The Prince Charles Cinema (PCC) in London’s West End has signed a new long-term lease with its landlord, securing the popular venue’s future and ending an almost two-year public campaign to save the cinema.
The cinema’s management team have signed a new 25-year lease with landlord Zedwell LSQ Ltd. The lease includes a no-break clause. This means both the landlord and tenant (The PCC) are locked in for the duration of the lease. Inclusion of the clause is a win for The PCC management, which had voiced concerns that Zedwell might have ambitions to shut the cinema and redevelop the site to open a more profitable business.
“After 21 months of uncertainty, we’re delighted to have secured the future of the cinema, and we couldn’t have done it without the support, commitment and belief of many, many people,” The PCC management said in a statement.
“To every one of the 168,645 people (and counting) who signed the petition and ensured we never felt outnumbered. To the Soho Society, who recommended that Westminster Council officially designate us an Asset of Community Value, and the Council, who did so… We are so incredibly thankful to each and every one of you.”
Read The PCC’s full statement below.
The campaign to save The PCC began in early 2025, when the cinema’s management released a public statement stating the cinema was under “serious threat” of closure. The cinema’s long-standing lease with Zedwell had been set to expire in September 2025. Under UK law, the cinema’s management team was legally entitled to a new lease. They applied for a new lease of a minimum of 15 years at the going market rent and on similar terms to their existing lease.
Zedwell responded by asking to include a redevelopment break clause in the new lease that would entitle them to terminate the lease at 6 months’ notice at any time once the new lease has commenced.
The PCC is the only independent cinema in the West End. The venue is popular with hipsters and young film fans. It is best known for its all-night screening events and rep seasons, which have frequently highlighted filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson and Stanley Kubrick.