Hong Kong's Planet Hollywood restaurant faces court action to close it down over claims that it owes more than $8 million in unpaid rent.
The landlord wants the restaurant operator to leave its prime Tsim Sha Tsui site and yesterday lodged a High Court writ alleging unpaid rent of $8.6 million.
The restaurant operator said, however, that it had not paid rent because of a dispute over the premises and that it would fight to stay on.
Planet Hollywood - which opened in May 1994 and has welcomed celebrities including Jackie Chan, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Charlie Sheen - had incurred the debt since early this year, the writ said.
The landlord, the Hong Kong Hotel Ltd, said under the latest agreement it had rented its Harbour City premises to Planet Hollywood for a three-year period from March 1, 2000 to February 28, 2003.
The parties agreed the monthly rent would start at $609,840 for the first year, followed by $642,510 for the second and $675,180 for the final year.