Parklife boss Sacha Lord resigns as Manchester nightlife advisor and ordered to pay back £400k government COVID loan
Parklife boss Sacha Lord has resigned from his position as Manchester nightlife advisor and has been ordered to pay back £400k to the government.
Lord – the former Parklife and Warehouse Project boss – stepped down from his role as the Night Time Economy Adviser for Greater Manchester last night (January 28), having been appointed by Mayor Andy Burnham back in 2018.
According to Manchester Evening News, following his resignation, the Arts Council withdrew £401,928 in a COVID grant that was awarded to Primary Event Solutions – a company owned by Lord – and is seeking the money back. Their decision to pull the grant following a review came at the same time that Lord had announced his departure from his role.
Primary Event Solutions had received the grant from the Culture Recovery Fund, administered by the Arts Council during the pandemic. The company was shut down back in 2023.
As reported by BBC, Lord shared that the funds had been used appropriately but there had been “a small number of unintended oversights”. He also explained that he was “concerned over inconsistencies and a lack of proportionality” in how the review was handled, adding: “The length of time taken to bring the matter to a close raises cause for concern and these delays have taken a significant, personal toll on myself and my family.”
He shared that this had taken a toll on his family life, saying that it has been “deeply troubling” and “only reinforced the importance of protecting and spending more time with my loved ones during this period of my life as a new father”.
He continued: “I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved as a city-region – earning recognition as the night-time capital of the UK, ranking eighth in the World’s Best Cities for nightlife, surpassing global destinations like Budapest and Buenos Aires, and successfully introducing initiatives which will transform our nightlife for the better.”
A spokesperson for the Arts Council said: “Following a thorough review of the application that Primary Event Solutions submitted to the Culture Recovery Fund in 2021, our decision is to withdraw the grant that was awarded and we are seeking to recover this money”
Burnham – who had appointed Lord in the role – accepted his resignation and praised his work in a statement that read: “Over the past seven years, as our Night-Time Economy Advisor, Sacha has been a brilliant and vocal champion for Greater Manchester’s night-time economy and cultural sectors during one of the industry’s most difficult periods in living memory.
“He has put a huge amount of time and energy into his work as Mayoral Advisor, supporting our councils and many local businesses. He has done all of this completely free and out of his own pocket, never taking or receiving any payment for this work.”
He went on to say that Lord had “accepted there were inaccuracies in a grant application, and I believe him when he says there was no intention to mislead and that he made no personal gain from the grant.” He also added that “We value his commitment to Greater Manchester and the massive contribution he has made,” (via Manchester Evening News).
Following the decision to withdraw the grant, the Arts Council said: “We take our role as custodians of public money very seriously. If concerns are raised to us about a grant application or award, we investigate and take the appropriate action,” (via BBC)
Lord claimed that Primary Event Solutions had worked closely with the Arts Council to show proof that the COVID fund had been used “appropriately to support staff wages and company stability during the pandemic”.
He added that the funds had supported a streaming event which raised £583,000 for local cultural organisations, businesses and individuals affected by lockdown.
“While we acknowledge the change in grant status, we appreciate that Arts Council England have found that there is no finding against the company that it deliberately misled the Arts Council in this application,” he said.
Back in July of last year, Lord had stepped down from both Parklife and The Warehouse Project.
“The decision to step down was not an easy one for me to make. I will miss the team, the events, the customers, I’ll even miss the stress and the late nights, but I’ve known for a long time that Parklife 2024 was going to be the last for me,” he explained.
He continued: “There could not have been a more perfect moment for me to step away than now – exactly 30 years since my first event at The Hacienda – and I’m so excited for what’s to come. This decision will free up my time to focus on my roles in the night time economy and hospitality sectors, and of course, most importantly, the birth of my first child with my beautiful wife Demi later this year.”
Lord founded The Warehouse Project in 2006 with business partner Sam Kandel. He then launched Parklife in 2010 at Platt Fields before moving the festival to Heaton Park.
Back in 2023, Manchester was filled with large ads slamming the Tories for the “complete and utter decimation of the events industry”.
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Anagricel Duran
NME
