Just 39 days before chairing a meeting that saw millions in taxpayer-funded loans given to firms run by Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owners, Andy Burnham was in one of the best seats in the house as he witnessed the difference their money could make.
The Everton fan accepted a free hospitality ticket to City’s Etihad Stadium to enjoy dinner in an executive box with the club’s chairman, before watching his boyhood side earn a respectable 1-1 draw with the then two-time (now eight-time) Premier League champions.
However, that dinner in August 2017 now threatens to go down as an own goal for Burnham, who is facing questions over his relationship with club amid a cheating scandal which has rocked the world of football.
At a monthly meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) on 29 September – less than six weeks later – the then Greater Manchester mayor did not disclose the dinner to those in attendance before a vote approved £31m in loans to the UAE-owned firms, minutes shared with The i Paper reveal.
There is no suggestion Burnham broke any rules, but critics have accused the Prime Minister of a lack of transparency about his dealings with Man City bosses.
Burnham has faced growing pressure after he told the BBC he would be “really concerned” if the club’s owners sold the club, after an independent commission found it guilty of multiple Premier League financial rule breaches.
In 2017, Burnham oversaw £55m in loans to three property companies ultimately controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, the owner of Manchester City, to help build developments in east Manchester.
It is unclear why Mansour, whose net worth has been estimated at up to £30bn, would need taxpayers money to fund the three housing projects.
Two of the loans, amounting to £31.211m, were agreed on 29 September that year at a GMCA meeting chaired by Burnham.
Less than six weeks earlier, he had dinner with City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Sir Richard Leese, then leader of Manchester City Council, in a hospitality suite at the Etihad to watch his boyhood club draw 1-1 with Manchester City.
Leese was also on the board of Manchester Life, a joint venture between Manchester City Council and Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), the investment vehicle of Man City owner Sheikh Mansour, to drive property developments near the stadium.
But while Burnham did not disclose his earlier dinner to those in attendance before the vote to approve the loans took place, the meeting’s minutes show that Leese – who was also deputy mayor of the GMCA – recused himself from discussions due to his role for Manchester Life.
Political opponents say Burnham must set out how and what decisions were made around loans to developers and companies linked to Manchester City’s owners during his time as mayor.
PM: I want to everything to be out there
Burnham has said he has asked for a “manual trawl” of GMCA records relating to his previous contact with the football club to ensure “full transparency”, after it emerged that a record of the August 2017 dinner with Leese and Mubarak – and a second hospitality dinner Burnham attended with the City chairman in 2018 – had been deleted from the GMCA’s website.
“I’ve asked them to do a more manual trawl of everything, as I want everything possible to be out there,” the Prime Minister told broadcasters on Thursday.
GMCA rules state that gifts and hospitality must be recorded within 28 days on the members’ register of interests, which is published on the authority’s website.
It is unclear when Burnham first publicly declared the dinners on his register of interest, and it is not known if this happened before the vote took place, as Burnham’s register from his first term as mayor – which ended in May 2021 – has since been deleted from the site.
The i Paper understands it is the policy of the GMCA to only publish register of interest entries from the current mayoral term.
It is not known whether the loans were discussed at the dinner with Mubarak. However, Leese insisted to The i Paper that “the chances of it being discussed were next to nil”.
He said: “Should he [Burnham] as mayor of Greater Manchester have been having discussions with Kaldoon about [investment]? He absolutely should have been, because that was his principal job as mayor was to grow the economy and support economic development.
“But he would not have done it at that football game. What he would have been discussing is football. It was that sort of occasion.”
Leese added he could not think of any reason why Burnham should also have recused himself from the GMCA meeting the following month.
“Clearly, Man Life was a joint venture between the city council, of which I was leader, and Abu Dhabi United Group, and I was on the board of Man Life. I absolutely had an interest to declare, which I did, and took no part. Andy had no interest,” he said.
Further awkward questions
However, political opponents in Manchester and beyond have questioned the transparency around the decision.
Nathan Evans, the Conservative group leader on Trafford Council, who also sits on the GMCA overview and scrutiny committee, said: “He [Burnham] should have gone into that meeting at GMCA and said, for the avoidance of doubt, ‘I went out for dinner with Mubarak… I should really exclude myself from this meeting.’
“If Leese recused himself, then that almost highlights the fact that Burnham was taking the wrong decisions.”
A GMCA spokesperson has said the authority is carrying out the manual trawl of Burnham’s engagements with Manchester City during his time as mayor, “and will provide the information to the Prime Minister to publish when completed”.
John Leech, the Liberal Democrat chairman of the GMCA overview and scrutiny committee, said the August 2017 dinner raised further awkward questions for the Prime Minister.
“Given the current interest in what’s happened, I don’t think it’s unreasonable that people are asking those questions,” he said. “It would be easier for the Prime Minister just to come out and say exactly what has happened to clear it all up.”
The committee has said it will now investigate loans made to property companies – including the three controlled by Manchester City’s owner – while Burnham was mayor.
A GMCA spokesperson said it was supporting the committee with its enquiries.
Taxpayer money handed to billionaires
In September 2017, GMCA loans were given to New Little Mill (£10.517m) and Vesta Street (£20.694m), two Jersey-based companies owned by Manchester Life.
A month later, in October 2017, a third loan of £24.5m was made to another Manchester Life-overseen firm, Lampwick Developments Ltd.
The loans handed to the Abu Dhabi-owned firms came from the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund (GMHILF), a £300m government-backed fund established in 2015 to build new homes and tackle the housing crisis in the area.
The three loans provided to Manchester Life-owned firms were used to fund three major residential projects in east Manchester near the Etihad Stadium, delivering a total of 450 flats.
Burnham has faced claims that he may have misled the public over his dealings with City, and questions over why taxpayer money was loaned to companies ultimately controlled by one of the world’s richest billionaires. The loans have since been repaid.
The shadow sports minister, Louie French, said: “Burnham has serious questions to answer about loans made to developers and companies linked to Manchester City’s owners during his time as mayor.
“Taxpayers deserve transparency over how this money was awarded. Burnham can’t continue to preach to Westminster about accountability and standards in public life while refusing to address the scandal surrounding his role in authorising these loans.
“He must stop dodging the questions and publish a full statement which sets out the facts without further delay.”
The Government, GMCA and ADUG were approached for comment.