4 anniversary of the Peterloo massacre in 2019, where: “Council officials had contacted the event organisers about references to the city having been “bought” by the United Arab Emirates. The performance went ahead without the lines: “Our housing, our streets, our silence on human rights — you can’t keep selling if you’re
already
selling
out.
The officials’ intervention revealed the city leadership’s sensitivity about the Gulf state. Peggy Manning, who helped to write the script, said it was “concerning” that Manchester’s municipal leaders were choosing “to self-censor or avoid commenting on human rights abuses taking place in the United Arab Emirates due to business partnerships.” (Collins, 2019:online) Post-crisis financialisation radicality is demonstrated through tracing a particular financial actor who has already permeated the cultural landscape of Manchester, and has begun capitalising on contemporary Manchester’s booming urbanisation. Methodologically traced through the use of government legislation reports, reports authored by grassroots organisations, UK HMRC data, newspaper articles, Manchester City Council policy documents, and demographic data. These sources are used to reveal the numerous shells of operation that contribute to emergence of institutional investors generally, and specifically for this actor. Global theories are introduced in the literature review, followed by the first chapter of the empirical section, introducing Manchester through the formation of the Manchester City Council. In the proceeding second empirical chapter, post-crisis national legislation is introduced and Manchester City Council’s movements toward institutional investment is charted. Finally then, a specific building is then investigated fully realising connection of global theories, enabling the reader to approach and critically analyse their own context for the identification of institutional investors.
