‘That’s the way the city works’: how the UAE changed the face of Andy Burnham’s Manchester

A Guardian investigation reveals that Emirati-linked firms significantly expanded their ownership of Manchester land and property over the past decade following UK-brokered investment deals with the United Arab Emirates. Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan accumulated extensive assets beyond the football club, including luxury apartment complexes, a hotel, and the UK's largest indoor arena, while his ownership of Manchester land peaked at the size of 260 football pitches in 2023.

The extensive partnership between Manchester city council and Abu Dhabi has faced mounting scrutiny over transparency, housing commitments, and substantial public loans approved under Andy Burnham. While former council leader Richard Leese defended the investments as transformative, critics and researchers have highlighted stark divides alongside some of England's most deprived neighbourhoods and questioned the lack of delivered social housing.