McDonalds said this afternoon that having a restaurant in Valletta remains a priority, and the company is considering various possible options and alternatives.
It was reacting to a judgement by the Court of Appeal which gave the company three months to vacate the Valletta outlet after violation of a rental contract.
McDonald's said its priority remained that of continuing to be able to serve its customers in the best way possible.
"McDonald’s is, therefore, firmly committed to resolving the matter in shortest time possible."
The court heard that in 1985 landlords Anthony Rutter Giappone, Rose Rutter Giappone and Anne Bonello had leased their property in Republic Street, Valletta to Arcades Limited for 16 years. At the time the sole shareholder of the tenant company was Joseph Camilleri.
The property was used for catering purposes under the name "Spinella".
According to the rental contract, Arcades Ltd was prohibited from subletting the premises or transferring its rights over the premises to third parties. A transfer of more than 50 per cent of shares in the tenant company was to be considered as a prohibited subletting.
It resulted that the Hili family had approached Mr Camilleri to make use of the premises for a McDonald's restaurant. The parties reached an agreement whereby Arcades Ltd would acquire the Mcdonald's franchise. The company's structure changed and Paul Hili purchased 50 per cent of the shareholding for Lm125,000.
The company's shares were divided into "A" and "B" shares and Paul Hili was appointed as permanent company chairman.
The court heard that the parties also entered into a profit sharing agreement whereby Mr Camilleri would participate in the profits generated by the restaurant.
The landlords claimed that this constituted a violation of the rental agreement as control of the tenant company Arcades Ltd had been transferred to a third party.
The First Hall of the Civil Court had agreed with the landlords and Arcades Ltd then lodged an appeal to the Court of Appeal composed of Chief justice Silvio Camilleri, Mr Justice Albert J Magri and Mr Justice Tonio Mallia.
On appeal, the court pointed out that this case revolved around the claim that control of Arcades Ltd had been transferred to the Hili family. It did not result from the evidence produced that there had been a subletting of the premises in violation of the rental agreement. No rent was paid by the Hili family to Mr Camilleri.
On the other hand, the running of the business operated from the leased premises had been transferred to the Hili family.
Mr Camilleri had transferred 50 per cent of the shares in Arcades Ltd to Mr Hili, and he had not, therefore, technically violated the lease agreement. However, the effective control of Arcades Ltd had been transferred to Mr Hili and this, said the Court of Appeal, was in violation of the rental agreement.
Arcades Ltd was given 90 days to vacate the premies.