Home / Kuits secures rare late night premises licence for Sankeys
25th February 2026
Welcome home Sankeys!
First you saw the rumours (Instagram’s “Hello Manchester – it’s been a while”), then came the announcements Sankeys was returning in January 2026, and tickets went on sale without the venue being announced in advance…
Manchester commercial law firm, Kuits, is delighted to confirm it has secured a late-night premises licence for the Flour & Flagon and The Bread Shed on Grosvenor Street, providing a permanent home for Sankeys, one of the most iconic Manchester club brands, in the heart of the student world. The carefully crafted licence operates Thursday to Saturdays, allowing licensable activities until 5am and 6am, with closing at 06.30am.
The premises licence is one of a very small handful of late-night club licences operating in the centre of Manchester and is a true vote of confidence in Manchester’s night-time economy.
This marks a new chapter in Manchester’s nightlife heritage, reconnecting a new generation of music lovers with a brand that helped shape the city’s global reputation for club culture, whilst letting some of us who were there the first time round to indulge in a bit of hazy nostalgia.
Born in the 1990s in the legendary Sankeys Soap in Ancoats, Sankeys helped define Manchester’s original clubbing scene and built an international reputation for forward-thinking electronic music and unforgettable nights. Jeff Mills, Dave Clarke, Daft Punk, Bj?rk, Laurent Garnier and The Chemical Brothers are but a small number of the impressive acts that appeared at Sankeys in the early days of their rise to global fame.
While the original venue closed some years ago, Sankeys has since appeared at different locations in the UK and abroad, including Ibiza and New York City. With Kuits’ assistance, it has been operating at its new home under a series of temporary event notices. This new licence marks a significant moment: the return of Sankeys as a permanent fixture in Manchester’s cultural landscape, ready to discover and deliver the next generation of club music in an intimate and immersive creative environment where mobile ‘phones are banned, and the music and people are everything.
Claire Morris, Associate in Kuits’ specialist licensing & leisure team says “We are absolutely delighted to have assisted Soap Use is Limited on this project. This was a detailed application, specifically crafted to reflect the events and the late operating hours in this part of the city. The application did not receive any objections, demonstrating the importance of having operational clarity and a partnership working with the responsible authorities. Such applications are very rarely granted in Manchester, and we are thrilled to have played a part in finding Sankeys a new permanent home.”
Press contacts: Eleanor Cummings [email protected] 0161 838 7856
Kuits is a leading, UK200-listed commercial law firm based in Manchester city centre. We provide trusted legal and commercial advice to businesses, their owners and high-net-worth individuals, promoting the growth and success of the North West. Ranked highly in both Chambers UK and Legal 500, clients consider us ‘quick to respond’, ‘diligent’ and ‘thorough and educated’ in our responses. Find out more at www.kuits.com