In Mr Aubrey Weis v GMCA [2025] CAT 27, the CAT has handed down in first judgment on the balance to be struck between the protection of commercially confidential information and procedural fairness in the specific context of judicial review challenges under the Subsidy Control Act 2023 (“the SCA”).
The proceedings concern judicial review challenges under the SCA to c. £140 million of loans awarded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (“GMCA”) to various special purpose vehicles within the Renaker property development ‘group’.
The Appellant contended that in order to be able fairly to pursue the proceedings it was necessary for its principal decision-maker (Mr Joel Weis) to be admitted to a confidentiality ring so as to be able to review the key decision-making document relating to GMCA’s decision to grant the loans, and their pricing and commercial terms. This was opposed by GMCA, on the basis that Mr Weis should not have access to the commercially confidential information of a competitor. GMCA contended that the Appellant should be required instead to instruct a third-party expert to act on its behalf.
The CAT (Hodge Malek KC, Chairman), held that the balance between the protection of confidentiality and procedural fairness required that Mr Weis be permitted to review GMCA’s decision-making documents, including Renaker’s commercially confidential information.
The judgment, and the CAT’s earlier CMC rulings in respect of disclosure and confidentiality ring arrangements, provide important guidance on how issues of disclosure of, and access to, commercially confidential information are likely to handled by the CAT in subsequent challenges under the SCA.
Joseph Barrett KC of 11KBW appeared successfully on behalf of the Appellant, Mr Weis. A copy of the CAT’s judgment can be found here.
