Sankeys Manchester teases return with cryptic social media post: “It’s been a while”

Sankeys has teased a possible return to its home city of Manchester. 

A cryptic post shared to the legendary club and event brand’s official Instagram account this week shows a black and white image of the iconic venue accompanied by the words: “Hello Manchester… it’s been a while.” The account bio also now reads “A Return to Manchester?”

Originally located in the city centre’s Ancoats district, Sankey’s Soap – later Sankey’s – was open for numerous stints between 1994 and 2017. Founded by Andy Spiro and Rupert Campell, it remains a core part of the North of England’s clubbing legacy.

After closing for a period in 1998 due to financial issues, the venue reopened under new ownership in 2000. A hugely successful post-millennium decade saw satellite venues open in Ibiza and New York, two of the “Seven Sankeys of the World” proposed by then owner Dave Vincent. Both were short-lived ventures, and the Manchester institution closed again in 2013, before returning the following year and finally bowing out in 2017. Since then, the Sankeys brand has continued to host one-off events at London’s Studio 338.

Occupying the landmark Beehive Mill on Jersey Street, a former soap factory, the venue itself has since been sold to property developers and converted into co-working spaces. The wider area has also changed beyond recognition, with the abandoned industrial buildings that surrounded Sankeys now redeveloped into apartments and ground floor restaurants, ranking 20th in Time Out’s list of “the world’s coolest neighbourhoods”.