Row continues over £140m loan to city centre developer

A long-running legal battle over public loans worth £140m made by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to a city centre developer could be heading to the Supreme Court.

Landowner Aubrey Weis has applied for permission to appeal against the GMCA in the ongoing dispute over loans to so-called "special purpose vehicles" - companies set up to deliver specific development projects - linked to Renaker founder Daren Whitaker.

The application follows attempts to overturn the earlier ruling in hearings to the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.

Weis's lawyers claim the loans were unfair subsidies, but the Court of Appeal ruling in June found there had been "no error of law" in the GMCA's decision to provide them.

Lawyers representing Weis argued earlier this year that loans made by the GMCA to Renaker were made on a "flawed and unlawful" basis and offered "unduly favourable" interest rates.

The funding came from the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund (GMHILF) and supported the Trinity Islands and New Jackson developments in Manchester city centre.

If Weis's application to appeal is granted, the dispute could now progress to the UK's highest court.

A GMCA spokesperson said: "Both the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal have heard this case, and on both occasions they found that these loans were given on commercial terms.

"We do not believe this appeal has any merit and have submitted our response to the Supreme Court."

A Weis Group spokesperson said: "We're hoping the Supreme Court will consider how the GMCA can lawfully lend taxpayer money to schemes considered unviable by their own developer without engaging the Subsidy Control Act."

Renaker has been approached for comment.

Whitaker resigned as a director of Renaker in November 2025, according to Companies House records.

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