Asif Aziz almost forced out one West End cinema. Is it happening again?

To undermine one central London cinema may be regarded as a misfortune; to do it twice two looks like carelessness.

Picturehouse Central is a seven screen cinema next to Piccadilly Circus featuring a members-only rooftop bar that, until recently, was one of central London’s best in-the-know places for a drink overlooking London’s skyline.

But since mid-April many of the things that make the cinema special have been heavily restricted. The members’ bar, which used to be a place you could take up to six friends for a meal, is now only accessible by the member themselves — and only if they have a ticket for a cinema showing that day. The sale of alcohol has been limited within the cinema. Coffees can’t be taken off site in disposable cups.

The rooftop area of the members-only bar at Picturehouse Central near Piccadilly Circus.

Longstanding members, who pay a premium on their annual Picturehouse membership to access these central London facilities, are frustrated and understandably failing to pay up for another year. Spending in the members’ bar has fallen, undermining the whole business model of the venue.

In public Picturehouse Central has blamed an ongoing “licensing and planning review” for the new conditions, something that usually implies a dispute with the local authority. They said they cannot provide a time frame for a solution but “are working to resolve this as soon [as] possible”.

What’s strange is that Westminster council, the local authority responsible for the venue, has insisted there is no licensing dispute they are aware of and they have not imposed any additional conditions on the cinema.

Instead, multiple staff at the venue have suggested to London Centric that the language used in messages to members is obscuring the real issue: A legal battle between the venue and its landlord, Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital.

Landlord Asif Aziz, known as “Mr West End”, outside the high court in 2017.

Aziz and Criterion were recently accused of trying to put the nearby Prince Charles Cinema out of business. Now, they could be on the cusp of forcing another central London cinema out of its premises.

---

London Centric’s reporting is funded by paying subscribers who want to take a stand against clickbait local journalism. Thank you to everyone who makes this possible — new subscribers can join now for 25% off and receive members-only stories, such as today’s article.

---