Following Curzon’s confirmation earlier this month it is withdrawing from the site of London cinema Curzon Mayfair, Fantasio, the London-headquartered property company headed by Dan Zaum, has unveiled the timeline for its re-development and re-opening of the cinema.
Curzon announced earlier this month after an on-going series of battles with Fantasio (previously known as 38 Curzon Lease), the cinema operator is withdrawing from the site after around 90 years of operation and following a legal challenge to the landlord’s redevelopment plans.
Curzon is expected to vacate the premises in January 2026, and Fantasio’s development will start shortly thereafter, subject to planning conditions. It is anticipated that the redevelopment will take around 18 months and the cinema will reopen in 2027.
Zaum and his company previously refurbished The Ned London and Koko Camden. It confirmed in 2023 it wanted to break away from UK exhibitor-distributor Curzon, and run its own refurbished cinema, investing £15m of its own money in the venue, as well as offering an entertainment and media hub and dining destination. Zaum has been landlord of the site since 2016.
In 2024, Zaum took on the role of director of UK producer-financier Gold Rush Pictures. The company has backed projects including Brian Cox’s directorial debut Glenrothan and Jessica Hausner’s Club Zero.
In a statement released earlier this month about its decision to withdraw from the site, Curzon said: “The iconic Curzon Mayfair, from which the company took its name in 1934, has been its flagship cinema for 90 years, hosting numerous world premieres as well as the best of arthouse and independent cinema, and this quarter posting industry-leading growth of +25%
”Any suggestion by the landlord that it is a venue in decline is demonstrably false.”
Scroll down for the full Curzon statement
The UK exhibitor-distributor, acquired at the end of 2024 by US company Fortress with 17 venues across the UK, also noted: “Curzon has been looking to refurbish Curzon Mayfair for more than eight years and commissioned plans by world-renowned Benedetti Architects to refurbish the building to offer film lovers an accessible, high-quality experience ‘unrivalled’ across London. Curzon has multiple times submitted to the landlord plans to refurbish different aspects of the venue – and has even submitted a market-rate offer to acquire the building from the landlord. At each turn, these offers have been summarily blocked by the landlord.
“The facts here are clear: it is the landlord that has steadfastly blocked Curzon’s plans at every turn. The landlord has made it abundantly clear they are not interested in seeing the Curzon Mayfair continue as a fully functioning cinema. Instead the landlord has proposed what amounts to a private members’ club – taking away from London residents one of its most beloved cinema venues.”
In its plans, first outlined in 2023, Fantasio laid out a commitment to offeringt a “range” of ticket prices at its new venue.
“Having operated Curzon Mayfair for 91 years, we also know that the landlord’s plans to spend more than £15m on the cinema cannot be a viable business proposition without charging exorbitant ticket prices or turning the private members’ club for the super-wealthy,” said Curzon’s statement.
In response to the suggestion the building would amount to a private members’ club with high ticket prices, a representative of Fantasio said: “This is absolutely not the case and Curzon knows it. Fantasio’s plans have not changed and, as was made clear in its planning application, the cinema will be open to all with a range of ticket prices. In the course of litigation Curzon has had access to Fantasio’s detailed (and confidential) business plan which shows planned ticket prices and the viability of the business.”
Curzon statement on Curzon Mayfair
The iconic Curzon Mayfair, from which the company took its name in 1934, has been its flagship cinema for 90 years, hosting numerous world premieres as well as the best of art house and independent cinema, and this quarter posting industry-leading growth of +25%. Any suggestion by the landlord that it is a venue in decline is demonstrably false.
Since the landlord purchased the building in 2016, Curzon has been fighting for its future. In October of that year, London Mayor Sadiq Khan was forced to step in to stop the landlord from pushing through soundproofing measures that would have damaged the listed features of the building, all for the benefit of the luxury flats built above.
Curzon has been looking to refurbish Curzon Mayfair for more than 8 years and commissioned plans by world-renowned Benedetti Architects to refurbish the building to offer film lovers an accessible, high-quality experience ‘unrivalled’ across London. Curzon has multiple times submitted to the landlord plans to refurbish different aspects of the venue – and has even submitted a market-rate offer to acquire the building from the landlord. At each turn, these offers have been summarily blocked by the landlord.
The facts here are clear: it is the landlord that has steadfastly blocked Curzon’s plans at every turn. The landlord has made it abundantly clear they are not interested in seeing the Curzon Mayfair continue as a fully functioning cinema. Instead the landlord has proposed what amounts to a private members’ club – taking away from London residents one of its most beloved cinema venues.
This issue has touched a nerve in the wider community with more than 20,000 people signing the petition to keep the Curzon Mayfair, and hundreds more lodging objections with Mayfair council against the landlord’s alternative plans. The local community and the wider cinema industry, led by Steven Spielberg, are all saying the same thing: that the landlord’s plan to fundamentally alter the cinema is not wanted.
Sadly, Curzon has concluded that it had no option but to withdraw its legal challenge to the landlord’s plans, given the risk of meeting the landlord’s enormous legal costs should the challenge prove unsuccessful. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 is supposed to protect tenants in this situation, but its protections are sadly not fit for purpose when tenants face a landlord with sufficiently deep pockets. Curzon would have loved nothing more than to have remained at the Curzon Mayfair for another 90 years and has made every effort to agree on reasonable terms with the landlord to enable this but to no avail.
Having operated Curzon Mayfair for 91 years, we also know that the landlord’s plans to spend more than £15m on the cinema cannot be a viable business proposition without charging exorbitant ticket prices or turning the private members club for the super-wealthy.
Despite Curzon’s profound love for Curzon Mayfair, it is with regret that we now need to withdraw from the site and focus our attention on establishing a new flagship venue elsewhere in London. A further announcement will follow in the near future.
Curzon wants to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the campaign to save Curzon Mayfair, and to all of the film lovers who have joined us over the years. Your support has been hugely appreciated.
No comments yet