The story of how the United Arab Emirates came to hold a deep stake in Manchester began after the 2011 Egyptian revolution, according to a Guardian investigation based on interviews with former and current local politicians, new data analysis and public records spanning more than a decade. At the time, the UAE was concerned that David Cameron's government was not strong enough on the Muslim Brotherhood and warned it could pull billion-pound arms deals. A secret Whitehall unit was established to keep the emirates on side, and Manchester city council was asked to draw up investment proposals.
One of those proposals became Manchester Life, a partnership under which the council sold a prime slice of city centre land to Abu Dhabi for £5m to build 6,000 homes, along with a right of first refusal on other projects. Richard Leese, the leader of the city council at the time, said the deal was "UK government-brokered" and that the city was seeking "a very significant investment" because housing development in the city centre and Ancoats had stopped for years. He called the partnership "a world-class exemplar of regeneration".
However, only 2,039 homes have been delivered by Manchester Life, a third of the total promised, with a further 2,839 homes built by other developers. The total of 4,878 new properties is nearly 20% short of the 6,000 envisaged. Despite a longstanding council policy of at least 20% affordable housing, only 8% of the 4,878 properties fell into that category, and none were provided by Manchester Life.
The new luxury apartments sit alongside some of the poorest areas in England. Within half a mile of the Etihad Stadium there are four charity food banks or distribution sites. Mark Blake, chief executive of Manchester Central Foodbank, said the contrast between shiny new towers and emergency food provision is bound to cause resentment. Alan Good, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Ancoats and Beswick, said residents tell him they look at the new developments and feel they are not benefiting from what Manchester is benefiting from. He said Manchester was becoming a "northern version of London" as an "insane" property crisis compounds the misery for 20,000 people on the social housing register.
Dr Matthew Stallard, a University College London researcher and chair of trustees at Manchester Central Foodbank, said there is an uncomfortable disconnect between the city's national reputation as a thriving metropolis with social benefits and the reality for many residents. "If you look at central Manchester and all the skyscrapers and you go out in every direction by a mile and a half or two miles, you're then in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country," he said. "In Ancoats, it's a very clear line where the money is and where the money's not."
The Guardian also noted that in summer 2016, then-mayoral candidate Andy Burnham told the Salford Star he would stop large property firms benefiting from taxpayer-funded loans from the mayoral authority, saying the fund had been too focused on city centre and luxury schemes. Barely a year later, Burnham signed off a £55m loan to Jersey-registered property firms owned by Sheikh Mansour.