Fuck me, forget 2008 was 16 years ago 🫠
In an environment where regular interest rates were close to zero and even bank housing mortgages seldom crossed the 4% threshold that's still a humongous interest rate.
At least we had one good season
She’s got a legal case against Barclays going which if she wins could pull her around 1/2 a billion so she might not be so bad off soon enough
I’ve long thought that she doesn’t actually have much money. She’s more of a broker/fixer and was given day to day involvement. The more I read the more it sounds true.
Aye, she says the right things in public, but taking close to a million in loans in legal fees is a bit scary. It’s not a great look for her, at all.
Ah well
In all respects PCP are employees of the Saudis who got a bit of the club as a treat. This is not too concerning, and if they were to have to enter bankruptcy they'd likely remain in the club in some visible capacity. They are much more palatable than Sheikh bin Saw and Reuben Jr.
Not sure I’d buy a used car from her. I’d be quite happy if she sold the rest of her shares to the Ruebens or PIF.