Moat Not Giving Up On Newcastle
Local businessman Barry Moat has refused to give up on his prospective takeover bid for Newcastle United’s despite owner Mike Ashley taking the club off the market.
Moat reportedly made a £60m offer up front with guarantees of a further £20m next season to the Sports Direct tycoon, meeting Ashley’s £80m asking price.
However, Ashley wants the full £80m up front for the club, a move that has left Moat ‘bruised’ but unwavering in his desire to take over the club.
Moat has no immediate plans to put a fresh offer to Ashley, however, he has no desire to walk away from the opportunity and will continue to mull over his options in the background.
He stated: ‘For one reason or another it didn’t come to pass. It’s extremely disappointing. It’s something we’d given up a lot of time and effort and abortive costs with so I’ve been feeling pretty bruised by the whole process.
‘As my wife keeps telling me, ‘No one’s died’ so you’ve got to get on. That’s fundamentally where I see it now.
‘I think from my perspective I don’t think Mike Ashley wants to stay at St James’ Park for the long term, so I’ll never give up. I’ll keep beavering away in the background and hopefully one day we’ll get there.’
