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Music

Manchester's Iconic Sankeys Nightclub Is Closing Down

The building hosting the nightlife institution was reportedly sold to be converted to apartments.
Photo via Sankeys' Facebook

UPDATE [Friday, January 13, 8:35 AM]: Sankeys delivered an official statement earlier today via Facebook confirming the club's immediate closure is due to the building being sold with future plans for apartment conversion.

"When you look around Ancoats you'll see new apartment blocks and new developments throughout the area, we have done well to fend off the developers for so long," they write. "[With] Regards to Sankeys Manchester, we are looking at a few options in terms of a new venue to replicate the legendary Basement and Spektrum. We will also be running a series of pop-up events inclusive of existing bookings and shows yet to be released…" Read the full statement here.

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English nightlife institution Sankeys in Manchester closed its doors for good today (January 12), according to a post made on the venue's Facebook page:

"As many of you have seen over the last hour over social media we have been forced to close due circumstances completely out of our control. We will be releasing a full statement in the morning to explain what has happened. We love you all and thank you for your amazing and kind words."

The Manchester Evening News reported that the closure comes as the result of the building Sankeys occupies, the Beehive Mill, being sold to a residential property developer who plans to turn it into apartments. According to an email sent to staff and promoters by Radius Security managing Director Tony Hill, negotiations had been in place for some time with property management agents regarding the lease, which the landlord refused to extend when it ended last summer.

"Sankeys as a brand will live on though," Hill told the M.E.N. "We still have a license to continue holding Sankeys events and we might look into another venue. We can't promise anything but we haven't written it off altogether. We're just in a situation where our hands are tied. It's incredibly sad to see it come away from the venue. Sankeys is legendary. It's an absolute shame."

David Vincent first opened Sankeys Soap inside Beehive Mill, Ancoats in 1994, rebranding the storied venue to simply Sankeys in 2006. Over the years, it has hosted the likes of Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers, New Order, Laurent Garnier, and Carl Cox. Sankeys has since evolved into a global brand, with outposts in Ibiza, Tokyo, and New York, though the lattermost shut down in 2014. Additional Sankeys venues are due to open in the coming weeks in Birmingham and East London.

THUMP has reached out to Sankeys management and is awaiting a response.