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Newcastle’s Amanda Staveley in bankruptcy hearing over alleged £37m debt to shipping magnate

Amanda Staveley arriving for a bankruptcy hearing over alleged unpaid £37m debt at The Rolls Building at the Hight Court
Amanda Staveley is fighting to stop a billionaire from bankrupting her - Paul Grover

Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley will ask the High Court to block a billionaire from bankrupting her on Wednesday.

As revealed by the Daily Telegraph last summer, Staveley has been plunged into a multi-million pound legal battle with Greek shipping tycoon Victor Restis over claims she failed to repay a loan of more than £35 million dating back more than a decade.

Lawyers for Staveley applied to the High Court in June to have a statutory demand issued by Restis “set aside” – a move that would prevent him from presenting her with a bankruptcy order if the debt is not paid within 21 days.

A hearing is listed at the Insolvencies and Companies Court in London in front of Judge Daniel Schaffer at 11.30am, with Amanda Louise Staveley the case name.

Restis also issued PCP Capital Partners LLP, a dormant company listing Staveley as a director, with a winding-up petition. PCP Capital Partners LLP – which sources said had not traded for five years – changed its name to Apollo Belvedere Services LLP on June 23, according to Companies House filings.

The Greek businessman had been previously lined up as a witness for Staveley during a £1.5 billion court battle with Barclays over her role in an emergency rescue of the bank during the financial crisis, although her lawyers later said that his evidence was no longer required.

Staveley failed to secure damages in the Barclays case in a judgment three years ago, while she was helping Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund acquire Newcastle.

Restis was also previously a director at Manchester City, straddling the ownership of the club by former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and its takeover by Sheikh Mansour in 2008.

The Restis Group lists Restis as one of the most important and influential shipping personalities worldwide, and he has been named by industry bible Lloyd’s List as one of the ‘‘100 most influential people in shipping’’. His other business interests include banking and financial services, media, hotels and telecommunications.

A statutory demand is a formal ultimatum for payment of a debt within 21 days. If the debt is not paid or set aside by judges within that period, non-payment can be used to petition the court for a bankruptcy order.

Forsters, the Mayfair law firm representing Staveley, is understood to have advised the Yorkshire-born executive it is confident a bankruptcy order could not be served while the debt is in dispute. But representatives for Restis disagreed.

His spokesman said: “Mr Restis has instructed Francis Wilks & Jones solicitors to recover an outstanding balance on a loan dating from 2008 from Amanda Staveley and any application by her legal representatives to set aside our client’s statutory demand totalling £36,841,287 (plus continuing daily interest) will be vigorously opposed.”

A spokesman for Staveley declined to comment on the dispute last year, since when it has been reported her case is the debt related to a £10 million equity investment made by Restis in 2008, and that £7 million was repaid, leaving £3 million.

Newcastle’s latest accounts released last month revealed the club loaned Staveley £659,000 for legal fees in August, having also let her borrow £600,000 in November 2022.