Hemel leisure facility forced to close by Tesco, chief executive claims
The chief executive of a leisure facility in Hemel Hempstead has been forced to close its doors by the landlord of its site, supermarket giant Tesco.
Cloud 9 Leisure, which was located at Jarman Park, originally signed a sub-lease with Empire Cinemas Hemel in November 2021, who leased the venue from Tesco.
Early last year, Empire Cinemas went into liquidation, and since then Cloud 9 has been trying to negotiate a way forward with the supermarket.
In a message on its website, Cloud 9 Leisure’s chief executive, identified only as Andrew, writes: "I did everything possible to try to negotiate a way forward with Tesco, to explain how much joy Cloud 9 brought to the local community, how many wonderful local staff we employed, and our plans for the future. Sadly they don’t care."
A post on Cloud 9 Leisure’s website claimed that on April 4, it was given an ultimatum - to pay £100,000 - nearly three times the regular rent - to stay open for just two more months, or vacate by April 16.
In the early hours of April 16, locksmiths arrived to change the locks at the premises, it is claimed.
The independent business, which opened in 2017, has hosted events including birthday parties, live music gigs, charity fundraisers, family days out and poker nights.
The Gazette understands that Cloud 9 Leisure was given the option to end the lease with all arrears written off, and that Tesco hopes to find a new operator for the location.
Tesco has been approached for an official statement but we are yet to receive a response.