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£300m bid for Newcastle United

Newcastle United have received a formal bid of approaching £300m for the club from PCP Capital Partners, the private investment firm fronted by the financier Amanda Staveley. The figure is said to be in the £260m-£300m range, but with an add on for good performance. No other credible bidder has emerged since the club was put up for sale.

Her investors include significant funds based in the Middle East with access to around £28bn, particularly in the United Arab Emirates. The Dubai-based businesswoman has a strong track record in football club ownership, having brokered the sale of Manchester City to Sheikh Mansour's group in 2008.

The figure offered, reportedly on a 'take it or leave it' basis falls significantly short of the £380m owner Mike Ashley is holding out for, itself a reduced figure from the £400m he originally hoped for. Ashley bought the club for £134.4m in 2007 and has more than doubled that investment in the ensuing decade.

Another concern for the bidders is an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs, with the club’s managing director among executives arrested and questioned this year in a probe into the tax affairs of leading European clubs. The club and the executives involved deny any wrongdoing.

Their latest accounts - up to 30 June 2016 and before the club's relegation to the Championship - showed a profit of £900,000 and turnover of £126m in 2015-16.

The timing of the bid, if it goes ahead, would allow player purchases to be made in the January transfer window, avoiding another relegation struggle. Without an enhancement of the squad, the future of manager Rafael Benitiez is in doubt.

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