Financier Staveley says she's paid $4.4 million to try to settle loan dispute

By Kirstin Ridley

LONDON (Reuters) - British businesswoman Amanda Staveley has paid 3.47 million pounds ($4.44 million) to shipping magnate Victor Restis in an attempt to settle a claim over a historic loan that could have led to a bankruptcy petition against her.

Staveley, a seasoned dealmaker with close links to Gulf investors, told Reuters that the payment was made "some weeks ago" but that Restis was still holding out for interest.

"It's over," she told Reuters on Thursday, adding that she was happy to pay a reasonable, agreed interest rate to draw a final line under the dispute.

Her lawyer confirmed that the principal sum of 3.47 million pounds had been paid with interest still to be agreed.

A London lawyer for Restis said he was unable to comment.

The dispute pitched the financier – whose PCP Capital Partners helped Barclays secure a multibillion-pound Abu Dhabi-backed lifeline during the 2008 credit crisis – against Restis, who had provided a witness statement for Staveley's subsequent unsuccessful lawsuit against the British bank for damages.

Staveley in March failed to set aside a statutory demand by Restis in the dispute over a tranche of a 10-million-pound, 2008 loan to her businesses. The claim had included interest of 31.3 million pounds, accruing at 505,000 pounds per day.

A successful statutory demand can lead to a bankruptcy petition if a debt is not paid within 21 days.

Staveley's PCP, which has since been renamed Apollo Belvedere Services, fronted a Saudi Arabian-led consortium to buy Premier League club Newcastle United in 2021. Staveley and her husband have since sold their own minority stake.

($1 = 0.7817 pounds)

(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Mark Potter)