Key Points
- Vue Cinema at Grants Entertainment Centre in Croydon closed on Thursday 9 April 2026, ending more than two decades of operation at the site.
- The closure was announced in an email to Vue customers, which stated that the last screenings would take place on 9 April and that the nearest Vue would be at Purley Way.
- Vue cited anti‑social behaviour and declining footfall as reasons for the closure, though campaigners have argued the decision was driven by rising rents after the building’s sale to new owners.
- MGI Holdings acquired the Grants Entertainment Centre, a 160,840 sq ft listed‑fronted leisure and retail block on Croydon High Street, in a multi‑million‑pound off‑market deal in January 2026.
- Croydon’s Conservative Mayor, Jason Perry, has said that meetings with MGI Holdings have given him “encouragement” about the future of the site, including possible new leisure and cinema‑related uses.
- Social‑media posts by Mayor Perry on 5 May 2026 indicated that Nuffield Health and Nando’s are reviewing their leases at Grants and that advanced talks are underway with leisure operators for bowling, interactive sports and a new bar.
- Tokia Square, an Asian food‑court on the first floor, remains open and is the only remaining major occupier inside the Grants building following Vue’s exit.
- The closure has been widely criticised by local campaigners and residents, who say it is another blow to Croydon’s night‑time economy and to smaller businesses reliant on cinema footfall.
Croydon (South London News) May 7, 2026: Croydon’s Grants Entertainment Centre could see a major cinema return after Vue Cinema vacated the site in April; the venue’s new owners and the borough’s mayor have suggested in recent statements. Vue’s closure at Grants on 9 April 2026 ended a 26‑year run for the multiplex in the town centre and sparked a wave of online criticism from residents and local business voices, who warned of further damage to Croydon’s nightlife and town‑centre footfall.
As reported by Inside Croydon, the Vue multiplex at Grants operated 10 screens and had been a fixture of the entertainment centre since 2000, when it opened behind the listed frontage of the former Grant’s department store. In an email sent to customers ahead of the closure, Vue wrote:
“We’re sad to say that our Croydon Grants venue will soon be closing on Thursday 9th April.”
The email added that the chain’s Purley Way complex, about 2.5 miles away, would be the new nearest Vue location.
What led to the Vue closure?
Vue has pointed to persistent anti‑social behaviour and steadily declining footfall in the town centre as central reasons for the decision to shut Grants.
However, a detailed report by Inside Croydon indicated that the closure was also linked to the change in ownership of the Grants building, arguing that the new landlords had made it “unaffordable” for tenants to remain.
The David Lean Cinema campaigners, who support the town‑centre arthouse venue in the Croydon Clocktower, posted a social‑media statement in which they said:
“Crucially, the Vue had no intention to close, although downsizing with less screens all on one floor was under consideration.”
They continued:
“So, depressingly, this closure is the result of a property developer with no apparent interest in cinema acquiring the building, and making it unaffordable for tenants to remain.”
MGI Holdings, a Mayfair‑based commercial property firm, completed an off‑market purchase of the 160,840 sq ft Grants Entertainment Centre from Federated Hermes in January 2026 for an undisclosed sum.
The building, which includes leases to Nando’s, Tokia Square and Nuffield Health, sits within Croydon’s main retail and leisure district and has a part‑listed façade dating back to the Grant’s department‑store era.
Has the Mayor’s office intervened?
The closure landed a month before local elections and was widely framed in local media as a setback for Mayor Jason Perry, who has sought to portray the town centre as “coming back” after years of difficulty. In a March 2026 report, Inside Croydon’s Ken Lee described the Vue decision as a “hammerblow” to Perry’s claims that Croydon’s high street was being revived.
Labour parliamentary candidate Sarah Jones and mayoral candidate Rowenna Davis wrote jointly to Vue and to MGI Holdings requesting an urgent meeting to understand the closure and explore whether the decision could be reviewed. In that letter, Davis said:
“Croydon residents have been devastated to hear that Vue Cinemas are leaving Grants in our town centre. Your cinema has been a real centre for fun, community and memories in our town.”
