Newcastle EXCLUSIVE: Mike Ashley confident of £300m sale in New Year

MIKE ASHLEY is increasingly confident that a £300m deal to sell Newcastle will be finalised in the New Year.

Posted Friday, December 14, 2018 by Express.co.uk

Newcastle EXCLUSIVE: Mike Ashley is edging closer to an agreement with Peter Kenyon (Image: Getty)

A consortium fronted by former Chelsea and Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon is close to agreeing a price for the club.

And the legal team at law firm Walker Morris, who are working on the sale with Kenyon, have been told all Christmas leave has been cancelled.

It suggests both parties have thrashed out a deal in principle and are now working on the finer details in readiness for a takeover within the next few weeks.

Ashley has stated he wants to sever his links with the club he has owned for the past 11 years.

A consortium fronted by former Chelsea and Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon is close to agreeing a price for the club.

And the legal team at law firm Walker Morris, who are working on the sale with Kenyon, have been told all Christmas leave has been cancelled.

It suggests both parties have thrashed out a deal in principle and are now working on the finer details in readiness for a takeover within the next few weeks.

Ashley has stated he wants to sever his links with the club he has owned for the past 11 years.

And the buyers too are keen to get their feet under the table as soon as possible.

That is music to the ears of Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez, who knows his January spending plans could depend on the sale of the club.

Benitez has kept his counsel since news first emerged that a takeover was in the pipeline but realistically he will only sign a new contract to stay at St James’ Park if new owners come in.

It is understood payment methods over the sale have still to be thrashed out but there is broad agreement on Ashley’s valuation.

Newcastle EXCLUSIVE: Mike Ashley confident of £300m sale in New Year
Newcastle EXCLUSIVE: Peter Kenyon was the chief executive at Manchester United from 1997 to 2003 (Image: Getty)

Kenyon’s consortium includes Rockefeller Capital Movement, based in New York, and while other parties remain in the background, they are the main group with the financial muscle to invest heavily into to the club.

The US firm has more than £18bn of assets and regards Premier League football – and particularly sleeping giant Newcastle, with 50,000-plus crowds for every home game – as a risk-free investment.

Twelve months ago, a takeover bid led by Amanda Staveley was dismissed out of hand by Ashley.

Newcastle EXCLUSIVE: Mike Ashley confident of £300m sale in New Year
Newcastle EXCLUSIVE: Rafa Benitez will be happy with the mooted change in ownership (Image: Getty)

Newcastle EXCLUSIVE: Mike Ashley has grown into a very disliked figure on Tyneside (Image: Getty)

But for the past two months, there has been regular contact between his people and Kenyon.

The Magpie Group, a fans’ coalition campaigning for Ashley to leave the club, called off a boycott planned for the game against Wolves last weekend to help support the takeover talks.

And they are willing to suspend similar activity while there is a chance of a change in ownership.