Councillors are investigating loans totalling more than £1bn from a publicly managed fund, after concerns about transparency in the approval process, including loans to companies linked to Manchester City's owner.
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01Summary
- 01About 50 developers received loans from the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loan Fund, established in 2015 with £300m of government money.
- 02Three property firms controlled by Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan were granted loans worth about £55m, approved in 2017 at meetings chaired by then-mayor Andy Burnham.
- 03Developer Renaker received the majority of the £1bn lent; it is involved in a legal battle over £140m of those loans.
- 04The GMCA says all loans are being fully repaid at commercial rates and have delivered 11,000 homes, with no viable scheme turned down.
- 05Liberal Democrat councillor John Leech, chair of the scrutiny committee, said the process has been criticised as 'very opaque' and that the fund's original aims may have shifted.
02Why it matters
The inquiry will examine whether public money from a scheme meant for struggling developers was properly and transparently awarded, potentially affecting future housing policy and accountability of regional mayors.
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