Saatchi Building Dispute

The current running dispute between Charles Saatchi and the property owners of the former London County Hall represents a case between Shirayama Shokusan, freeholder of the Riverside Building, a part of the old County Hall, and Cadogan Entertainment. Cadogan are the lessees of only a part of the building in which Saatchi's collection of contemporary work is currently located. They have claimed that the Saatchi Gallery are actually in breach of their own lease, by placing works in areas not originally allocated by the lease. Another claim relates to the placing of security staff on parts of the building over which Saatchi has no lessee rights. This seems a not unreasonable departure, and negotiable on Saatchi's behalf. It suggests that there is more afoot in Cadogan's strategy. Hostilities have been simmering between the two parties, resulting in more than just a storm in a teacup. Quite why Cadogan Entertainment have such an enmity towards Saatchi is difficult to explain. Saatchi would appear to have made the right decision to 'end the aggro' and pull out by 2007, heading for the much more accessible and salubrious Duke of York's Barracks building off Kings Road, Chelsea, clearly a step up and away from strife-torn Riverside.