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Planet Hollywood moves from the Trocadero to the West End
Rashid Razaq2 Jan 2009
THE Trocadero is to lose its most high-profile tenant after Planet Hollywood announced that it is to move to a new £5million West End location.
The restaurant chain will leave the Piccadilly leisure complex after 16 years to move around the corner to a larger venue in Haymarket.
The departure will raise fears over the future of the Trocadero, which has struggled to attract tenants.
Planet Hollywood opened in 1993 to great fanfare with more than 10,000 people queuing to get a glimpse of some of the biggest stars of the day.
As well as its investors - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis - the guest list for one of the most eagerly anticipated showbusiness parties the capital had ever seen included Mel Gibson, Demi Moore, Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, Michael J Fox, Christopher Reeve and Charlie Sheen. But its founder, billionaire Robert Earl, has revealed he will sever ties with the Trocadero when Planet Hollywood closes its doors at the end of the month.
The chain will relocate to a three-floor, 280-seater venue at the site of the former Burberry headquarters. It is due to open with a VIP party in April, featuring some of the current batch of Hollywood stars.
Mr Earl said: "I am greatly looking forward to the relocation. The new site gives us the opportunity to showcase the brand as we move forward in 2009.
"The restaurant will become the flagship of the group and I plan to emulate the success we have achieved with our casino in Las Vegas in my home town of London."
Mr Earl opened a $1billion Planet Hollywood casino in 2007 with Barbra Streisand performing at a lavish ceremony. He also owns the West End casino Fifty in addition to 24 other restaurants across the globe.
The new Planet Hollywood will house five dining rooms, a late bar and a private VIP entrance, and will incorporate its merchandise store, which is presently a stand-alone store at the entrance to the Trocadero, into the restaurant.
The venue's departure comes at a difficult time for the Trocadero, which has struggled to attract tenants. Property investor Asif Aziz, whose Golfrate Holdings purchased the building for £225million in 2005, promised to turn its fortunes around with a major redevelopment.
He announced he wanted to gut the building and create a 600-bedroom hotel and shopping centre before the 2012 Olympics. But there has been no construction work at the site and sources said Golfrate had wanted Planet Hollywood to renew its lease.
Golfrate was unavailable for comment.
Reader views (4)
I was employed by planet hollywood, and they had one of the best year in terms of profit. With the excuse of moving now they left at home all their staff. We worked very hard over the past few years and now this people go away with all that money and no one is responsible about it. Someone really need to investigate. Is not possible that wasn't given any notice to us. 150 people most with family now without a job. Now PLANET HOLLYWOOD will reopen without anyone remembering that they left 150 people without job and without pay any money.
- Ph London, London UK, 07/01/2009 16:54
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There really needs to be greater investigation of the way this has been handled. Surely to go into administration twice in 10 years and still keep on living the high life at employees expense.
Earl needs to be looked at by journalists properly
- Terry Mac, Liverpool, 06/01/2009 13:30
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as an employee of planet hollywood, this is sad news, mainly because the roughly 150 staff knew nothing about this until reading this article, and billionaire robert earl has put the company into recievership so he doesnt have to pay the employees any money from the huge profits he has made over the christmas period. The employees of planet hollywood has be treated as a mere afterthought, if only a fraction of the money billionaire robert earl will use to have his celebrity filled re-opening went of giving compensation to the now out of work chefs, waiters, bar tenders, bussers, toilet attendants, hostesses, shop employees, managers and others perhaps the free drinks at the end of the final night wouldn't have tasted so bitter.
- Jason Cossey, london uk, 04/01/2009 01:49
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Yeah!! and now i need to look for another job...thanks planet hollywood, years working there and now im without a job, thanks.
- Myname, London, 03/01/2009 16:10
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