A well known building company was granted over nine acres of land by Liverpool Council, potentially worth millions of pounds.
The Flanagan Group paid 'zero' for the parcels of land across the city.
The largest single transfer of land to The Flanagan Group took place on January 4, 2016, when 14 plots were passed to them.
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In total 36,861 square metres of land was passed to them in this disposal, the equivalent of around five football pitches.
The plots granted to the group included land on Upper Parliament Street, Birchfield Street, Coleridge Street, Church Flags, Tatlock Street, Walton Lane, Hill Street, Northumberland Street, Parkview Road, Oak Lane and Selbourne Street.
The company received four plots in the Hill Street area, and three plots on Parkview Road.
The largest disposal was on Parkview Road in Croxteth, which was 9622 square metres. The site on Upper Parliament Street in Toxteth was 7936 square metres, the second largest disposal.
A large plot on Park Street was also granted to the Flanagans for £1 on December 13 2016.
The fact that nothing was paid for the land was confirmed by Liverpool Council in response to a Freedom of Information Act request earlier this year.
The council's response read: "In relation to the specifics of this review request, the City Council would confirm that the specific site to which you refer, under Land Registry reference MS629628, was disposed of as part of a package of wider disposals of small sites as referenced within the previous disclosure appendix provided in respect of your request and for which various reference numbers were provided. No consideration was payable for this site meaning the price paid was £0 (zero)."
In June 2017 Liverpool Council awarded the Flanagans planning permission to build an apartment block on the land given to them on Upper Parliament Street.
The Flanagan Group was in the news earlier this year when it emerged they were the lead contractor on a new conference, hotel and education facility in Birmingham for Unite the Union.
The budget, which escalated from £57m to £98m , attracted some controversy and led to a political row within Unite.
Len McCluskey, then General Secretary of Unite, said that the costs had risen because the union used contractors that paid national rates of pay. He also said other factors contributed such as health and safety measures in response to the Grenfell tragedy, and rising costs in the construction industry.
Unite has said that the hotel project was properly scrutinised.
The Flanagan Group was founded by brothers Paul and Julian Flanagan.
The two businessmen were behind the well known Newz Bar venue on Water Street which became hugely popular in the mid noughties.
In 2013 Paul Flanagan gave an expansive interview to the Daily Post, when he reflected upon the company's astonishing success story over recent decades.
Mr Flanagan said that he set up his own plumbing and insulation business and later branched out into building and construction.
After enjoying some success the company bought a number of properties in the city centre such as New Zealand House.
He said the venue was perfect for "wining and dining clients."
According to information on the Flanagan Group's own website the company works across a broad range of sectors from home extensions to large scale commercial projects.
The issue of disposal of small parcels of council owned land was highlighted as a case study in Max Caller's report into the council's failure to deliver Best Value.
The final section of the report stated: "In conclusion, despite the positive policy objectives seeking new and innovative approaches to housing delivery expressed when the Small Sites scheme emerged in 2014 this has not been achieved. What is clear is that this extended project has achieved no capital receipt for LCC yet has resulted in material sums being outlaid by the Authority to deliver housing on some challenging sites. In particular, the scheme has enabled a local contractor to construct housing (but only where it chose to) at no risk to itself or its profit margins. This has left numerous sites undeveloped, but now LCC no longer owns or directly controls them."
A spokesperson for Liverpool council said: "We have no comment to make on this due to ongoing legal matters."
The ECHO approached Flanagans for a comment on this story.
