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.
asserted
downfall → rule → East
It also helped change the face of modern Manchester.
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It → help → 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.
asserted
rulers → swear → Islamism
The UAE, a key western ally, was concerned that David Cameron’s UK government was not strong enough on the Muslim Brotherhood and warned ministers it could pull billion-pound arms deals if Britain did not act.
uncertain
Britain → concern → deals
A secret Whitehall unit was hastily established to keep the oil-rich emirates on side.
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unit → establish → side
Lucrative investment deals were offered in private meetings later revealed by the Guardian.
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deals → offer → Guardian
One of these would turn Abu Dhabi’s now crisis-stricken ownership of Manchester City football club into a much deeper stake in the city itself.
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One → turn → city
Fifteen years after the Egyptian revolution, a Guardian analysis can reveal a stark rise in the amount of land and property owned by the UAE government or Emirati developers in Manchester over the past decade – extending to the size of 260 football pitches at its peak in 2023.
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analysis → reveal → 2023
Manchester City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, has built an extensive portfolio outside the club, including the UK’s biggest indoor arena, an “upper-upscale hotel” that opened last month, a suite of apartment blocks and investment in world-leading university research through a firm run by Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the City chief executive.
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that → build → Mubarak
The cheating scandal at Manchester City has put the spotlight on the wider influence of Abu Dhabi in the city, the growth of which helped power Andy Burnham to Downing Street.
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growth → put → Street
Through interviews with key past and present local politicians and officials, new data analysis and an examination of public records spanning more than a decade, the Guardian can now tell the story of how the oil-rich state’s influence has grown, what it has meant for Manchester, and how it has fuelled concerns about the city becoming “a northern version of London”.
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city → span → London
‘We were seeking a very significant investment’
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We → seek → investment
Ten years ago, the sight of the murky-green Rochdale canal was a sign you had strayed too far out of Manchester’s lively Northern Quarter and should turn back.
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you → stray → Quarter
Now drinkers and diners gravitate to the area, pulled in by trendy waterside bars serving up £6.90 pints and an artisanal bakery where a single croissant costs £7.50.
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croissant → gravitate → 7.50
That transformation began in summer 2013, when David Cameron’s government sought to defuse tensions with the UAE and asked Manchester city council to draw up three investment proposals for the super-rich emirates.
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government → begin → emirates
One of these resulted in a £1bn deal called Manchester Life, under which the council sold a prime slice of city centre land to Abu Dhabi for £5m to build 6,000 homes, along with a right of first refusal on other projects.
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council → result → projects
Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester city council at the time, told the Guardian: “That was a UK government-brokered deal and we were obviously seeking a very significant investment for what would in total have been a £1bn scheme.
“
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what → tell → total
Housing development in and around the city centre and Ancoats in particular had stopped and been stopped for several years.
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development → stop → years
At that time there were no [other] developers who were either willing or able to do it.”
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who → be → it
In a press release, Leese hailed the partnership as a “world-class exemplar of regeneration” and “a platform for the delivery of more than 6,000 new homes”.
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Leese → hail → homes
However, only 2,039 homes have been delivered by Manchester Life – a third of the total promised – with a further 2,839 homes being built by other developers.
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homes → deliver → developers
The total of 4,878 new properties is nearly 20% short of the 6,000 envisaged.
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total → envisage → 6,000
Despite the council’s longstanding policy of at least 20% of new developments being for social and affordable housing, only 8% of these 4,878 properties fell into that category – and none were provided by Manchester Life.
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none → fall → Life
A five-minute walk from the new Abu Dhabi-funded apartments, which are home to the city’s first Michelin-starred restaurant, the nave of a former Methodist church is stacked high with emergency food for those living on surrounding streets.
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nave → fund → streets
The short walk to the Etihad Stadium includes some of the poorest areas in the second most deprived local authority in England.
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walk → include → England
Within only half a mile, there are four charity food banks or distribution sites, one of which has a plaque marking its opening by Burnham in 2021.
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one → be → 2021
“It’s bound to cause resentment,” said Mark Blake, the chief executive of Manchester Central Foodbank, of the sudden influx of shiny apartments, expensive eateries and well-paid tenants.
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Blake → bind → apartments
“When it’s in your face and is during a cost of living crisis it potentially could lead to some unrest.
uncertain
it → ’ → unrest
I think it should be a real concern.”
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it → think → ?
Parking has become a flashpoint, with reports of cars being vandalised after being left on council estate streets by those living or dining at the Abu Dhabi-funded properties.
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cars → become → properties
Tenants of the swanky apartments are encouraged to leave food to local food banks in donation boxes in each of the luxury blocks.
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Tenants → encourage → blocks
“People are feeling all these cultural divides that are played out through the proxy of housing and everyday issues around parking,” said Alan Good, a Lib Dem councillor for Ancoats and Beswick.
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Good → feel → Ancoats
“Residents tell me they look at the shiny new towers and there’s a resentment – a feeling that they’re not benefiting from what Manchester is benefiting from.”
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Manchester → tell → what
Good said he felt Manchester was becoming a “northern version of London” as an “insane” property crisis compounded the misery for the city’s 20,000 people on the social housing register.
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crisis → say → register
Dr Matthew Stallard, a University College London researcher and chair of trustees at Manchester Central Foodbank, said there was an uncomfortable disconnect between the city’s reputation nationally – with “Manchesterism” becoming a byword for a thriving metropolis with an eye on broader social benefits – and the reality for many in the city.
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Manchesterism → say → city
“If you look at central Manchester and all the skyscrapers and you go out in every direction by a mile and a half or two miles, you’re then in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country.
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you → look → country
In Ancoats, it’s a very clear line where the money is and where the money’s not.”
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money → ’ → Ancoats
He told the Salford Star that if elected, he would stop large property firms benefiting from multimillion-pound taxpayer-funded loans from the mayoral authority.
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he → tell → authority
There were concerns, he said, that the Greater Manchester combined authority (GMCA) fund had “been used to provide loans to large companies, which should have used their own finance instead, and that is too focused on city centre and luxury schemes”.
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that → be → schemes
Barely a year later, Burnham signed off a £55m loan to Jersey-registered property firms owned by Sheikh Mansour, scion of one of the world’s wealthiest families with a reported fortune of about £300bn.
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Burnham → sign → 300bn
…and 51 more, not listed.
The Aporia
