Football financier Amanda Staveley raised nearly £1 million in consultancy fees from Newcastle United last year, filings show
Support: Funder Amanda Staveley in her Newcastle scarf in St James’ Park
Football financier Amanda Staveley raised nearly £1 million in consultancy fees from Newcastle United last year, the filings show.
The highly regarded Premier League football club was sued for ‘strategic advisory services’ by Staveley, who helped sell Newcastle for £300m to a Saudi-led consortium in October 2021.
Staveley – an ex-model and ex-girlfriend of Prince Andrew – joined the Magpies board straight after the controversial takeover. Newcastle’s final accounts at Companies House, which were signed by Staveley for the year ending 30 June 2022, reveal she began taxing the club through its holding company Cantervale once the deal was completed.
The report says Cantervale, where Staveley is the sole director, charged Newcastle £937,500 for work carried out between October and June. Newcastle posted a loss of £70m last year on a turnover of £180m.
Staveley owes most of her fortune – reportedly up to £100 million – to brokerage deals between oil-rich sheikhs and a range of British companies. But this business flow led to a bitter lawsuit with Barclays several years ago.
The 50-year-old sued the bank for more than £800 million over claims that her firm, PCP Capital Partners, was owed money by Barclays after the bank raised billions from Middle Eastern lenders during the financial crisis. Staveley also made headlines after revealing the rampant sexism she had faced in the city.
Her claim against Barclays was ultimately unsuccessful, but she did not have to pay Barclays’ legal bill of £33 million. The businesswoman has since boosted her reputation at Newcastle, where she holds a 10 per cent stake in the club. She has become a well-known figure at St James’ Park, Newcastle’s stadium, and is often pictured wearing the team’s black and white scarf. Staveley declined to comment.