£55m Loan to Manchester City Owner's Companies to Be Investigated

A £55m loan to companies controlled by Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour is to be investigated as part of a review of a housing fund overseen when Andy Burnham was mayor of Greater Manchester. The Guardian

In 2017, three companies ultimately controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan were lent £55m through a fund operated by Burnham's Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the regional governing body. The loans helped finance the Manchester Life housing development, which promised to create 6,000 homes. Sheikh Mansour is the owner of Manchester City and vice-president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.

The review will be carried out by the combined authority's overview and scrutiny committee, chaired by Liberal Democrat councillor John Leech. The wider fund has handed out £1bn to 50 separate developers since 2015.

Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor who is now British prime minister, met Manchester City's owners while receiving hospitality at the Etihad Stadium weeks before the loans were approved. That meeting disappeared from public records before coming to light, prompting Burnham to ask the combined authority to carry out a manual trawl of his meetings to ensure full transparency.

Burnham said he would publish details of his dealings with Manchester City after criticism from opposition politicians, according to Reuters. He was also accused of siding with the club's Abu Dhabi owners after an "unprecedented" rule breach.

The combined authority said the £55m loans have been repaid in full. It said the fund has built 11,000 new homes.