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Sacha Lord stands down as NTE advisor
By Lauren BowesThe night-time economy (NTE) advisor for Greater Manchester, Sacha Lord, has stepped down following an issue with Arts Council England funding.

According to independent publication The Mill, a company of which Lord was a director – Primary Event Solutions – was awarded a grant of £401,928 (US$499,665) during the pandemic. The Mill alleged the company had misrepresented itself.
Arts Council England initially received an allegation of fraud relating to the application in July 2022, which it reviewed and identified there was no misuse of public money. It claims new information sent in May 2024 led to the withdrawal of the grant.
It said: “We take our role as custodians of public money very seriously and have processes in place to assess applications. If concerns are raised to us about a grant application or award, we investigate and take the appropriate action.”
“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.”
In a statement, Lord accepted the “change in grant status” but emphasised that the Arts Council had “found there is no finding against the company that it deliberately misled the Arts Council in this application”. He added that the company had worked with the council to show evidence that funding was used appropriately.
He expressed his concern over “inconsistencies and a lack of proportionality” in the matter, pointing out that the application was reviewed twice previously by the organisation’s Counter Fraud team, which concluded it was compliant.
He continued: “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.
“Furthermore, the invasion of privacy, particularly the targeted harassment of my wife during the final months of her pregnancy, has been deeply troubling and has only reinforced the importance of protecting and spending more time with my loved ones during this period of my life as a new father.”
Following Lord’s statement, the Arts Council added: “We can now confirm that after our thorough review, we found that the following clause from the grant’s terms and conditions was breached: ‘8.3.8 You have supplied us with any information that is wrong or misleading, either by mistake or because you were trying to mislead us.’
“We are not required by this clause to determine whether the misleading information was supplied deliberately. However, we have found that the applicant, Primary Event Solutions, breached this condition, whether by mistake or otherwise, leading us to withdraw the grant.”
‘No intention to mislead’
On his resignation as advisor, Lord said: “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, such as 24-hour night buses.
“However, the emotional toll and experience over recent months has given me the opportunity to reflect and gradually step back from my role in Greater Manchester. With heartfelt thanks to the mayor and his team, I have decided to continue in this direction and embrace a new chapter ahead – championing the sector on a national level with fresh focus and energy.”
Lord was appointed to the role in 2018. He is also the co-founder of Manchester’s Parklife festival and The Warehouse Project. During his tenure, he campaigned for a hospitality VAT cut and called for an inquiry into missing energy payments.
Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said: “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.
“Sacha has 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. Given that the Arts Council’s Counter Fraud team previously found no misuse of public money, it is not clear to me why the Arts Council has now reached this decision.
“Sacha has gradually stepped back from his role in recent months. Last night, he stepped down as mayoral advisor. With regret, I accepted his resignation and respect his decision. We value his commitment to Greater Manchester and the massive contribution he has made.”
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