Twitter faces lawsuits over unpaid rent for U.S. HQ, U.K. office
Twitter faces lawsuits over unpaid rent for U.S. HQ, U.K. office
A Twitter logo hanging outside the company's offices in San Francisco, on Dec. 19, 2022. (Jeff Chiu / AP)
LONDON -
More landlords are taking Twitter to court over unpaid rent, this time at the social media company's headquarters in San Francisco and its British offices -- the latest sign that owner Elon Musk's extreme cost-cutting strategy includes simply not paying the bills.
Twitter is facing a lawsuit over allegations it failed to pay rent for its head office, according to California court documents. The owner of its premises in central London, meanwhile, said it's taking the company to court over rental debt.
Musk is slashing costs after his US$44 billion deal last year to buy Twitter left the company on the hook for about US$1 billion in annual interest payments. Twitter has already been taken to court this month for falling behind on rent at another San Francisco office.
It's the latest legal headache for Musk, who has been testifying in recent days in a separate class-action lawsuit from Tesla investors alleging his 2017 tweet misled them about funding to take the electric carmaker private.
The billionaire Tesla CEO's cost-cutting strategy for Twitter also has included gutting the company's workforce and auctioning off memorabilia and fancy office furniture.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment. Its communications department was shut down after Musk's acquisition.
The owner of Twitter's San Francisco headquarters, located at 1355 Market St., is suing the company after it failed to make its latest monthly rent payment, according to documents filed Friday with the Superior Court of California.
The company, Sri Nine Market Square LLC, said Twitter "breached the Lease by failing to pay monthly rent and additional rent" for January amounting to US$3.4 million.
Twitter, which has had a lease for three floors in the building since 2011, had fallen behind on a similar amount of rent in December, which Sri Nine Market Square recouped from a letter of credit that Twitter had put up as a security deposit, the filing said.
After using those funds, the landlord says Twitter still owes $3.16 million in unpaid rent and is seeking late fees and interest plus attorneys' fees. The social media company still occupies the property, the landlord said.
In Britain, the Crown Estate has started court proceedings against Twitter after the company fell behind on rent at its offices near London's famed Piccadilly Circus.
The Crown Estate, which owns some of the priciest real estate in central London, said it took action following previous contact with Twitter over the unpaid rent and is in talks with the company but provided no further information.
The Crown Estate is a vast property portfolio that includes much of London's Regent Street as well as the Windsor estate. It's an independently run commercial business, but its profits are used as a benchmark for the funding of the Sovereign Grant, which is the public money that funds the British royal family's official work.
The Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point Wednesday, bringing it to 4.5 per cent. Here's a look at what the rate means, how analysts are interpreting it and what it could mean for consumers.
The federal government's latest TFSA contribution limit increase took effect as of January 1, 2023. Personal finance contributor Christopher Liew outlines how the government’s most recent TFSA contribution limit increase affects you and how to make the most of it.
Finding an affordable place to live in the territories, where housing has long been a challenge, is getting even harder, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation suggested in a report released in December. In Yellowknife, the report said, the growing senior population, urbanization and strong labour market has pressured the housing supply.
Canada is suffering from a severe skills shortage in several key sectors, experts say, thanks to factors that include deficiencies in our education system as well as changing demographics. CTVNews.ca looks at some of the skills that will be most in-demand in 2023.
Bond portfolios took a beating in 2022 as interest rates climbed, but experts say investors shouldn't neglect bonds this year as the Bank of Canada nears the end of its rate hike cycle.
Canadian investors who made it through a tumultuous 2022 face further uncertainty in the year ahead amid increased recession risk. Investment professionals and personal finance experts say the easiest way to grow your money this year is to keep things simple.
In early 2020, 25.1 per cent of Canadians received $2,000 from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, according to Statistics Canada. In his latest column on CTVNews.ca, personal finance contributor Christopher Liew explains how repayment works.
A Twitter logo hanging outside the company's offices in San Francisco, on Dec. 19, 2022. (Jeff Chiu / AP)
