Skip to main content

Ashley wants quick sale at Newcastle

It has been rumoured for some time that Mike Ashley wanted to sell Newcastle United, but now the club has been officially put on the market. After a controversial ten years at St. James' Park, which started with the Sports Direct tycoon sitting among the fans, it has all gone sour and his departure will be greeted with relief. Along the way, there have been two relegations and a controversial attempt to rename the stadium.

Mike Ashley has extended only modest loans to Newcastle, preferring to spend his personal cash on property investments such as The Clearings, a former John Lewis depot in Chelsea that is being developed into fashionable apartments. His reluctance to spend money did not please the Toon Army. Mr Ashley once said that he had been advised to stay away from games for fear that he might be assaulted. He has not been to a home game this season.

As the Financial Times notes today, 'Newcastle is a fiercely tribal club even by the standards of English football; fans tend to regard their allegiance less as a choice than a diktat of family history and geography.' When the club returned to the Premier League, viewing of matches by fans gave Sky and BT audience growth approaching double digits.

Ashley is keen to secure a quick sale before the January transfer window. He is looking for around £450m if possible, although £300m-£400m may be more achievable. In 2008 he paid £244m to take the club private and pay off its debt. However, the club said that interested parties would not have pay the full cost up front to give them the chance to invest in the playing squad. He estimates that the club needs to invest £200m in new players.

Ashley did try to sell the club in 2007, little more than a year after he bought it and shortly after he floated Sports Direct on the Stock Exchange. However, no buyer was forthcoming. The billionaire has now conceded that he could not compete with wealthy foreign backers when it came to buying top players.

One complication is a Revenue & Customs investigation into the tax affairs of the club and its players, although it could be completed by Christmas.

The club has already signed non-disclosure agreements, a precursor to formal discussions, with several interested parties. Four potential bidders are thought to be in the frame. Reported interest from China is said to have dissipated, but may revive once the Communist Party Congress is over and an expected green light is given to more overseas club acquisitions.

However, the front runner is Amanda Staveley whose PCP Capital Partners is said to control a £28 billion fund of mainly Middle Eastern wealth, although she also acts for investors based in China. She was involved in Sheikh Mansour's purchase of Manchester City: Amanda Staveley

In any event it looks like another Premier League club will enter foreign ownership.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Wolves get raw deal from FFP

  I used to see a lifelong Wolves fan for lunch once a month.   He was approaching ninety, but still went to games.   Sadly he passed away the other week. As football finance guru Kieran Maguire has noted, Wolves continue to be constrained by financial fair play rules.  Radio 4 this morning described them as this year's 'crisis club' and the pessimists have certainly been piling in. Martin Samuel wrote sympathetically in the Sunday Times yesterday, saying that the Premier League drives talent away with regulatory red tape: 'Why could Al-Hilal sign Neves? Because Wolves needed the money. And why did Wolves need the money? Because the club had to comply with an artificial construct known as financial fair play. So Wolves are going skint, yes? No. There is no suggestion that Wolves are in financial trouble, only that they are failing to meet the rigours of FFP. Wolves’ owners appear to have the money to run the club, and invest in the club, and in fact came up with a pow

Gold standard ground boosts Tottenham's income

The gold standard in European football grounds is the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in north London, a £1bn construction project completed in 2019. Its impact on the club’s finances has become increasingly clear as the effects of the pandemic have faded. Previously, the average fan would spend less than £2 inside the ground on a typical match day, but now that figure is about £16, thanks to new facilities including the longest bar in Europe and an on-site microbrewery. Capacity has gone up from 36,000 at the club’s previous home of White Hart Lane to 62,000.  The new stadium — built on land adjacent to White Hart Lane — has opened the door to a broad range of other events that have helped to push commercial income up from €117mn in 2018 to €215mn in 2022. Last year, Tottenham hosted US singer Beyoncé for five nights on her global Renaissance tour, two NFL matches, as well as rugby games and heavyweight boxing bouts.  Money brought in from football has gone up too. Match day income is

Charlton takeover approved

The long awaited takeover of Charlton Athletic by SE7 Partners from Thomas Sandgaard has been approved:  https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/se7-partners-obtain-efl-approval-for-charlton-athletic-takeover/ Charlton have had unhappy experiences with owners for over a decade, so how this works out will remain to be seen.  There is certainly potential there, but will it be realised? This interview with Charlie Methven gives detail not available elsewhere:  https://thecharltondossier.com/charlie-methven-on-the-record/