Twitter is being sued by the crown estate for allegedly failing to pay rent on its London headquarters.
The estate, which manages properties belonging to King Charles III, filed a lawsuit against Twitter last week in the UK capital’s high court. The alleged rent arrears relate to office space near Piccadilly Circus in central London, according to the BBC.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The crown estate, which owns a portfolio of properties worth £15.6bn including 241 locations in central London, said the court action related to “rental arrears” on the platform’s office space. of social networks in the city.
The move came just months after Elon Musk, the co-owner of Tesla and SpaceX, took over Twitter in October last year. Musk paid $44 billion (£36 billion) for the platform and promptly initiated drastic job cuts in the company’s 7,000-strong workforce, cutting it by 50%.
The Musk takeover was not without its problems, including a chaotic relaunch of the blue tick scheme for verified users that led to several copycat and advertiser accounts pulling off the platform over concerns about a rise in hate speech.
The social media company was reportedly hit by a 40% drop in revenue after more than 500 customers halted their spending, with high-profile brands including Audi and Pfizer halting advertising.
The BBC reported that the crown estate took legal action after previously contacting the social media company about alleged arrears in renting its office space.
John Wallace, a lawyer and director of the London-based Ridgemont law firm, said the hearing between the crown estate and Twitter was likely to take place within the next six months and warned that the UK’s struggling economy could lead to an increase in rent arrears. claim (ie.
He said: “The downturn in the UK economy will inevitably lead to commercial landlords having to take action against non-paying tenants.
“I would expect to see a sharp increase in commercial rent arrears claims in the second and third quarters of 2023, given the Office for Budget Responsibility’s prediction that a recession will last through at least the fall of 2023.”
The estate is one of the largest landowners in the UK and although the portfolio belongs to the monarch, it is not private property.
The income from the inheritance goes to the Treasury for public spending, and in return the monarch receives the sovereign grant.
