Prince Charles Cinema facing eviction threat in landlord lease dispute

The famously independent and famously cheap Prince Charles Cinema is facing a threat of potential closure in the future as the building’s landlord wants to change the terms of their lease.

The leaseholders, Zedwell LSQ Ltd and their parent company, Criterion Capital, want to insert a break clause in the lease renewal that’s coming up that would allow them to evict the independent cinema with just six months’ notice.

Although it’s not that unusual for break clauses to exist in leases—for the benefit of both sides—a six-month break clause on an established occupant who has not indicated any intention to leave would be unusual. A break clause like the one being proposed would be less damaging to a generic occupant, such as an office or retailer, as they wouldn’t find it particularly difficult to relocate.

Moving an entire cinema is rather harder — making the break cause particuarly concerning.

In a statement, the cinema said that they were “beyond disappointed” in the position being taken by the landlord, as it would given them just six months notice before being made homeless if the owner wanted to redevelop the site.

As they note, “Losing The Prince Charles Cinema would mean losing not just an iconic cultural institution, but also an engine for the economy of the West End that brings people from all over London and the surrounding area to watch films, shop and eat and drink. This would have repercussions way beyond the building itself.”

The current lease ends in September 2025, and they are entitled to a new lease at market rates unless their landlord can prove certain very specific conditions. The cinema owners say that they applied for a new lease at the earliest possible opportunity with a reasonable rental offer based on the market analysis of two specialist cinema surveyors, acting independently of each other.

However, in addition to wanting the lease’s break clause, they also demand a much higher rent than the independent review found was suitable for the site. The cinema owners are now planning to contest their lease valuation but are also asking the landlord to reconsider the matter to avoid a lengthy and very expensive court case.

There’s now an online petition calling on the landlords to change their mind – details here.