More activity on Companies House by Newcastle United and Lee Charnley has prompted further takeover speculation among frustrated Magpies fans as an application was made by the club to strike SJH Investments Ltd off the register.
Fans starved of official word from the club are looking into any off-field activity and the emergence of Monochrome Acquisitions Ltd, a shell company set up by the Bin Zayed Group, did indicate another takeover box being ticked by the would-be owners.
But the club have again insisted the St James Holdings Limited move – the fifth company being struck off the register – is just a matter of ‘house keeping’ to tidy up United’s corporate structure. It was a dormant company that had not had any activity associated with it, so striking it off is not directly related to something being imminent.
It is a fact, though, and this summer has not begun in the way it was anticipated it would. Senior sources anticipated a busy few weeks at the end of the season with Rafa Benitez’s situation being cleared up, contracts negotiated and contact being made on deals. While talks have been ongoing over a potential change of ownership for months, Newcastle’s attitude had been to move ahead as if Mike Ashley was to be owner.
Instead we have a situation where the whole club is paralysed by the uncertainty of what comes next – an indication that the next couple of weeks are big for the club. Whether that will represent a big disappointment with huge ramifications for the club’s future or something brighter is still unclear as we sit in the eye of the potential black and white storm.
For those monitoring Companies House, it is St James’ Holdings that is the company which Mike Ashley sits as a director on. If there is movement around that, we are in the final throes of a takeover. But until then, the club continue to insist that however coincidental these moves appear, they are just routine “house keeping”.
United fans’ patience has already been stretched, but ultimately time will tell.
