Court of Appeal Examines Whether Andy Burnham’s £140m Manchester Developer Loans Were Unlawful
Andy Burnham’s Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) relied on a “deeply flawed” analysis to justify £140m in public loans to a property developer, the Court of Appeal in London heard on Monday — a hearing that arrives nine days before a by-election that could return the Mayor to Westminster.
The Core Allegations
The legal challenge, brought by rival developer Aubrey Weis, centres on two loans extended to Renaker, the firm behind some of Manchester’s tallest residential towers, for its Trinity Islands and New Jackson schemes. The loans, drawn from the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund, were originally valued at £140m before being adjusted to £120m in 2024.
Weis argues the loans amounted to an unlawful subsidy that distorted Manchester’s property market and disadvantaged competing developers. His counsel, Joseph Barrett KC, told the court that GMCA officials approved the lending without properly scrutinising the personal finances of Renaker’s backer, Daren Whitaker, while simultaneously pricing the loans as though secured by his personal creditworthiness.
Barrett told the court: “It cannot be rational for a public authority to lend up to £140m of public money on the basis of someone’s creditworthiness where it has conducted no inquiry into or consideration of his liabilities or creditworthiness.”
A Decision Reached in Under a Minute
The loans were approved at a GMCA meeting chaired by Burnham in March 2024, with the decision reportedly concluded in under a minute. The court also heard that Burnham had been made aware of “inconsistent” viability reports submitted by the developer prior to the loans being sanctioned.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal had previously found that GMCA failed to obtain a statement of assets and liabilities from Whitaker before approving the loans — an omission the tribunal said exposed taxpayers to the risk of funds being “wiped out.” The tribunal nonetheless rejected Weis’s original challenge, ruling the loans did not constitute an unlawful subsidy.
Scale of Public Exposure
The GMCA’s housing investment fund has lent approximately £800m in total to companies linked to Whitaker’s Renaker empire — a concentration of public capital with a single developer that critics argue represents a significant governance failure.
The two loans at issue alone account for roughly half the fund’s total housing investment portfolio. Whitaker, whose personal fortune is estimated at £698m, briefly registered his residency in the tax haven of Monaco last year before switching it back to the United Kingdom.
Renaker’s projects — partly financed by taxpayer-backed loans — include luxury towers featuring amenities such as a dog spa, a golf simulator, and a Mahjong room.
The Affordable Housing Question
The proceedings have renewed scrutiny of whether the fund has meaningfully addressed Manchester’s shortage of affordable housing. Internal GMCA figures published this year indicate that fewer than 5% of homes supported by the scheme were classified as affordable.
Burnham has previously defended the fund’s record, arguing that loan proceeds help finance housing initiatives including social and affordable homes outside the city centre.
GMCA Denies Wrongdoing
A GMCA spokesman rejected the characterisation of events, stating: “The suggestion that proper due diligence was not carried out on these loans is false. We carried out necessary financial due diligence and this formed part of the documents seen by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which praised our approach and found we had ‘substantial protection’ against any risk.”
The authority added that its Housing Investment Loans Fund had supported the construction of 11,000 new homes and directly funded 503 affordable units, alongside a separate Brownfield Housing Fund intended to deliver a further 11,000 affordable homes across Greater Manchester.
Political Context
The timing of the appeal is acutely sensitive for Burnham. The Makerfield by-election, scheduled for June 19, has been widely discussed as a potential vehicle for his return to Parliament — a stepping stone that could strengthen his position as a prospective Labour leadership candidate. Burnham has consistently cited his mayoral record as evidence of his fitness for national office.
The Court of Appeal hearing continues on June 9 and 10.