Coca-Cola has launched legal action against Vue after the cinema operator replaced it with PepsiCo as its soft drinks supplier across Europe.
The dispute follows the end of a nearly 25-year commercial relationship, after Vue put its drinks contract out to tender and selected PepsiCo in March last year in a deal running until at least 2030. Vue operates more than 90 cinemas in the UK and Ireland and 222 sites across eight European countries.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Great Britain has filed a claim seeking to recover alleged unpaid debts dating from the contract’s termination. Vue has not taken legal action over sums it says Coca-Cola owes in return.
Vue’s founder and chief executive, Tim Richards, said the disagreement involved a relatively small amount and could have been resolved without lawyers. Vue later confirmed the winding-up petition had been withdrawn and said no money was now outstanding, with the disputed figure under £100,000.
Coca-Cola declined to comment. PepsiCo’s drinks portfolio includes Pepsi Max, Mountain Dew and Bubly. Rival chain Cineworld also switched from Coca-Cola to PepsiCo in 2020.
