Economic ties face scrutiny after scandal over Manchester City’s financial rules ‘That’s the way the city works’: how the UAE changed the face of Andy Burnham’s Manchester Emirati-linked companies own almost 40% more land in Greater Manchester than a decade ago, Guardian analysis reveals, as the city’s economic ties face scrutiny after Manchester City’s financial rules scandal. The number of land titles in Greater Manchester owned by United Arab Emirates-linked companies increased from 51 in 2016 to 168 in 2026, equivalent to a 39% rise in the total area owned in a decade, from 73 to 101 hectares (180 to 250 acres). Continue reading...
Emirati-linked firms’ ownership of Manchester land ‘up 39%’ in ten years

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‘That’s the way the city works’: how the UAE changed the face of Andy Burnham’s Manchester
The story of the emirates’ presence in Manchester winds from the Arab Spring to some of the most deprived places in England – with complicated results Emirati-linked firms’ ownership of Manchester land ‘up 39%’ in 10 years When Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s long-ruling dictator, was toppled from power in the Arab spring protests of 2011, his downfall sent shock waves across the Middle East. It also helped change the face of modern Manchester. Mubarak’s successor, the Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi, was a sworn enemy of the United Arab Emirates, whose rulers feared the advance of Morsi’s Islamism. Continue reading...

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