THE Corner Club, formerly the QI Club, has closed for the last time after failing to agree the terms of an extended lease.

The QI Club in Turl Street was bought out by A Curious Group of Hotels in 2007, and for the past three years it has been trying to make a success of the venture.

But lease negotiations with the landlord, Oxford City Council, foundered – and the restaurant and club closed last week.

Andy Hill, a spokesman for A Curious Group of Hotels, which runs a hotel on Paris’s Left Bank and Cowley Manor near Cheltenham, described the decision as a major blow.

He said: “We have invested an enormous amount — about £1m – in the business to get where we are now, and unfortunately six people have been made redundant.

“There were actually two leases covering the property but they had less than 10 years to run, which is why they needed to be renegotiated.

“We had been talking with the council for a long time, but the cost of the lease and the rent were too high and the council wouldn’t shift.

“We were looking to redevelop the ground floor, with dining on the first floor and a club on the upper floors.”

The club had about 200 members.

They received an email stating: “The Corner Club located at 16 Turl Street closed its doors on Friday for the last time. For some months we have been attempting to negotiate an extension to the lease with the landlord and/or to vary the terms of the lease, before agreeing to inject more funds to upgrade the ground floor of the building — in addition to the considerable amount already invested in the upper floors.

“Unfortunately, we have now been informed by the landlord that they are not prepared to do so and, as a result, the management has reluctantly decided to close the business.

“We very much regret having been forced to make this decision.”

Council spokesman Louisa Dean declined to comment on the lease negotations.

But Colin Cook, the city council’s executive member for city development, said: “It’s a shame to see any business failing in Oxford — I had been there a few times with club members.

“Perhaps not enough people were coming through the doors, and with a slightly different business model they might have done better.

“I expect the council will now take over the building, which is in a good position in the city centre, and will market it as a going concern.”