The housing development boom in Manchester is gathering pace. Skyscrapers are rearing up across the city, with many more in the pipeline, while a housing crisis continues for many. An increasing number of these luxury high rise apartments are being snapped up by overseas companies, the ultimate owners of which are often shrouded in the […]
The men behind Manchester City: the dark side
Guest article from Nicholas McGeehan. Second part to an investigation into the background of the owners of Manchester City Football Club: The trailer for the forthcoming Amazon Prime documentary ‘All or Nothing: Manchester City’ is out and it’s hard to escape the feeling that they came mighty close to calling it ‘Death or Glory: Manchester […]
Developers are turning our heritage into profit, and we’re paying them for the pleasure of it
Flats at Crusader Works, one of the largest surviving textile mills and new luxury property venture by Capital & Centric where one bedroom apartments are going for heady sums upwards of £189,000, are on sale again. Since the project began the MEN has released a slew of articles gushing about how the development, on Chapeltown […]
Cities are recognising the dangers of speculation and big capital: what will Manchester’s politicians do next?
With thousands of housing units being built in across wards including Deansgate, Piccadilly and Ancoats, central areas of Manchester have now become a key investment ‘hot-spot’ for profit-seeking finance that cares little for local communities. This rampant speculation, surge in international investment and links to rising rents, displacement, homelessness and destruction of heritage and culture […]
Tax haven company owns £27m of Manchester property, but who owns the company?
One company registered in the British Virgin Islands tax haven owns property in Manchester with a value of around £27 million. The company name is Wisdom Max Group Limited, but who is the ultimate owner of this company and how did they make their money? These are questions that commonly go unanswered due to the […]
Dramatic rise in tax haven companies owning property in Manchester mimics the city’s growing skyline
Property in Manchester is not only reaching for the sky: its ownership is extending across the globe. With investors keen to cash in on the lucrative high rise luxury housing boom in Manchester city centre, the number of properties owned by companies registered overseas has risen by 8.8% in just eight months. Tower blocks are […]
The Spider’s Web – how Britain helps the wealthy avoid tax globally
‘The Spiders Web: Britain’s Second Empire’ documents Britain’s central role in creating and orchestrating a web of offshore tax havens that help the rich and powerful across the world, avoid their obligations to society, to build up ever greater piles of wealth in companies incorporated in British Crown Dependencies such as Jersey, or Overseas Territories […]
Defying the council, activists rename street after Ahmed Mansoor – an Emirati human rights defender sentenced to ten years in jail
A bid by human rights activists to rename a street after Ahmed Mansoor was refused by Manchester city council. When Mansoor was jailed for ten years in the United Arab Emirates for tweeting about human rights abuses in his country, the activists decided to rename the street themselves, with an unofficial mayor doing the honours. […]
HSBC’s arms investments haunt them as campaigners for Palestine stage die-in
The high street bank HSBC’s investments in the arms trade came back to haunt them on Tuesday when pro-Palestinian activists occupied their branch in St Ann’s Square, Manchester, chanting: “your profits are covered in Palestinian blood”. The activists lay on the floor alongside child-size coffins to represent the multitude of Palestinians killed and injured over the […]
Endemic avoidance of payments to councils by property developers revealed, while affordable housing is sacrificed for profit
A comprehensive report on the huge sums of money fuelling the housing development boom in the city centre has revealed the scale of non-payment of development funding to the council: only 8% of housing development in Manchester City Centre included in the study had any Section 106 agreement at all. The lack of money collected […]