MovieTowne repossessed for breach of lease

THE Port of Spain Infrastructure Company (POSINCO) took possession of the premises of MovieTowne on August 23 following what it said was years of breaches of the deed of lease of the property.

In a statement, the company said it had exercised its right of re-entry and has taken possession of the premises leased to TT Commercial Development Company Ltd (TCDC) also known as MovieTowne.

“This re-entry exercise was undertaken as a consequence of breaches of the terms and conditions of the existing deed of lease between POSINCO and TCDC.

“POSINCO has been in discussions with TCDC for several years regarding the said breaches in an effort to avoid today’s outcome, while maintaining its rights under the deed of lease to re-enter. Those discussions have not borne fruit.”

The company said it had tried to conduct the re-entry exercise peaceably and in a manner that would be the least disruptive to the tenants and other stakeholders of MovieTowne, and it assures that it will continue to treat the matter with the sensitivity required and in accordance with the laws of Trinidad and Tobago.

Newsday was told by witnesses that when the bailiffs went to take walk-in possession of the compound, they were met with some pushback, but this was handled and they were able to take control of the compound.

Photographers from two media houses were accosted by security personnel seeming to belong to MovieTowne when they tried to document what was happening.

Newsday was told the office staff were removed from their offices and would not be allowed to return. Sources said the tenants and tenant companies would not be removed and their operations would not be disrupted. The movie theatre would be allowed to operate as normal.

Sources told Newsday that a substantial amount of rent payments have been outstanding since May 2021.

Ryan Chin, son of MovieTowne owner Derek Chin, said he did not want to make a comment at this time. Attempts to reach Derek Chin were unsuccessful.

With reporting by Gregory McBurnie

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