Emirati-linked firms’ ownership of Manchester land ‘up 39%’ in ten years

Emirati-linked firms’ ownership of Manchester land ‘up 39%’ in 10 years 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).

Among them, there are at least 34 land titles currently owned by Manchester City FC’s owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan through one of his companies. That includes the Etihad Stadium, as well as properties in Ancoats and New Islington, among others. In total, two-thirds of the Emirati-owned land in Greater Manchester as of 2026 was owned by one of Mansour’s companies.

Andy Burnham has faced weeks of scrutiny over the Manchester City FC cheating scandal after he appeared to initially sympathise with City’s owners, who he described as a “huge partner in the building of modern Manchester”, and said that he would be “really concerned” if they sold the club.

The prime minister has been urged to reveal all of his meetings with Manchester City’s owners after he initially said he had one “significant” meeting with the Abu Dhabi executives only for five other meetings to come to light.

The scale of UAE investments in Manchester has been revealed by the Guardian after Manchester City were found guilty of an “unprecedented” nine-year breach of financial rules under the current ownership. The analysis shows that while there has been strong growth in land ownership, Emirati money is only one part of the foreign investment that has helped drive Manchester’s recent economic success.

Prof Jonathan Silver, a University of Sheffield researcher who has analysed Manchester’s deals with Abu Dhabi, said the growing buy-up of land and property by Emiratis raised “major concerns about the fragility of the ‘Manchester model’ and its reliance on attracting flows of international finance, whatever the cost”.

He added: “This is not ‘just a football story’ but rather a story of a city-region in northern England aligning its economy into the orbit of an authoritarian state in the Gulf, accused of human rights abuses at home and terrible war crimes in Sudan.

“It’s put city leaders in a position in which they celebrate the radical democratic history of Manchester but act against such traditions in the present, all justified by the demands of economic growth.”