PCP’s Staveley says Gulf interest in Premier League remains strong

• PCP Capital CEO speaks in Dubai
• Era of SWF takeovers may be over
• Investors favour minority stakes

Gulf investors still have a healthy interest in the English Premier League, according to one of the league’s most prominent dealmakers.

But Amanda Staveley, chief executive of Abu Dhabi-based PCP Capital Partners, told AGBI the era of multi-hundred-million-dollar takeovers by sovereign wealth funds is drawing to a close.

“There is a lot of interest from the Gulf in the Premier League,” she said in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Dubai World Sports Summit.

Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi played a central role in the £300 million ($403 million) takeover of Newcastle United in 2021, partnering with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and UK-based RB Sports And Media. 

Earlier in her career, she also helped facilitate the sale of Manchester City to Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, a deal that reshaped the Premier League and set the template for state-backed ownership in European football. She also helped broker a £7.3 billion investment from Gulf investors into Barclays during the financial crisis.

Staveley said Middle Eastern capital continues to see value in English football, even as rising valuations, tighter regulation and political scrutiny make full-scale acquisitions less attractive.

“How the new Premier League rules have panned out means that I don’t see there being many more sovereign states investing in Premier League clubs,” she said.

Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

In the wider European scene Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) is the majority owner of current Champions League holders Paris Saint Germain.

Under current regulations, no individual or entity may directly or indirectly control more than one Premier League club. UEFA applies similar rules to clubs competing in the same European competition.

Today, Staveley said Gulf investors are increasingly focused on minority stakes, partnerships and infrastructure-linked opportunities rather than outright club takeovers, reflecting a more disciplined and selective approach to sports investment.

“Yes, that is very possible, minority stakes,” she said.

“And that doesn’t mean to say that there can’t be Gulf money going in. There are Gulf family offices, high net worths, institutions, institutional capital, commercial partnerships that can all flow into sport from the Gulf region.”

Staveley and Ghodoussi sold their 10 percent stake in Newcastle United in July 2024 as part of a restructuring of the club’s ownership, with PIF and RB Sports And Media acquiring their shareholding.

“It was the hardest decision of our lives,” she said. “We wanted to look at other opportunities and we felt it was also right for PIF and the Reuben family to lead the club into the next phase.”

• Manchester City FC settles Premier League sponsorship dispute
• Final whistle for Ronaldo in Riyadh: was it worth it?
• Neymar’s Saudi Arabia stint is an economic lesson for its football goals

In September, Staveley’s PCP International Finance made an expression of interest in a potential stake in Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, but the club “unequivocally rejected” the offer and said that “Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale”. 

“I can’t talk about where we’re looking at the moment,” Staveley said, “but we are looking at other clubs.”

She added that any potential deal would involve “a group of investors” from all over the world.

“We’re looking mostly at the Premier League, but we’re also looking at European leagues,” she said. “We’ve looked at the US as well.”