Newcastle United co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi are to leave the club after three years at St James' Park.
Staveley, 51, played a key role in orchestrating the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund's (PIF) purchase of an 80 per cent stake in Newcastle for £300million (now $379m) in 2021, helping bring to an end Mike Ashley's 14-year ownership of the club.
As part of that deal, she acquired a 10 per cent stake in Newcastle, having made three failed attempts to buy the club from Ashley in 2017. The Reuben family also bought a 10 per cent share. The Premier League faced criticism for approving the Saudi-backed takeover, including from Amnesty International who called it "an extremely bitter blow for human rights defenders".
A Companies House update earlier this year showed that Staveley's stake has been diluted to six per cent, with the Reuben family's shares increasing.
In March, questions were raised about Staveley's future at the club after filings on Companies House showed she had resigned as a director from 20 Newcastle-related companies. However, she quickly moved to assuage any doubts about her role at the club.
"The changes made… were purely administrative, to non-trading subsidiaries," she wrote on Instagram. "After the takeover, Jamie (Reuben) and I stepped in as directors of all companies until we could build an executive team. We remain on the 'top-co' and the board."
Staveley featured heavily in the We Are Newcastle United Amazon documentary last August and recently helped secure a deal between golf's PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV tour. She is expected to continue to work with PIF and remain involved in football.
She also previously helped broker the £210m sale of Manchester City in 2008 to Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour.
Staveley, 51, played a key role in orchestrating the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund's (PIF) purchase of an 80 per cent stake in Newcastle for £300million (now $379m) in 2021, helping bring to an end Mike Ashley's 14-year ownership of the club.
As part of that deal, she acquired a 10 per cent stake in Newcastle, having made three failed attempts to buy the club from Ashley in 2017. The Reuben family also bought a 10 per cent share. The Premier League faced criticism for approving the Saudi-backed takeover, including from Amnesty International who called it "an extremely bitter blow for human rights defenders".
A Companies House update earlier this year showed that Staveley's stake has been diluted to six per cent, with the Reuben family's shares increasing.
In March, questions were raised about Staveley's future at the club after filings on Companies House showed she had resigned as a director from 20 Newcastle-related companies. However, she quickly moved to assuage any doubts about her role at the club.
"The changes made… were purely administrative, to non-trading subsidiaries," she wrote on Instagram. "After the takeover, Jamie (Reuben) and I stepped in as directors of all companies until we could build an executive team. We remain on the 'top-co' and the board."
Staveley featured heavily in the We Are Newcastle United Amazon documentary last August and recently helped secure a deal between golf's PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV tour. She is expected to continue to work with PIF and remain involved in football.
She also previously helped broker the £210m sale of Manchester City in 2008 to Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour.
