On Friday 30 October 2026 the Supreme Court granted permission to appeal in Aubrey Weis v Greater Manchester Combined Authority. This was the first appeal to the Court of Appeal under the Subsidy Control Act 2023 and will be the first such appeal to the Supreme Court. The case concerns a challenge to £120 million of loans given by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, under the leadership of Andy Burnham, to a local property developer.
The two grounds on which permission to appeal has been granted are, in short summary:
- Is the CAT required to decide for itself as an objective question, including by taking into account fresh evidence and reasons post-dating the relevant decision, whether the challenged financial assistance amounts to a subsidy; or is the CAT’s jurisdiction to judicially review the decision of the public authority to grant the financial assistance?
- Does the CAT have jurisdiction to consider free-standing public law grounds of challenge; or do these have to be brought by a separate application for judicial review in the Administrative Court?
The Supreme Court hearing is expected to be listed in the first half of 2027.
Joseph Barrett KC and Oliver Jackson represent the Appellant, Mr Aubrey Weis, instructed by Walker Morris LLP.
