Amanda Staveley is a prominent British financier and businesswoman. As of 2024, Amanda Staveley net worth is $170 million.
As a director at PCP Capital Partners, she has facilitated several major deals involving Middle Eastern investors.
Notably, in 2021, she played a key role in the Saudi takeover of the football club Newcastle United, where she now serves as a director.
Staveley also led the £7.3 billion investment in Barclays by the ruling families of Abu Dhabi and Qatar in 2008.
Amanda Staveley Early Life and Education
Amanda Staveley was born on April 11, 1973, in Ripon, England, to Lynne and Robert Staveley.
Her mother was a champion show jumper, and her father founded the Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park in North Stainley.
Staveley attended Queen Margaret’s School for Girls and competed in show jumping.
She later enrolled at the University of Cambridge’s St. Catharine’s College but left after her grandfather’s death caused her significant stress.
Amanda Staveley Career Beginnings
Staveley’s business career began in 1996 when she purchased the Bottisham restaurant Stocks with a £180,000 loan.
Through this venture, she connected with members of the horse racing community in Newmarket, particularly those associated with the Al Maktoum family’s Godolphin stables.
Additionally, she became acquainted with various individuals from the tech industry in Cambridge, emerging as a prominent angel investor in dot-com and biotech firms by the late 1990s.
In 2000, Staveley closed Stocks and opened the Q.ton conference center in the Cambridge Science Park.
She sold a 49% stake in Q.ton to the telecom company EuroTelecom.
However, EuroTelecom went out of business during the dot-com bubble collapse, leaving Q.ton with a debt of £835,000.
Although she repurchased the company’s stake, she was unable to revive Q.ton successfully.
PCP Capital Partners and Major Deals
After the Q.ton failure, Staveley moved to Dubai and established connections throughout the Middle East.
In 2008, she founded PCP Capital Partners with her legal partner Craig Eadie. Despite being based in London, the firm operates through offshore private equity affiliates for Middle Eastern investors.
In 2008, Staveley facilitated Sheikh Mansour’s £210 million acquisition of Manchester City football club through the Abu Dhabi United Group.
Although she was also involved in negotiations for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to purchase a 49% stake in Liverpool football club, the deal did not materialize.
Staveley gained significant attention in 2008 for orchestrating the £7.3 billion investment in Barclays by the ruling families of Abu Dhabi and Qatar, earning £30 million for her role in the transaction.
Amanda Staveley Recent Ventures
In late 2017, Staveley bid to purchase Newcastle United, but the attempt failed.
She tried again in 2020 with the support of the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund, but this effort also fell short.
Finally, in late 2021, Staveley, along with the Reuben Brothers and the Public Investment Fund, successfully acquired Newcastle United for £300 million.
She now serves as the club’s director alongside Jamie Reuben and Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan.
Despite criticism branding the takeover as “sportswashing,” Staveley defended the acquisition by highlighting the independence of the Public Investment Fund from the Saudi Arabian government.
Staveley has also been involved in various other deals with Middle Eastern investors.
In 2008, she led a bid by the Qatar Investment Authority to purchase the facilities management company Trillium, although the bid was unsuccessful.
She participated in a failed attempt to finance the $13.5 billion sale of Barclays Global Investors to BlackRock.
In 2010, she successfully advised the Qatari property investment company Barwa on acquiring the Park House site in London.
A few years later, she assisted a Middle Eastern private equity group in purchasing the Arundel Great Court site on the north bank of the Thames in London.
Amanda Staveley Personal Life
In the early 2000s, Staveley had a high-profile relationship with Prince Andrew, Duke of York, which garnered significant media attention.
In 2011, she married British-Iranian financier Mehrdad Ghodoussi.
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Conclusion
Amanda Staveley’s career is a testament to her formidable skills as a financier and business strategist.
Her ability to broker significant deals, particularly involving Middle Eastern investors, has established her as a key player in the finance world.
Despite facing setbacks and controversies, her persistence and strategic acumen have enabled her to achieve substantial success and influence in her field.