London’s Prince Charles Cinema has signed a 25-year lease for its building, securing the future for the venue after two years of uncertainty.
The lease has no break clause, providing extra security for the venue over the coming two-and-a-half decades.
The venue shared the news in a social media post, thanking the 169,000 people who signed a petition launched early last year to save the cinema.
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The petition protested against the break clause in its landlord’s latest contract, which would have allowed the cinema to be closed with only six months’ notice.
The new statement also thanked the Soho Society, a community association for the central London district, for recommending that Westminster Council designate the cinema as an asset of community value; and the council for doing so.
Also receiving thanks from the cinema were the media, the film community, and the venue’s staff.
“You have all placed your trust in us, and as we continue on for at least another 25 years, we promise to never forget that,” said the statement.
The Prince Charles Cinema building is owned by Zedwell LSQ Ltd, which itself is owned by Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital.
The Prince Charles lease comes three months after licensing restrictions were lifted on Picturehouse Central members’ bar, following a dispute with Zedwell, which also owns the Piccadilly building in which it is housed. The cinema had to restrict its members’ bar, a popular meeting point for the UK film industry, to same-day ticket holders only; the restrictions were lifted at the start of July.
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