Lighthouse cinema (1 Viewer)

[7 - No tomorrow]

Going bang

Not necessarily because of the recession, but because they've had their rent doubled.

Why do any of us live in this shithole?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/0322/1224292775778.html

The Irish Times - Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Board to discuss hearing of petition


LAURA SLATTERY

THE BOARD of Dublin’s Light House cinema will meet today to discuss its future ahead of a High Court hearing of a petition to wind up the company.

John Flynn, the cinema’s landlord, has issued a wind-up petition against Light House Cinema Exhibition and Distribution Company Limited, following a dispute about the rent on the Smithfield premises. The petition will be heard on Monday.

The directors of the cinema have been in negotiations with Mr Flynn and his family in relation to the rent charged on the property, which houses four cinema screens in a basement building in Smithfield Market. It is understood the landlord doubled the annual rent from €100,000 to €200,000 last May. The directors have withheld a portion of the rent charged.

The Light House board will meet today “to decide what action it is to take” in relation to the High Court petition, the cinema’s co-founder Neil Connolly said.

The directors have sought legal advice in relation to Mr Flynn’s move, of which they learned last Friday, Mr Connolly added.

The Light House opened in Smithfield in May 2008, after Dublin City Council made the inclusion of a cultural space a condition of the planning permission granted to the developers of Smithfield Market, Fusano Properties.

Fusano contributed to the cost of the fit-out, alongside grants totalling €1.75 million from the Department of Arts and the Cultural Cinema Consortium, a joint initiative of the Arts Council and the Irish Film Board. Mr Flynn, a director of Fusano, later became the landlord of the building.

The executive directors of the Light House are Mr Connolly and co-founder Maretta Dillon, while David Collins and David Kavanagh serve as non-executive directors.

Ms Dillon and Mr Connolly operated the original two-screen Light House cinema on Abbey Street from 1988 to 1996. The new cinema at Smithfield is housed in a 5,500 sq m building designed by architects Derek Tynan Associates, with its plush, colour-coded screens – ranging from 68 to 277 seats – catering mainly for an arthouse audience.

It has endured difficult trading conditions, although box office receipts have improved since the start of 2011. Its most successful screenings include the French film Of Gods and Men, Oscar winner The King’s Speech and the Irish documentary His & Hers.

It was hoped that the cinema would act as a cultural hub for Smithfield.

However, the area’s regeneration has been derailed by recession, with several retail units now empty and planned developments that would have brought additional footfall put on hold.

 

[mark]

grim

 

[Cormcolash]

Kill these fucking greedy pieces of shit

 

[pavlos]

That's a real fuckin' shame. Surely it would be better to get less money than to have nothing there? What the fuck else is he going to get in there to pay the rent?! Or maybe my simple brain doesn't appreciate the subtleties that have led to this ridiculous decision.

 

[IFF]

the landlords doubled the rent last year? FFS do they not understand the economic situation of the country?
it really does seem an unreasonable hike.

it would be a real loss if it was successful. it's a beautiful cinema

 

[hermie]

Yeah I really like the place, how is that hike in any way justifiable??

 

[Moods For Mallards]

It must have been a move to try to get the Lighthouse out. I wonder what they had line up to replace it. Lidl? It has to be a 'cultural space' under the council's terms, right?

A travesty either way and the nail in the coffin of that part of town. I'll be coming round to the 'shithole' view if this happens.

I thought it would evenutally go bang as it doens't attract many punters but this seems only indirectly related to that.

 

[magicbastarder]

the landlords doubled the rent last year? FFS do they not understand the economic situation of the country?

maybe it's because they are being stuffed in other investments and need ot squeeze their existing tenants?
the court action does smell of trying to evict them though.

 

[1 2 3 GO]

It was in the contract they signed that the rent would double. It was also in the contract that it would be based on a successful development and that's their arguing point. It was supposed to have increased footfall when the other properties filled up but that never happened due to the crash.

 

[Goodbye]

It'll be a multiplex.
They'll chop the 2 screens up into 8 and show Ben Stiller films on every screen so the locals will flock saving the journey of the southside chin strokers who wouldn't be caught dead in that neck of the woods anyway if it wasn't for the latest poe faced art film devoid of explosions who all prefer the IFI anyway.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

It was in the contract they signed that the rent would double. It was also in the contract that it would be based on a successful development and that's their arguing point. It was supposed to have increased footfall when the other properties filled up but that never happened due to the crash.

Exactly.

Flynn's plan is likely to replace the cinema or ownership with another that would play ball and show more mainstream fare.

While I love the cinema, they need a kick in the hole on marketing and running that place.

It'll be a multiplex.
They'll chop the 2 screens up into 8 and show Ben Stiller films on every screen so the locals will flock saving the journey of the southside chin strokers who wouldn't be caught dead in that neck of the woods anyway if it wasn't for the latest poe faced art film devoid of explosions who all prefer the IFI anyway.

Didn't see this post.
I agree.

IFI blows though apart from the Screen 1.
Seeing anything in Screen 2 is torture.

 

[rettucs]

Surely it would be better to get less money than to have nothing there? What the fuck else is he going to get in there to pay the rent?! Or maybe my simple brain doesn't appreciate the subtleties that have led to this ridiculous decision.

I was thinking this very thing in relation to the closure of Total Fitness gyms. They closed all branches after the landlords refused to renegotiate rent with them (I've been a member there for the last 6 years and now lose out on half a years subscription)

I was chatting idly to some work collegues about it and one of them mentioned to me about a coffee shop down his way (in Greystones) that closed down, despite being really popular and busy. Apparently the story went that the landlord priced him out of the place because by doing so, he makes himself tenantless, open to losing loads of money, and can just transfer all his debts to NAMA.

So, as Moods says, this could be because theres a ready-made replacement tenant. But its more likely because the landlord is looking for us all to take on his massive debts by transferring them all to NAMA.

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

i know yer man from korky's is always on the frontline talking about the ridiculous rent laws we've got but does anyone know if edna and her crew are planning to do anything about it? my google's broken.

it'd be a real shame if the lighthouse closed down, it's such a gorgeous cinema.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

I heard some talk recently about changing the upwards-only rent reviews. I didn't understand the subject at all.

 

[Reets]

One of Labours main selling points during the election was ending upward only rent reviews. The old government blamed the attorney general on it, he said it couldn't be changed and they were happy to leave it at that.
Not too sure what the new A.G will do about it but it's got to be sorted out.
We've probably got the longest standard rent agreements in Europe (up to 10 years) with a lot of business stuck in paying peak time rates and not much hope of changing it for a few years. If they cant cut costs with rent they're left with little choice but to cut wages or their work force... brilliant!

 

[Richie]

Fucksake, everything worth bothering with in Dublin is closing one by one.. Hope somebody steps in to prevent this place going under, fantastic building with proper screens and comfortable seats.

 

[hugh]

No!!

 

[hugh]

It'll be a multiplex.
They'll chop the 2 screens up into 8 and show Ben Stiller films on every screen so the locals will flock saving the journey of the southside chin strokers who wouldn't be caught dead in that neck of the woods anyway if it wasn't for the latest poe faced art film devoid of explosions who all prefer the IFI anyway.

You're just jealous because you live in Navan now.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

You're just jealous because you live in Navan now.

Ha! Outed.

 

[Goodbye]

Hay, there's truth in my cynical post.

EDIT: 'sides, I'm not jealous that yet another arthouse cinema in this country bites the dust.