EXCLUSIVE: Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley ready to sell Newcastle if Amanda Staveley-fronted Saudi Arabian consortium can produce the cash
- Mike Ashley will sell Newcastle if interested consortium produces the cash
- Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is leading the attempted takeover
- Sources within Sports Direct say that Ashley ‘wants done with’ the club
- Uncertainty over retail industry future could influence eagerness to sell
Mike Ashley will sell Newcastle United if the consortium fronted by Amanda Staveley produces the cash to do a deal, Sportsmail has been told.
We have learned that, since January when Staveley’s name reappeared as part of a group including Saudi Arabia‘s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Ashley has joked about walking down his driveway and opening his mailbox every morning only to find no cheque inside.
Fresh reports surfaced this week claiming a deal has moved closer and that paperwork from both sides had been submitted to the Premier League.
Mike Ashley will sell Newcastle if consortium fronted by Amanda Staveley produces the cash
However, sources at the Premier League have indicated they will only become ‘interested’ once instructed by the seller that a deal has been reached and the takeover process can begin, although documents being lodged is a step in the right direction.
Those close to Ashley have consistently said they will only have a decision to make when presented with an acceptable offer and the cash to complete and, as of now, that has not happened. Ashley’s lieutenant Justin Barnes is the man tasked with making any deal happen.
It was said in January that £340million was the price on the table and there has been a suggestion that the coronavirus crisis will see Staveley’s group attempt to drive that figure down.
Those on Staveley’s side have told us they are hopeful of a deal being reached and say a ‘long term’ business plan has been devised, although they have expressed caution when it comes to dealing with Ashley.
It was said in January that £340million was the price on the table for the Premier League club
Amanda Staveley is understood to be one of the driving forces behind the possible takeover
Meanwhile, sources within Sports Direct say that Ashley is increasingly keen to sell the club and ‘wants done with it’.
The uncertainty over the immediate future of the retail industry and his business interests outside of the club could also influence his eagerness to sell.
We have seen correspondence sent to Sports Direct staff on Wednesday morning informing them they have been placed on furlough leave. They have been told that wages are guaranteed until April 30 but the letter warns that ‘full payment or jobs cannot be guaranteed beyond this point’.
It follows Ashley’s move to place the majority of non-playing staff at Newcastle on furlough earlier in the week.
Sources within Sports Direct say that retail tycoon Ashley ‘wants done with’ the club
In echoes of what was communicated to club staff on Monday, Sports Direct employees were told that everything was being done to ‘safeguard the business’ during ‘unprecedented times’.
We have also seen an email sent from Ashley to all staff within the Frasers Group on Tuesday evening revealing that senior management have taken a voluntary pay cut to a maximum of £40,000 per year. Within it, Ashley told staff that the company is ‘still navigating the effects of this outbreak’.
But while his retail businesses are facing a difficult period, insiders insist he will not take kindly to any potential buyer of Newcastle ‘taking the p***’ with an offer way below his asking price.
Staveley’s proposed bid is said to include an 80 per cent stake for the Saudi PIF with the broker herself and the Reuben brothers – UK-based property developers – making up the additional 20 per cent