Joseph Barrett KC appears in the second ever subsidy control judicial review under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 to come before the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
The proceedings concern c. £140 million of loans provided by GMCA to two property development SPVs. The Appellant, the Weis Group, contends that the loans were not concluded on market terms and/or do not comply with the commercial market operator principle.
The claim will be the CAT’s first opportunity to consider the application of s. 3 (2) of the 2022 Act and the application of the ‘commercial market operator principle’ in domestic subsidy control law following Brexit and is likely to provide important guidance on the nature of the duties which the 2022 Act impose upon public bodies granting loans or other forms of financial support or assistance to private sector operators. A copy of the CAT’s summary of the proceedings can be seen here.
Press coverage of the litigation can be seen here.
