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In early 2009, she was described as “the beautiful woman who has rocked the beautiful game,” the financial repairer who helped billionaires in the Middle East buy soccer clubs.
Eleven years later, Amanda Staveley is still dabbling in the art of acquisitions, and perhaps coming to the end of a quest that has exhausted fans of Newcastle United.
The sale of this northeast institution is one that has been activated, deactivated, activated again, and then deactivated again.
Amanda Staveley appears to be finally reaching a £ 300 million acquisition deal for Newcastle
Staveley was described as the ‘Queen of British football’ after the acquisition of Man City in 2008
Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi at a gala event in 2015: they have a child together
But if Mike Ashley finally signs on that dotted line, takes his £ 300 million signage and Sports Direct with him, those followers will tell him it was worth it.
Staveley may be about to become the new First Lady of Soccer. To understand who she is and what she represents, she highlights a quote from the 2000s.
“It is not about money,” the 47-year-old said at the time. ‘It wouldn’t matter if I won £ 8m or £ 200m. I just want to go to bed at night and say I’ve done a good job.
If £ 8m is truly a peanut for her, then Newcastle supporters desperate for success would hope that would mean she would be willing to invest significantly more in the transfer market.
He is believed to have a personal fortune of over £ 115 million, and is no stranger to the limelight.
Staveley was in a relationship with Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and avoided a life of intense tabloid interest by apparently rejecting a marriage proposal in 2003.
British businesswoman launched new £ 300m offer for Northeast giants
Staveley has strong contacts in the Middle East and has always been interested in sports.
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is ready to sell to Staveley and his firm PCP Capital Partners.
In 2011, he married Mehrdad Ghodoussi, a beautiful Iranian who worked with her in her company, in a luxurious ceremony in West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire. Guests included artist Tracey Emin, and the bride’s wedding dress was designed by Sarah Burton, who was responsible for the Kate Middleton dress at her own royal wedding.
The couple have a child together: Alexander, nicknamed Lexi, was born in 2014. He was born prematurely after Staveley went into labor at a business meeting, but is now a healthy boy.
So why soccer? Why a business where each and every decision you make would be analyzed by millions of fans, reporters, and experts alike?
Staveley is not new to the sport as he has been heavily involved in the world of horse racing. Like football, its owners have fairly large bank balances.
As an ambitious man in his 20s, he took out a loan of £ 180,000 to buy a restaurant called Stocks near Cambridge and Newmarket Racecourse. He was regularly visited by coaches and owners, giving him the opportunity to make the contacts he craved.
In 2011 Staveley married Iranian businessman Mehrdad Ghodoussi in Buckinghamshire.
Staveley poses with her husband at the Old Vic Bicentenary Ball in London in May 2013
His business career was on the way.
Staveley met Prince Andrew in the United Arab Emirates during a visit as part of his role as trade ambassador in 2001. He had just ended a two-year relationship with millionaire venture capitalist Mark Horrocks, 39.
Their relationship with the Prince flourished and was mutually beneficial in many ways.
As a commercial envoy, Prince Andrew could open doors for contacts. In the meantime, he enjoyed introducing people to his new ‘friend’, whose glamor was matched by her charm and intelligence, an enviable asset to the Prince, who was often considered socially a little rude. Friends noticed how she called him ‘Babe’.
She became a regular visitor to Buckingham Palace, Sandringham, and Royal Lodge, Andrew’s home in Windsor Great Park, which she helped decorate. They even introduced her to Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, who are said to have approved of it.
Staveley played a key role in Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan buying Manchester City. She is portrayed in 2008 with Ali Jassim, who was her advisor at the time.
Staveley speaks at the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards in London in 2009
In 2003, the Prince asked the question. But Staveley struggled to imagine herself spending her hours with official duties and unable to carry on the business she loves.
“Andrew is a charming man and I still care a lot about him,” she told The Daily Mail a few years ago. “But if I had married him, my independence would have disappeared.”
It was a decision that disappointed her parents, particularly her mother, whom Staveley later said took three years to overcome. She once admitted: ‘I had a little disgust on my shoulder for being a girl in a family where the boy inherits. My mother and father always told me that my job was to get married well. ‘
Marrying with the royal family would also have reduced their commercial ambitions. She had considered acquiring a stake in Spearmint Rhino, the lap dance club chain, but declined because such a nasty investment would have been deemed inappropriate for a princess.
And then she turned to the Middle East to use her negotiating and negotiating skills to rack up a princely sum.
Staveley attends ‘The Radical Eye’ dinner in aid of the Elton John Aids Foundation in 2016
In 2005, he created Dubai-based private equity company PCP Capital Partners, which soon secured international deals for clients in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The role of the company is varied. Sometimes they lobby on political issues; occasionally they simply bring powerful people together or act as intermediaries in complex negotiations. Your contact book is, without a doubt, formidable.
She had used her old Mayfair home to entertain fashion designer Amanda Wakeley and billionaire Duke of Westminster.
In 2008, at the age of 35, Staveley participated in the capture of Manchester City by Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan. That reportedly brought her home for £ 10 million and some newspapers labeled her as ‘the new queen of British football’. Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia may now have some competition once again.
Staveley was also close to joining the Liverpool board when Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai was linked to the purchase of the Merseyside club.
In addition, she has been described as a true athlete, she likes jumping and athletics. At the age of 14, he is said to have logged 12.6 seconds for the 100 meters, and only a broken Achilles tendon prevented him from pursuing a career on that side of the sport.
Before opening Stocks, she had earned a place to study modern languages at Cambridge and worked as a part-time model for additional money.
Unfortunately, she was forced to abandon the title after leaving her in the hospital suffering from stress after her grandfather’s death.
So after all this, it soon becomes apparent that Staveley is a workaholic.
Staveley poses at his London home as part of an interview with The Mail in March 2017
Weeks after aiding the City’s takeover in 2008, he brokered a deal that saw billions of pounds of Middle Eastern money injected into Barclays. Her slice of the pie from that deal was £ 40 million for her company, and Staveley reportedly kept a significant sum for her.
With a great Regency townhouse on Park Lane, London, and a home in Dubai, it really is a life you lead.
So we know why sport and football, but why Newcastle? Staveley may have answered that in 2002: “If you show me a good idea, I can’t help but look.”
Newcastle, with its global appeal and room to grow, represents a challenge but also an opportunity. Ashley bought the club for £ 134m in 2007. In the past, she had demanded £ 400m, then that seemed to drop to £ 340m, and now £ 300m is being discussed.
We’ve been here before, of course, but Staveley has never been closer to a closed deal. Now we wait
