Manchester Council’s 2014 Property Deal with Abu Dhabi United Group Under Scrutiny

In 2014, Manchester City Council entered a profit-sharing agreement with Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), the owners of Manchester City football club. The joint venture, Manchester Life, built roughly 1,800 flats in the Ancoats area. Under the terms, the council received an initial overage payment of £2.9 million and later earned £5.2 million from land sales plus £17.6 million in council-tax revenue generated by the development. The agreement also gave ADUG “first dibs” on any public land within a defined zone, a clause described by critics as a “sweetheart deal.”

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The deal was signed after the May 2014 local elections gave the Labour Party control of all 96 Manchester City Council seats, placing Sir Richard Leese and Sir Howard Bernstein in long-standing leadership roles. The council’s new leadership—chief executive Tom Stannard (appointed 2025) and Labour leader Garry Bridges (elected last month)—has begun reassessing historic agreements in light of the Premier League financial-rules scandal involving Manchester City.

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According to documents shared with the iPaper, the 2015 “collaboration agreement” stipulated that the council would receive no overage payments for the first ten years and would only be paid after ADUG recouped costs plus an 8 % return on phase 1 and 10 % on phase 2. Consequently, the council’s only overage receipt in the past two years was £2.9 million, with a second payment reportedly being calculated.

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Mayor Andy Burnham, who faced criticism for earlier comments on the club’s financial breaches, pledged to publish all details of his dealings with Manchester City from his mayoral tenure. Labour leader Bev Craig, who became Greater Manchester mayor in August, said she was not involved in the original decision-making but highlighted the broader investment benefits, such as new libraries and leisure facilities. Sir Richard Leese, now honorary president of Manchester City, defended the agreement, arguing that Abu Dhabi’s investment created the value and that the deal followed proper council processes.

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Green Party MP Hannah Spencer (Gorton and Denton) questioned Burnham’s “keen” support for the billionaire owners and raised concerns about luxury-high-rise approvals during his mayoralty. Critics argue the council sold land too cheaply and that the “first dibs” clause favoured ADUG at the public’s expense. The council’s internal review, prompted by renewed public speculation, aims to secure assurances on historic deals and determine whether any further action is warranted.

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