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ARTICLE · 29 AUGUST 2025

Competition Appeal Tribunal Clarifies Subsidy Control Act Application In Local Authority Lending

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The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (Respondent) has successfully defended a challenge in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) brought by a developer (Appellant) against its decision to award approximately £120M of loans to a competing developer.

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
Alex Kynoch
Alex Kynoch

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (Respondent) has successfully defended a challenge in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) brought by a developer (Appellant) against its decision to award approximately £120M of loans to a competing developer.

The challenge was brought under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 asserting that the loan arrangements gave rise to an impermissible subsidy.

This article explains how the Competition Appeal Tribunal interpreted the Subsidy Control Act 2022 in the context of local authority lending decisions, including key lessons for public bodies on applying the commercial market operator principle.

Background

The Respondent had loaned sums of around £120,000,000 to one of the Appellant's competitors, to support the delivery of a high-quality housing project within the area covered by the local authority (the Loans). The Appellant claimed that the Loans were in breach of section 3(2) of the Act on the basis they had been granted

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