The owner of Manchester City Football Club (MCFC) is to lead a £1bn housing regeneration project in east Manchester, UK, which is hoped to prove the catalyst for a raft of leisure developments.

MCFC owner Sheikh Mansour’s investment company Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) is to partner with Manchester City Council on a 10-year agreement to build up to 6,000 homes in the once rundown east Manchester area.

The £1bn ($1.7bn, €1.2bn) deal will see 830 private homes constructed in Ancoats and New Islington during phase one of the project. Both neighbourhoods are near to MCFC’s Etihad stadium and new training complex, the Etihad Campus.

According to Manchester City Council, the economic impact of phase one is expected to create significant employment opportunities and demand for retail, leisure and commercial developments.

"Today’s announcement adds another commercial dimension to the already significant investment made by Manchester City Council and ADUG in East Manchester, and in doing so progresses the regeneration story which began in the 1990's and was accelerated by the 2002 Commonwealth Games and ADUG’s recent development of the Etihad Campus,” said council leader Sir Richard Leese.

"The planned transformation of the eastern edge of the City Centre is the single biggest residential investment Manchester has seen for a generation."