The former leader of Manchester City Council has defended the council's relationship with the owners of Manchester City amid questions over land deals. Sir Richard Leese, who was head of the council for 25 years until 2021 and is also honorary president of the club, said a decade-old deal with Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) was "good for the city". The partnership between the authority and the company owned by Sheik Mansour bin zayed Al Nahyan has come under renewed scrutiny since City was found guilty of breaching Premier League financial regulations with "sham" commercial contracts.
The club has denied any wrongdoing is appealing against the charges. The council entered into a partnership with ADUG in 2014 when they formed a joint venture called Manchester Life. It planned to invest more than £1bn over the next decade and develop thousands of homes in the Ancoats and New Islington areas, on the edge of the city centre close to the club's Etihad stadium.
But in 2022, a report by the University of Sheffield, called Manchester Offshored, raised questions about the wider public value of the schemes, and a lack of transparency around their finances. It highlighted the absence of any affordable housing in the projects, and that the joint venture companies were ultimately owned by ADUG through firms registered offshore. A deal struck in 2015 saw ADUG effectively given the first pick of land in Ancoats and New Islington.
The University of Sheffield report argued that land was leased to ADUG at "below comparable rates". Sir Richard said the 2015 deal was "brokered by the UK government with the UAE government". "It was a time when development in Manchester had stopped," he said.
"We were still suffering from the 2008 crash, from the recession that followed that. "There was criticism at the time though - and there still is now - that the land was given away too cheaply by the city council. "The point is, the investment from Abu Dhabi is what created the value.
"That deal allowed development to be kick-started - particularly in the Ancoats area. "All of this was documented and went through reports that went through the council's due processes. "I think it has been demonstrated that the deal was a good deal and a good deal for Manchester." Abu Dhabi's investment in Manchester City started in 2008, when City Football Group – majority-owned by ADUG - bought the club in a £200m deal.
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