Would-be Newcastle United buyer Amanda Staveley loses court battle with Barclays

Staveley sued Barclays for hundreds of millions of pounds over the behaviour of the bank when negotiating investment deals during the 2008 financial crisis.

After winning a high court case against Staveley, a spokesperson for Barclays said: “We welcome the court’s decision to dismiss PCP’s claim in its entirety and award it no damages.”

Lawyer Richard East – who represented Ms Staveley, and is based at law firm Quinn Emanuel – said: “Despite Barclays’ attempts to besmirch Ms Staveley’s character during six days of no-holds-barred cross examination, this judgement makes clear that Ms Staveley was a reliable and honest witness.

“And that, by contrast, Barclays was dishonest in its dealings with PCP, and misled Ms Staveley as to the true nature of its deal with Qatar.

“It is disappointing that, despite the judge finding that Ms Staveley was a tough, persistent, clever and able negotiator, he found ultimately that she could not have completed the deal which she had put in place and hence no loss was suffered. This is a surprising outcome.

“We hope that the regulators will have a close look at this judgment and the conclusions the judge reaches on the behaviour of senior personnel within Barclays.”

Speaking after the ruling, Staveley said that she was considering an appeal.

She said: “In spite of Barclays’ efforts to question my character and credentials, the court has recognised my abilities as a businesswoman and the truth of my account of events.

“The judgement confirms what I have said from the outset, and repeated in my evidence; a senior executive at Barclays repeatedly lied to me when seeking private investment in the bank during the 2008 financial crisis.

“The evidence at trial was clear and unequivocal; PCP was an investor in the transaction and played an integral role in the capital raising, which ultimately prevented the bank from being nationalised.

“I will be taking advice on appealing the judge’s decision not to award damages.”

The financier led a consortium which agreed a £300million deal for Newcastle last year.

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Newcastle United coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription; sign up here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor