Revealed: Manchester's 'red carpet treatment' for Man City's Emirati owners

Revealed: Manchester's 'red carpet treatment' for Man City's Emirati owners

Man City owner Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi firm was given the "red carpet treatment" for building in Manchester, a leading property developer has claimed. The Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) - which owns the club - was handed "first offer" over property developments across the city under what's been labelled a "sweetheart deal" with the city's Labour council. Under a 10-year contract signed in 2015, ADUG was given preferential access to land ring-fenced for development by the council. The deal, as revealed by The Mill, was struck to "promote residential development" by "contributing towards infrastructure provision and land assembly". But it meant the council had to give "right of first refusal" to ADUG on land it wanted to sell around Ancoats and New Islington. It also meant any agreed development on the land had to be carried out by Manchester Life, a joint venture between ADUG and the council. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Andy Burnham praised the massive regeneration project last week, which has included thousands of homes and 30,000 square feet of commercial space. He was the Mayor of Greater Manchester during eight of the development deal's 10 years - but not the leader of the council. Last night, a council source hailed how the joint venture "was able to offer a scale of investment that delivered a £1.25billion programme of regeneration". And a former senior council official told The Mill he stood by the value of the work he did in the city. But local developers said the deal hindered their own investments in the area. One major property developer in the North West told The Sunday Times: "This is a sweetheart deal between Abu Dhabi and Manchester City Council. "They are given the red carpet treatment where other British-based developers are not." The developer added that it "did hold some of us back". Just after Man City was found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules, Mr Burnham rushed to the defence of the club's owners. "I would be