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Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley has dismissed a Greek shipping magnate’s claim that she owes him tens of millions of pounds, ahead of a court case to try to stop him pushing her into bankruptcy.
Victor Restis has demanded £37mn from the financier, arguing she has failed to repay him on a loan he made 15 years ago. Staveley contends the sum outstanding is less than a tenth of that, and that Restis’ demand includes “substantially inflated or wholly unjustified” interest and costs. Restis has hit back, calling her claims “misconceived”.
The dispute pits one of the highest-profile figures in British sports finance, who owns a 10 per cent stake in Newcastle football club with her husband, against a shipping tycoon who controls one of Greece’s largest fleets.
Staveley, who helped broker the 2021 purchase of Newcastle for £300mn on behalf of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, said the dispute had its origins in a £10mn equity investment Restis made in 2008.
According to Staveley, about £7mn had been repaid by 2016, leaving a balance of £3mn, which was documented as a loan to PCP Capital Partners LLP at a commercial rate of interest.
Restis has filed a winding up position in the insolvency court against the LLP. Staveley’s lawyers argue this should not be heard until the court has ruled on her application to set aside his bankruptcy demand against her.
Staveley said the corporate entity, renamed Apollo Belvedere Services LLP, had not traded for several years and is not her main trading vehicle.
A spokesperson for Restis said: “Ms Staveley’s position that the debt owed to Mr Restis is unfounded is misconceived.” They added that some of what Staveley had said was “demonstrably untrue” and that PCP Capital Partners had been renamed by Staveley herself in June this year. The spokesperson also denied that the loan was an investment.
“Mr Restis has taken this action because he has received no proposals for the repayment of sums which are validly owing and due to him.”
Staveley came to public prominence during the financial crisis when she facilitated the purchase of Manchester City by Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan. She then helped British bank Barclays secure investment from Abu Dhabi and Qatar as part of an emergency cash call. In recent years, Staveley unsuccessfully pursued litigation against Barclays in relation to this deal.
Staveley made headlines more recently for her role in brokering a deal between golf’s PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV tour, which have agreed to end hostilities and merge.
Restis has been a leading figure in the shipping industry for some two decades. He took over the family company Enterprises Shipping & Trading when his father died in 2004. Today the company has more than 120 vessels in its fleet, according to its website.
Restis also has investments in a range of other sectors including media, aviation, telecommunications and hospitality.
In 2013, he spent four months in a Greek prison during an investigation of alleged money laundering and embezzlement in relation to loans made by his then family-owned bank, First Business Bank. He was later acquitted of all charges.
Restis had another brush with Greek authorities in 2018 when he was given a suspended 10-year prison sentence for making false statements in relation to his acquisition of a piece of land.