Intermediary Says There Will Be More Gulf Sales

Amanda Staveley has emerged as a key figure in major deals with Britain and the Gulf States, recently facilitating the purchase of a 16 per cent stake in Barclays Bank for Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. That deal follows the sheikh’s £210m purchase in September of Manchester City by means of Abu Dhabi United Group. Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, still harbours hopes she can purchase Liverpool for him.

Amanda Staveley has emerged as a key figure in major deals with Britain and the Gulf States, recently facilitating the purchase of a 16 per cent stake in Barclays Bank for Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. That deal follows the sheikh’s £210m purchase in September of Manchester City by means of Abu Dhabi United Group. Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, still harbours hopes she can purchase Liverpool for him. Ms Staveley is convinced that there will be more Middle East-funded deals for leading clubs: ‘It is a business that can only be served by extraordinarily wealthy people. Football is strategically important to the Gulf. A lot of people watch football and the interest in football in the Gulf states is immeasurable.’

The 35-year old financier, who is about to gain residency status in Dubai, cuts a glamorous figure. She is the daughter of a Yorkshire landowner and an Olympic showjumper, and after dropping out of Cambridge, she borrowed money to open a restaurant in Bottisham, a village in between Newmarket and Cambridge. It brought her into contact with the Godolphin stables belonging to Dubai’s ruling Maktoum family. Always immacutely dressed, at one time she dated Prince Andrew. She never takes a holiday and is more interested in closing deals than making money. We can expect more in football.