THE sale of Newcastle United has moved a major step closer after Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners group tabled a formal offer of around £300m for the club.

However, while negotiations with Magpies owner Mike Ashley have reached a critical phase after the offer was lodged at the end of last week, well-placed sources claim an agreement is still some way off.

Ashley has always maintained he wants £400m for the club, having invested more than £250m of his own money since taking over from Sir John Hall and Freddy Shepherd in 2007. The Sports Direct owner is willing to sell at the right price, but there will clearly have to be some intense negotiations over the next few days if a deal is to be thrashed out.

Ashley is understood to be disappointed that news of the offer has leaked out, and it remains to be seen whether it is a final approach. As things stand, it is unlikely to be accepted without some major improvements.

It is significant it has been lodged in the first place though as it underlines PCP Capital Partners’ credibility as prospective buyers.

Staveley, who is the figurehead of the bid and is understood to have committed part of her estimated £100m personal fortune to the offer, has completed a period of due diligence and is clearly satisfied with the state of Newcastle’s finances.

Her PCP Capital Partners group presides over an investment pot of around €37bn, and her bid for Newcastle United is supported by finance from the Middle East.

She has previously worked with a number of different Middle Eastern investors, and it is not yet known whether her bid for the Magpies is being supported by wealthy individuals or sovereign wealth funds.

She is hoping to secure an exclusivity agreement with Ashley that would mean her group was the only interested party able to directly negotiate a deal.  Other groups are known to have signed a non-disclosure agreement enabling them to forensically examine Newcastle’s books, but Staveley is the only figure known to have formally submitted a bid. If any of the rivals groups are serious about trying to buy Newcastle, however, the latest developments will almost certainly force their hands.

The ball is now effectively in Ashley’s court, as this is the first time he has received a viable offer for the 100 per cent stake he acquired ten years ago.

The Sports Direct owner reiterated his desire to sell up last month, with his associates briefing that he would ideally like a sale to be completed before the end of the year. That was always Staveley’s intention, as it would mean she was able to provide some financial backing to Rafael Benitez during the January transfer window.

Newcastle currently sit in 11th position in the Premier League table, but have won just one of their last seven matches. The club spent around £45m in the summer, but Benitez always feared that would be insufficient to guarantee top-flight safety.

News of Staveley’s interest surfaced after she watched Newcastle’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool at St James’ Park in October.

She had previously tried to buy a 49 per cent stake in the Anfield club on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Dubai International Capital, but her bid collapsed as the then Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks called off talks.

Staveley, who was also involved in the £210m sale of Manchester City from Thaksin Shinawatra to Sheikh Mansour, has spoken of her desire to take over a Premier League club on a number of occasions in the past.

She has also been linked with possible buyouts at Tottenham and West Ham, but is understood to regard Newcastle as a club with considerable potential given its vast fan-base and untapped overseas reach.