McDonald's pays Moscow only one ruble of rent a year

14.07.2009

Moscow authorities start an action at the Moscow Arbitration Court against McDonald’s restaurant chain, demanding to raise the lease rate for several of the company’s restaurants, situated in the municipal houses in the centre of Moscow, RIA Novosti says.

As he says, the lease agreement between the Moscow government and McDonald’s was concluded at the beginning of the 1990s for 49 years at the total rate of 1 ruble per a square meter a year.

He added that Moscow had already applied to court “to establish a market rate” for McDonald’s but the court rejected the claim.

“Now we are taking the second legal action and suggest the rate should be set to correspond with the new law according to which the minimal lease rate should not be less than 1,000 rubles,” an official of Moscow’s governmental agency said.