Aria nightclub owners seek eviction after tenant sub-lets premises to his own company

The owners of the Aria nightclub in Iklin have asked a court to evict a company which organises events there, alleging it breached its rental contract.

The alleged breach concerns the subletting of the premises to a third company, owned by the same person – Dominic Micallef – who operates the nightclub.

Micallef owns the now defunct Tattingers nightclub in Rabat, which he was recently trying to develop into a hotel.

The company that owns Aria is accusing Micallef of operating from and hosting events at an illegal development, which MEPA is requesting to be removed.

In an application filed recently before the Rent Regulation Board by Aria’s owners, Martan Limited, against Dominic Micallef and Signature Entertainment Festivals Limited, claiming that DJRL Dance Ltd had leased the property in November 2021 and that since then, it had also carried out a number of illegal works there, which had resulted in enforcement orders.

Martan Ltd said that it had recently discovered that DJRL Dance had also sublet the premises to Signature Entertainment Limited.

Despite having previously bound itself to remove the illegal structures, DJRL Dance had failed to do so and had obstructed Martan when it had attempted to do so itself, reads the application, which was signed by lawyers Franco Galea and Chantel Muscat.

As a result of this, Martan are requesting the termination of the lease and filed separate court proceedings requesting a pronouncement to that effect. They are also asking that DJRL Dance be evicted from Martan’s property.

Micallef and another group of companies that he is linked to are also the subjects of a separate case filed by Seasport Ltd, which is seeking €1,270,000 from Micallef’s SEG Concessions Limited, in connection with the sale of the Mambo Beach Club in Armier.

In the Seasport case, the plaintiffs allege that SEG Concessions was diverting the takings of the Beach Club operation to its sister companies, shifting funds from one company to another to avoid paying privileged creditors. The court is being asked to “lift the corporate veil” of SEG Concessions Ltd, SEG MBO Ltd and SEG Holdings Ltd and put aside the companies’ separate juridical personalities to observe that Micallef is the sole beneficial owner of them all.