Yet another S$3.4 million rental demand hits Cathay Cineplexes over former Jem outlet

SINGAPORE: Yet another claim over unpaid rent has surfaced against Cathay Cineplexes—this time, a statutory demand for S$3.4 million owed for its former Jem outlet. This followed a letter of demand the company received in February for about S$2.7 million in rent and other costs for its cinema outlets at Century Square and Causeway Point.

Channel News Asia (CNA) reported, citing a bourse filing on Wednesday (Jul 2), that Cathay Cineplexes’ owner and operator mm2 Asia said the cinema chain received the statutory demand on Tuesday from the landlord’s solicitors.

In the statutory demand, it was stated that Cathay Cineplexes has until July 22 to pay the outstanding sum of S$3,446,748.26 or to secure or compound the sum to the landlord’s satisfaction. Otherwise, the company would be considered unable to pay its debts.

The statutory demand also stated that interest at 1% per month, calculated daily, will continue to accrue on the outstanding amount until payment is made.

mm2 Asia said its board is seeking legal advice and will issue further updates if there are material developments. It added that Cathay Cineplexes’ board is doing the same in response to the statutory demand.

According to CNA, the cinema at Jem closed on Mar 27 after the company received a notice of termination from DBS Trustee Limited, the trustee of Lendlease Global Commercial REIT. At the time, mm2 Asia said it owed about S$4.3 million in rent for the outlet and cited ongoing industry challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason for the closure.

It noted that negotiations with the landlord had been ongoing for more than a year before the termination took effect.

In a May 19 filing, mm2 Asia said that Cathay Cineplexes owed around S$10.26 million to multiple landlords across its cinema locations in Singapore. Of this, approximately S$3.07 million is backed by corporate guarantees from mm2 Asia.

The group said these debts stemmed mainly from the closure of loss-making outlets during the post-pandemic recovery, as well as cash flow difficulties that are affecting the cinema business.

Since 2022, the cinema chain has faced a series of shutdowns. In February, it also closed its West Mall outlet in Bukit Batok. /TISG

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