The extraordinary life and career of financier Amanda Staveley has taken another lucrative turn, with newly filed documents revealing an £11 million payday in the last financial year. This windfall follows her pivotal role in the Saudi-led acquisition of Newcastle United Football Club and her subsequent exit from the club.
From Yorkshire to High Finance: A Remarkable Journey
Staveley's story reads like a screenplay, tracing a path from a sporty childhood in Yorkshire to modelling, a glamorous stint at Cambridge University, and then a high-flying career as a restaurateur and financier. Her connections were forged early, notably while running the restaurant Stocks in Newmarket, where she catered to the racing elite and built relationships with Middle Eastern investors.
Her resilience was tested in her early 30s when, as a financier, she faced a shocking proposition from a potential business partner. Inspired by the film Indecent Proposal, he offered to invest £5 million in a biotech firm she was advising—on the condition she slept with him. She refused. She also reportedly declined a marriage proposal from Prince Andrew, whom she met either at a Cambridge health club or in Abu Dhabi.
The Newcastle United Chapter and a Multi-Million Pound Exit
Staveley's most public deal came in 2021 when she helped broker the £305 million acquisition of Newcastle United by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium. She and her Iranian husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, became deeply involved in the club's affairs, earning admiration from many fans.
Their departure last year, however, was met with sadness. A fan's letter, recently read on The High Performance Podcast, moved Staveley to tears. It lamented that without 'Mandy', the club risked losing a 'vital connection' with its supporter base.
The financial consolation for her exit is substantial. According to a liquidator's report filed at Companies House, Staveley channelled her earnings from Newcastle—totalling £11 million—through a company called Redstart Leisure Ltd. By putting this company into liquidation last year, she ensured the full sum was transferred to her, a move also designed to minimise her tax liability.
Society Notebook: Fundraisers, Dating, and Royal Plans
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Actress Imogen Poots, 36, has shared unconventional dating advice following her split from fiancé James Norton, advocating for 'co-dependency' and being 'obsessed with each other'. Meanwhile, Queen Camilla's children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, will not join the King at Sandringham this Christmas, opting for an 'every other year' arrangement.
Jewellery designer Thyra Goldsmith, 23, daughter of Lord Zac Goldsmith, has openly acknowledged her 'pretty privilege', arguing that beauty, like nepotism, is an undeniable advantage. In a lighter note, actor Bill Nighy, 75, expressed fury at being disturbed while reading alone at lunch, calling for it to be 'a crime'.
