About Sacha
a defining part of the Manchester music scene
An outspoken voice for the hospitality and cultural sectors, Sacha Lord is one of the UK’s most well-known night time economy experts, Chair of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) and Chair of Wythenshawe F.C.
Starting his career in music at the legendary Hacienda, he is co-founder of Parklife (Europe’s largest metropolitan festival) and The Warehouse Project - the largest nightclub in the world.
3 Decades in the Manchester Music Scene
Growing up in Altrincham during the ‘Madchester’ period, Sacha left Manchester Grammar School with two Us and an E at A-level. He has since spoken openly about the anxiety that came with struggling at school and the pressure he felt watching his peers go off to the UK’s top universities whilst he stayed back, wondering what to do next.
After a brief stint working in an Altrincham clothes shop and selling leather jackets on a market stall in Liverpool, Sacha found himself with a career in Promoting before eventually putting on the first event of his own - a student night at the Hacienda on July 4th 1994 - and the rest was history.
In the three decades since, Sacha has had a hand in some of Manchester’s most iconic Events at some of Manchester’s most iconic venues: Tribal Gathering, Mantazia, The Warehouse Project and Parklife Festival as well as his six year stint at Sankey’s Soap are but a few.
Today, The Warehouse Project stands as the UK’s largest nightclub with a capacity of 10,000 people at its Mayfield Depot home, putting it on par with Privilege in Ibiza, which holds the Guinness World Record for the largest nightclub in the world. It has also been voted the World’s Favourite Night Club.
Parklife has seen similar levels of success, as the UK’s largest metropolitan festival. Over the span of two days, the event attracts 80,000 people to its Heaton Park home, employing 4,500 people and bringing £10 million into the region.
A Bold Voice for the Night Time Economy
From 2018 to 2025, Sacha held the role of Greater Manchester’s Night Time Economy Advisor to the city region’s Mayor Andy Burnham. During his time in the role, Greater Manchester earned recognition as the ‘night-time capital of the UK’, and ranked eighth in the World’s Best Cities for Nightlife, surpassing global destinations like Budapest and Buenos Aires. Sacha also successfully introduced a raft of recommendations to improve safety, transport and cultural diversity in the region, including 24-hour night buses.
After seven years in the role, Sacha stepped down to concentrate on his role as Chair of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), and adopt a broader, national voice for hospitality.
On 4th July 1994, Sacha put on his first event - a student night at the Hacienda. His first mistake was that it was supposed to be a student night, however, in July most of Manchester’s student population had returned home for their summer break. The absence of his target demographic didn’t slow him down though, with a quick pivot and plenty of flyering, postering and blagging, this became the event to launch his 30-year career in the industry.
After 3 years of running student nights, Sacha wanted to try his hand at something bigger. That event was Mantazia - a New Year’s Eve party at Granada Studios, the home of Coronation Street and many other beloved ITV shows. This was his first step onto a bigger stage, with the event selling out at a capacity of 5200.
Sacha and his then-business partner David Vincent took ownership of the iconic Sankey’s Soap in 2000, re-opening the club after its two-year closure (mainly due to gangs and violence) with the aim to refresh its offering and appeal to a new audience. Sacha would leave Sankeys in 2006 to co-found The Warehouse Project.
Sacha’s first warehouse party. With 10,000 people in attendance at Pollard St, Manchester, this was the event that sowed the seed for The Warehouse Project. It was also the first fully licensed warehouse party since Margaret Thatcher brought in strict regulations.
Inspired by the success of previous events, Sacha launched The Warehouse Project alongside business partners Sam Kandel and Rich McGinnis. The event runs annually from September to January 1st and has been named The World’s Favourite Night Club. Starting off at Boddington’s Brewery, the nomadic series moved around covering Store Street, Victoria Warehouse and Mayfield Depot.
What started as a one-day event at Platt Fields Park with 20,000 students is now the UK’s largest metropolitan festival. A two-day festival taking place annually at Heaton Park, attracting 80,000 people for a weekend of music.
Sacha was appointed the role of Greater Manchester’s first-ever Night Time Economy Advisor in 2018 - a role in which he fights for the operators, employees, venues and attendees of Manchester’s nightlife scene.
Sacha launched United We Stream, the online entertainment platform, as a response to the global closure of night life venues during lockdown. The platform racked up over 20 million viewers over 10 weeks and in doing so, raised money for local charities, artists, freelancers and venues.
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) board voted unanimously to appoint Sacha as the Chair of the Board of Directors.
Sacha became Chair of Wythenshawe Amateurs Football Club following their promotion to the North West Counties Premier League.
In April 2024, Sacha Lord released his inaugural biography, Tales From the Dancefloor, recounting key moments from his career, which became a Sunday Times Best Seller upon publication.
Timeline
Supporting and carving out careers in Events and Hospitality.
In 2024, Sacha Lord started the process of forming The Sacha Lord Foundation.
Headed up by his wife, Demi, the Foundation will support young people from Greater Manchester, who like Sacha, did not or could not go down the conventional education route.
The Foundation will be focused on supporting and carving out careers in the Events or Hospitality sector.
Charity Number: 1204808.
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With exclusive insight into the economic challenges of today’s nightlife sector and urban regeneration, Sacha provides unique insight into how businesses must adapt to thrive in our ever changing economy.
