Sacha Lord resigns as Burnham adviser as Arts Council demands return of £400k grant

Sacha Lord has resigned as night time economy adviser to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham after the Arts Council asked for him to return grant money he received during the pandemic.

The resignation and the Arts Council decision is a massive vindication for independent Manchester publisher The Mill which first broke the story that questioned whether a company controlled by the music events promoter was entitled to receive a £400,000 Arts Council of England grant in May 2024.

But the Arts Council has trod a careful line, claiming that this week’s decision was based on “new information” about the grant made in 2022.

An Arts Council spokesperson told The Mill today: “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.” 

Sacha Lord said: “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.”

On the issue of the Arts Council’s finding, Lord said: “The company and its former directors have continued to work closely with Arts Council England to evidence that grant funds were used appropriately to support staff wages and company stability during the pandemic.”

The founder of Parklife and the Warehouse Project has consistently argued that he made the applications in good faith and that Primary Events “was involved in providing event management including bar staff, events supervisors, event managers, marketing, artist liaison and ticketing” when the Arts Council application went in.

At the time TheBusinessDesk.com, unlike most publishers, reported The allegations and asked if the GMCA was content that the Mill story was either incorrect, or contains insufficient detail to warrant The Mayor taking steps to remove him from his position as his high profile night time economy adviser, or if they had any additional information. 

Greater Manchester Combined Authority deferred all queries to Arts Council England.

Mayor Andy Burnham said: “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.”