Councillors will be asked on 5 October to write off £159,900 owed by Throwley Yard's failed cinema operator. A new tenant was approved in June but is unnamed.
Sutton Council is set to write off £159,900 owed by the company that ran the Throwley Yard cinema. The operator, The Really Local Group, is in liquidation. The liquidators have told the council there is “no reasonable chance” of getting any of the money back.
The write-off goes to the Strategy and Resources Committee on Monday 5 October for approval (Finance and Performance, Quarter 1 2026/27, paragraphs 5.1 to 5.3).
How the debt built up
The council signed the lease with the Really Local Group in September 2024. The report says it became clear “shortly after” that the cinema group’s finances “had deteriorated further”. Some of its sister companies had closed.
What followed, according to the report:
- a rent-free period ran until January 2025
- the operator then failed to pay rent, even after “an affordable payment plan was agreed”
- it went into administration, and then liquidation
- the council ended the lease and took the building back
The debt will be charged to the council’s bad debt provision. That is money set aside each year for debts it does not expect to recover, so it does not come out of this year’s service budgets.
A building the council paid to bring back
Throwley Yard, at 2 Throwley Road, is owned by the council. It was the Chicago Rock nightclub until 2013 and then stood empty for years (Selection of tenant report, 22 June 2026).
It was one of four projects in the council’s town centre regeneration programme. That programme was backed by an £11.4m Future High Streets Fund grant, matched with council money. The Strategy and Resources Committee picked the Really Local Group as operator in February 2022. The building opened in 2024 as a cultural hub with a cinema and events space.
The June report is blunt: “The business did not perform as anticipated and their lease was ended in late 2025.” It adds that the refurbishment means the council “now has a building suitable for reletting”.
Who takes it next
A new tenant has already been chosen. On 22 June, the committee approved a lease of up to 15 years to a company identified only as “Bidder A” (minutes of 22 June 2026). Its name, its plans and the rent are in a confidential appendix.
What the public report does say:
- agents GCW marketed the building in late 2025, with no restriction on use
- six parties expressed interest, and three were shortlisted
- the chosen bid is not the highest financial offer
- officers judged it made “the best contribution to the vitality of the town centre and night-time economy”
- no further capital investment by the council is needed
Accepting less than the best price is allowed under government rules if the letting boosts the area’s economic, social or environmental well-being. The discount cannot exceed £2m. The report does not say how far below the top bid the chosen offer is.
The minutes record that a deputation on Throwley Yard was accepted at that meeting and the item was taken first. They do not say what it asked for.
No licence application for the premises appears on the council’s current licensing applications page as of 30 September.
What it means for you
- No hit to this year’s service budgets. The £159,900 is charged to a provision already set aside for bad debts.
- The building should reopen, but there is no date. The council has picked a tenant and says it wants more evening leisure in the town centre. It has not said when doors open.
- Watch the licensing list. Anyone can comment on a new or varied licence for 2 Throwley Road while it is open for representations. We will report it when it appears.
The committee meets at 7pm on Monday 5 October at the Civic Offices, St Nicholas Way (meeting papers). The same agenda carries the council’s £36.5m budget gap to 2030 and its switch to a cabinet system by May 2027.
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