The Isle of Wight's historic Commodore Cinema and Bingo Hall building has gone up for auction, although moviegoers and bingo players need not worry, as neither venue is set to close.
The landmark building at 2 Star Street, Ryde, is being offered for sale through Clive Emson Auctioneers with a guide price of £95,000-plus.
Currently let at £35,521.26, the commercial income for the premises is generated from telecommunications masts, with the cinema and bingo hall, operated by Leo Leisure, let under leases at a peppercorn ground rent.
Rob Marchant, Island auctioneer, said: "The site is held under the terms of three ground leases, although there is no record of ground rent having been demanded for many years."
Read more:
One lease runs for 899 years from January 1872 at a fixed rent of £15 per year.
A second was granted for 2,000 years from April 1904 at a fixed rent of £7 and 8 shillings per year.
Meanwhile, a third runs for 2,000 years, less one day, from February 1922 at a fixed rent of £23 and 11 shillings annually — ground rent of £59.50 per year is reportedly still being paid on this.
The cinema occupies the building under a lease running from January 2004 until November 2121, while the bingo hall operates under a 125-year lease from November 1999.
A spokesperson for Leo Leisure said they are "very much staying open".
Share