High Court judge to oversee £1.6bn fight between Amanda Staveley and Barclays as Newcastle United takeover drags on

PCP Capital Partners, a private equity firm run by businesswoman Staveley, is suing the bank and wants £1.6billion in damages.

The dispute with Barclays dates back to the 2008 global financial crisis and PCP has made deceit allegations.

The legal battle comes as the takeover of Newcastle United drags on.

Financier Staveley, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the billionaire property investors David and Simon Reuben, agreed a £300million deal for the club and lodged it with the Premier League last month but Staveley and her backers are still waiting on approval amid objections over piracy and Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.

Regards the court case with Barclays, Staveley's firm says it is owed money for the work it did setting up a Middle East investment deal.

Barclays says it will "vigorously" defend PCP's claim.

A spokesman says bank bosses believe that the claim is "misconceived and without merit".

Mr Justice Waksman, who is based at the High Court in London, is due to begin overseeing a trial on Monday.

Lawyers say the hearing, which will be shown online, will last around two months.

In February, three former Barclays' bosses were cleared of fraud over a £4billion investment deal with Qatar at the height of the banking crisis.

The Serious Fraud Office had alleged that lucrative terms given to Qatar were hidden from the market and other investors through bogus advisory service agreements.

But Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris, and Richard Boath, who are all in their 60s, were acquitted by jurors following a five-month trial at the Old Bailey.

The civil court trial, involving PCP, had been postponed several times to allow the criminal trial to proceed.

A PCP spokesman had said, shortly after the end of the Old Bailey trial: "PCP's claim is not brought against individuals at the bank. It is brought against the bank itself for civil liability. PCP's claim is not impacted by the outcome of the criminal trial."