Plans by the entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou to open a chain of low-cost cinemas have been abandoned in the face of high rents.
The low-cost business specialist has closed his only EasyCinema, in Milton Keynes, after three years of operations. Haji-Ioannou has blamed the failure of his outlet on high rents.
The site’s landowner, UCI, was recently acquired by venture capitalist Terra Firma, which also owns Odeon, and Haji-Ioannou says charges have been pushed up.
References: The Guardian 29/05/06 page 21
