GMCA approves £120m Renaker loans ahead of legal case
A pair of loans to support the delivery of two residential towers in Manchester have been rubber-stamped ahead of a hearing into their legality later this year.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has approved £120m in loans to two vehicles owned by developer Renaker after agreeing to them in principle in March.
The loans were agreed in November, according to Companies House filings.
They will fund the delivery of one of two 51-storey towers at Renaker’s Contour scheme at Great Jackson Street and a 60-storey development at Trinity Islands.
The Contour loan is for £69.3m and will support the construction of 494 apartments. The Trinity Islands loan is for £70.8m and will see 532 apartments delivered – this building has since been acquired by Starlight Investments.
In June, Place North West reported that Manchester landowner Aubrey Weis was taking the GMCA to court over claims the loans would breach the Subsidy Control Act and “distort” the market.
The GMCA has consistently denied that the loans were given on favourable terms.
Documents filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal state that the GMCA had until December 19 to provide Weis’s legal team with documents outlining “the communications between the respondent [GMCA] and Renaker (or any related party) following the March 2024 approval [of the loans]”.
The case is expected to be heard later this year.
In total, Renaker and connected SPVs have received £500m from the GMCA’s housing investment loans fund. This amounts to more than half of the £940m handed out through the fund altogether.
