"abu dhabi investment in manchester"
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...english-city-sold-abu-dhabis-elite-manchester
There are a lot of stories on how they've come in and ingratiated themselves with the city and smoothed their path to doing whatever they want with no objection at local level. No different to what they've done with the government, just localised.
Researchers ‘unable to identify any income received by the council’ under joint venture with Abu Dhabi United Group
Public land sold to Manchester City’s owners on the cheap in ‘sweetheart deal,’ report claims
Researchers ‘unable to identify any income received by the council’ under joint venture with Abu Dhabi United Group
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Manchester City Council has has been accused of selling huge tracts of public land at discount prices to the
Abu Dhabi investment fund that owns the Premier League champions.
The city’s reputation has been put at risk by the authority entering into a “bad deal for the council and its citzens” despite human rights concerns about the United Arab Emirates, according to a new report that raises questions about how the ownership of football clubs is used for political aims that are not beneficial to wider society.
The 65-page report by academics at the University of Sheffield concludes council’s sale of sites to with
Manchester City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour, is “instructive” on both sportswashing and “city-washing”. The researchers said the situation should lead to scrutiny of other cities such as Newcastle, where Saudi Arabian investors have invested in Newcastle United Football Club.
One of the most common criticisms of these ownerships is such clubs are used for other purposes, not least the integration of problematic states into the infrastructure of society.
The research primarily covers the Manchester Life partnership, a joint venture that has built 1,468 private apartments in the gentrified Ancoats district. In contrast to the common counter-argument that Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) investment has regenerated east Manchester, the report was “unable to identify any income received by the council from its joint venture stakes… despite being exposed to some of the risks of the project”.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ouncil-abu-dhabi-sheikh-mansour-b2128273.html
It's a veritable rabbit hole, if you're really interested. Suffice it to say, it's all absolutely rotten.