By Ethan Davies

Andy Burnham's office could be sued over loans totalling £745 million given to one of Manchester's biggest developers.

A major landowner in the city, Weis Group, is reportedly taking the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to the Competition Appeal Tribunal. It believes the loans to developer giant Renaker have 'distorted' the Manchester property market, reports Place North West.

"While we cannot comment on the case itself, from publicly available information it appears that following the proposed loans recently approved by GMCA, these will bring total overall lending to Renaker by GMCA and its affiliates to £745m at state-subsidised lending rates, although full disclosure of the terms of the latest loans remains outstanding," a Weis spokesperson told the property news title.

Renaker is the company behind the city's tallest building — Deansgate Square South Tower — and other skyscrapers nearby. It's also currently developing Trinity Islands — two towers 55 and 60 storeys tall at the junction of Trinity Way and Regent Road.

Currently, the GMCA hands out millions in loans to developers via its Housing Investment Fund. It was created in 2015 using government cash.

Since then, some £700 million has been given to developers via the fund, with figures in the GMCA previously saying any interest earned from the loans is used to pay for other housing initiatives like retrofitting and building on brownfield land.

It remains unclear which GMCA funding schemes Weis Group are including in their claim, but these could be revealed when the case is formally filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal. The GMCA said it was 'aware' of the action.

"We are aware of a claim submitted to the Competition Appeals Tribunal regarding the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund," a spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"The GMCA has been delivering these investment loans to a range of developers for a number of years and we are confident in our processes."

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