the Court of Appeal have rejected a legal challenge against two loans handed out by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to Renaker
The case was brought by Aubrey Weis who was contesting a GMCA committee decision in March 2024 to grant loans of £70.8m and £69.2m to Renaker
The authority initially approved £140m in loans, though the developer’s companies later took smaller sums totalling £120m.
Weis claimed that the authority had issued the loans at below-market interest rates and that Renaker had been granted “advantageous treatment” which was unfair because other developers did not receive comparable financial support.
The case was initially heard at the Competition Appeal Tribunal last year, which ruled in the GMCA’s favour.
The Weis Group was granted permission to appeal and the hearing in the Court of Appeal earlier this month
A GMCA spokesperson said: “Today’s judgment from the Court of Appeal confirms the findings from last year’s Tribunal, which rejected the false claims that developers received favourable loans, and instead found that they were made on commercial terms.
“Despite repeated legal challenges and attempts in the media to undermine our processes and our reputation, the court has upheld the decision of the expert Tribunal that scrutinised all our documents and stood behind the robust measures we put in place.
“Our Housing Investment Loan Fund has lawfully helped rebuild confidence in Greater Manchester’s housing market, delivering 11,000 new homes, and generating income which has supported our work tackling the housing crisis.
“We welcome the additional clarity on legal guidance provided by the Court, which has today confirmed that our process was ‘designed to ensure that the GMCA acted on a commercial basis’.”
