Manchester club Sankeys has closed down

The long-running venue will be redeveloped but “Sankeys the brand” will live on, say club bosses.

Manchester nightclub Sankeys has closed down due to the sale of the Beehive Mill building that houses it.

The venue in Ancoats, which operated as Sankeys Soap in the mid-90s and relaunched in 2000, will be converted into apartments, according to the Manchester Evening News.

In an email sent to staff and promoters, Tony Hill, the head of Radius Security – a company contracted by Sankeys’ Japanese owners to manage the club – explained: “It has become apparent that the reason that [the property management agents] haven’t issued a new agreement is due to the fact that the entire building has been sold to a residential property developer who intends to turn it into apartments.

The notice continues: “On behalf of the directors and management team can you please pass this message on to those that it affects and apologise for how suddenly the change in circumstances has taken place.”

Hill later told the MEN: “Sankeys as a brand will live on though. We still have a licence 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.”

An official statement from the club is expected today.

Sankeys currently has venues in Ibiza and Tokyo, with a new London location, Sankeys East, set to open at the end of the month. A New York venture closed after only a month in business in 2014. [via RA]