Mayor Perry, who is also a director of the Croydon Business Improvement District (BID), was invited to comment on the closure by Inside Croydon but had not responded by the time the article was published, the outlet reported.
What are the new owners planning?
MGI Holdings has said publicly that it intends to “reinvigorate” the Grants site and to position it as a leisure hub in one of London’s fastest‑growing suburbs.
However, in the immediate aftermath of the Vue closure, the company did not publish a detailed masterplan and did not respond to requests from local politicians and campaigners for a meeting aimed at keeping the cinema open.
In a social‑media update on 5 May 2026, Mayor Perry indicated that discussions with MGI Holdings had yielded some positive signals about the future of the building.
As quoted by Inside Croydon, Perry said he was encouraged by the new owners’ ambitions for Grants and that talks were under way with a range of leisure operators.
He noted that Nuffield Health and Nando’s were both reviewing their leases and that advanced discussions were in progress that could include bowling, interactive sports and a new bar as part of the mix.
The statement also suggested that a major cinema could return to the site, though no operator or scale of proposal has been formally confirmed.
What is the impact on the town centre?
The closure of Vue at Grants has left Tokia Square as the sole remaining major tenant inside the Grants building, according to Inside Croydon. The Asian food‑court opened on the first floor about a year before the closure and was relatively new to the venue, local coverage noted.
Campaigners and residents have warned that the loss of Vue customers will hit the food‑court and nearby restaurants that previously relied on evening footfall generated by cinema‑goers. The David Lean Cinema campaigners said the closure would be
“a blow to Croydon’s night‑time economy and will impact upon local restaurants,”
while also noting that the Vue had offered a wider range of films than the Clocktower venue, including regular Bollywood and mainstream releases.
Vue’s departure from the town‑centre site follows a wider pattern of retail and leisure exits in Croydon, including the closure of businesses such as 101 Records, Five Guys and Flying Tiger in recent months.
Commentators have questioned whether the planned leisure‑led overhaul of the Grants site will be enough to restore confidence among visitors and investors, especially given the building’s listed status and the challenges facing the wider high street.
Background: The rise and fall of Grants as a cinema hub
Grants Entertainment Centre stands on the High Street in the heart of Croydon, on the site of Grant’s department store, once known locally as “the Harrods of south London.”
The store closed in 1985 and the building stood vacant for several years before being redeveloped as an entertainment centre that eventually housed the 10‑screen Vue multiplex from 2000 onwards.
The Vue multiplex at Grants operated a mix of smaller and larger screens, with capacities ranging from 88 to 396 seats, positioning the venue as a central hub for mainstream and family‑oriented films as well as some non‑English‑language releases. Over time it became one of the few large‑scale cinema venues in the borough, alongside the David Lean Cinema and the Vue complex at Purley Way, which is located about 2.5 miles away.
The acquisition of Grants by MGI Holdings in January 2026 marked a shift from long‑standing institutional ownership under Federated Hermes to a more commercially driven investor focused on repositioning the asset. The firm’s stated intention to create a “new leisure hub” in the belt aligns with a broader trend of re‑imagining older town‑centre blocks as mixed‑use leisure and residential schemes, though the listed façade and the current state of the surrounding area have added extra complexity to the task.
Prediction: How a potential new cinema could affect Croydon
If MGI Holdings and its leisure partners do bring a major cinema back to Grants, the move could reshape evening‑time activity in Croydon town centre, particularly for families, young adults and workers who rely on local leisure options. A modern, well‑programmed cinema with a mix of mainstream and culturally diverse screenings could help stabilise or even grow footfall at Tokia Square and nearby restaurants, which have been left vulnerable by the Vue exit.
For residents without easy access to Purley Way – including those with mobility issues or young children – the return of a town‑centre cinema would reduce the travel burden and could make evening outings more convenient. It may also encourage longer stays in the core of Croydon, as people combine film visits with meals, drinks or shopping, which advocates say is essential if the high street is to recover from years of decline.
However, any such development would depend on how MGI tailors the offer to local demand, including ticket pricing, accessibility, security and programming choices. If the scheme is perceived as catering only to higher‑spending visitors or if anti‑social behaviour in the area is not addressed, the impact on the wider community may be limited.
