Cineworld: Final curtain set to fall on dozens of cinemas as part of sweeping restructuring

Cineworld has struggled since the pandemic

According to reports, Cineworld is planning to shutter a quarter of its UK cinemas as part of a sweeping restructuring plan that could result in dozens of job losses.

The firm, which currently operates around 100 sites across the UK, including the upmarket Picturehouse Cinemas chain, is expected to announce the closures alongside a root-and-branch restructuring in which it will also renegotiate rents on over half of its remaining cinemas.

The plan, first reported by Sky News’s Mark Kleinman, is expected to be formally presented to the firm’s creditors – including landlords – in a matter of weeks.

The move is the latest development in a gruelling period for the world’s second-largest cinema chain.

In September 2022, the firm filed for bankruptcy in the US after lockdowns on both sides of the Atlantic left it in a tricky financial situation.

Then, having emerged from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July the following year, it de-listed from the London Stock Exchange as part of a debt restructuring plan agreed by lenders that left shareholders empty-handed.

Last month, the chain, which as well as operating in the UK and US has a presence across Israel and central and eastern Europe, was reported to be open to a sale, having held initial talks with potential buyers.

The news from Cineworld comes on the same day that rival cinema chain Vue floated the prospect of an IPO in a bullish interview with the BBC’s Today.

The firm’s CEO, Timothy Richards, told the programme: “Studios’ commitment to film production [and cinema release] is, in my 35 years in the business, unprecedented. There is a wave of films coming, they’re just unfortunately not going to come this year.

“Films are breaking records in every genre… which shows we have a supply issue and not a demand problem.

“[Going forward] we would look at all opportunities strategically, which would include an IPO… in no less than 18 to 24 months.”

A spokeswoman for Cineworld told City A.M.: “We continue to review our options, but we don’t comment on rumours and speculation.”