Crown Estate sues Twitter over unpaid rent allegations

August Graham, PA Business Reporter

Twitter has been refusing to pay its rent to Britain's Crown Estate, whose profits go to help support the British government, according to a claim in the British High Court.

The Crown Estate said it issued court proceedings to Twitter for rental arrears on an office space close to London’s Piccadilly Circus.

A representative said that it had previously contacted the social media company about its rent, and is currently in discussions with bosses there.

It is one of many occasions Twitter has been taken to court in recent weeks for allegedly failing to pay its rent.

The San Francisco Chronicle on Monday reported that a landlord in the city is suing over $6.8 million the company has allegedly failed to pay on its headquarters.

Also in San Francisco, a commercial landlord is suing the company after it allegedly failed to pay a rental instalment of more than $136,000, CNN reported.

There is also a fourth case in Seattle.

The cases could be part of an even bigger slew of lawsuits facing Elon Musk’s social media company.

According to reports in December, Musk stopped paying rent on all of Twitter’s office space around the world, including its headquarters, in a cost-cutting effort.

The Crown Estate is one of the biggest landlords in the UK, but the money it makes ultimately is paid to the Treasury.

Over the last decade the Crown Estate has handed around £3 billion to the British government, which it has been able to use for public services.

This includes many commercial sites in London, which are popular offices and shops. It also includes the seabed off the British coast, which is currently making a lot of money from new wind farms being built offshore.

Twitter did not immediately reply to a request for comment.