Departing commercial chief Peter Silverstone has issued an emotional and passionate final message to staff at St James’ Park
Newcastle United are aiming for £400m of revenue(Image: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Newcastle United commercial chief Peter Silverstone has confirmed his exit from the St James’ Park boardroom.
Silverstone’s departure coincided with a new chapter at Newcastle with commercially driven CEO David Hopkinson eager to step things up behind the scenes as the club move into 2026. Hopkinson is keen to take United to “world class” level and wants every department at the club to improve.
Former Arsenal commercial man Silverstone – believed to be heading to Juventus – laid the foundations for strong PSR growth at Newcastle after inheriting an underachieving department which multiplied from 50 staff members to 200. In a sign-off to staff, Silverstone underlined the achievement of a 130% revenue growth.
Newcastle stated back in May that they had a revenue pile of £320m. Back then the club said: “Newcastle United increased its latest reported revenue to £320.3million (from £250.3million in 2022/23), reflecting 90% and 32% increases in commercial and matchday revenues respectively.
“Since the end of the accounting period, the ownership group led by PIF has continued to invest capital into the club to improve the financial position of the business. This continued investment is consistent with the shareholders’ approach of long-term, patient investment.”
Silverstone paid tribute to former CEO Darren Eales and said: “My final day at Newcastle – and I want to say a sincere thank you to the club, the city, and the people who make it what it is.
“I’m especially grateful to Darren Eales for hiring me and then backing me with unwavering trust from day one. His clarity, intellect, energy and humour set the tone: roll sleeves up, deliver, and enjoy the journey. I learned a huge amount from such an inspirational leader.”
The next step for Newcastle will be topping £400m in revenue which is expected when the next set of financial results are revealed later this year.
Eales, speaking to Newcastle TV, reeled off the successful journey the club have been on in terms of commercial growth and said last September: “In terms of revenue, we have gone from £140m in 2021 to the coming season because we are in the Champions League, it is going to be well north of £400m.
“So that is a compound annual growth rate of 24% which is unprecedented in world football. I think we stood up the retail from scratch thanks to the wonderful partners in Adidas.”
Hopkinson is ready to drive Newcastle to the next level and is expected to make a number of executive appointments at the start of 2026. However, Newcastle fans are eager for updates on a training ground sponsor and stadium developments going into the new year.
Hopkinson has already hinted at improving St James’ Park in some shape or form, he told Chronicle Live on early December: “We’re looking at a multitude of different scenarios. One of the things we are reviewing right now is that we’re going to be here, in something like the current format, for years.
“I think that there are some things we’ve maybe not done because we’ve been waiting for the bigger decision. I think we’re going to think about the phasing of this next phase of our lives, and recognise that there are things we need to do now with regard to the stadium issue. Maybe we incorporate that in a future renovation? Maybe we pick it up and move it with us to a new park?
“But recognising that we are going to be at St James’ Park in pretty much its current format for years to come is important. We’re thinking through what improvements should we make in that intervening period? We could make tweaks and changes to improve the here and now.”
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