Jamie Reuben: How the $300M Takeover Happened; The Story Behind Eddie Howe’s Appointment

Jamie Reuben is the Co-Owner of Newcastle United FC and Owner of Arena Racing Company. Since their takeover at the end of 2021, Newcastle’s journey has been incredible, surviving relegation before pushing on and achieving an extraordinary Champions League qualification this season.
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Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
1:01 Who is Jamie Reuben?
3:19 The Process of Buying Newcastle FC
6:33 How much does it cost to run a club?
10:45 Player Transfers
16:45 The Role of the Owner
23:09 Foreign Leagues
26:35 Media Rights
34:14 Why Newcastle can’t outspend Chelsea and Man City
37:17 Player Salaries
40:22 Dealing with Media Scrutiny
43:40 Arena Racing
48:01 The Appointment of Eddie Howe
51:09 Football clubs worth $20B?
53:28 American PE Firms Buying Clubs
55:46 Quick-Fire Round
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In today’s episode with Jamie, we discuss:

1. His plans to build a club challenging at the top level:
• How Jamie became part of the consortium to buy Newcastle United and the process they went through to complete the takeover.
• What are Jamie’s thoughts on the value of Premier League football clubs and how the reported £300m deal compares in the current market?
• Newcastle’s dedication to abide by Financial Fair Play while trying to attract top talent and improve the playing squad.
• Jamie’s views on the role of football club owners and different ways to engage and connect with their fans

2. The importance of hiring the right people:
• The story behind Eddie Howe’s appointment as manager and how he won over the board. 
•Why having clear and defined roles across operations and performance created the best environment for success and development. 
• Newcastle’s desire to sign the best players who fit the culture of the club and who put ‘team’ at the heart of everything. 
• The role data is playing in uncovering talent and the edge he believes this gives when building a squad capable of competing for the league.

3. The commercial opportunities that make the Premier League so formidable:
• Why media rights are so important to the total revenue generated by Premier League clubs and how that allows them to spend more on the team.
•‘It’s a big aspiration of ours to build our brand globally and attract more fans from around the world’. How does Jamie plan to achieve this?
•Is there room to improve the equally distributed international media rights package and which regions can be targeted to achieve this?
•Does a commercial opportunity ever come into conflict with the fans? 
•How the commitment to distribute finances from top to bottom creates a more competitive product.

4. The value of a sporting portfolio:
• Jamie’s passion for horse-racing and how their ownership of Arena Racing Company fits into the wider sporting portfolio.
• How does the business of racing compare to the business of football, and do the key financial drivers differ?
• Can more be done to improve the media and content around racing as we have seen in Formula 1 and football?
• Jamie’s ambition to add more assets to their sporting portfolio.
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