Amanda Staveley resigns from 20 Newcastle companies after her stake in club is reduced

Amanda Staveley has resigned from dozens of Newcastle companies months after the Saudi takeover of the club.

Staveley was removed as a director of a raft of listings on the Companies House website, and her stake in Newcastle was diluted from 10% to 6% due to cash injections by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and fellow co-owners the Reuben family. It's been a turbulent few weeks for the Toon chief who fronts the running of the club, and who was in the dressing room to congratulate Eddie Howe and his players after the 4-0 against Spurs at the weekend.

She was ordered by a judge to pay Greek tycoon Victor Restis £3.4m owed from an investment he made in her businesses by next week. The hearing judge said her witness statement ventured "into the realm of fantasy and completely implausible" and said claiming a business deal was struck under duress had a "complete lack of credibility."

The businesswoman was chastised by the judge for claiming she was under duress and intimidated when striking the deal, despite signing correspondence "sweetheart:", "darling" and "Iove you so much." Staveley, who is seen by many Newcastle United fans as the club's saviour, has seen her shareholding in the club reduced from 10 percent to around 6 percent.

This comes after fellow investors contributed her portion of a cash injection, following the deal she brokered which saw 80 percent of the club taken over by Saudi state ownership, reports the Mirror. She also initially held a 10 percent stake for herself.

Recently, English Premier League side Newcastle's accounts revealed that Staveley received loans of £659,000 and £600,000 for unspecified legal fees. Her company, Cantervale, was paid £1.24m in advisory fees and £625,000 "to be refunded