Which Empire cinemas are closing? Firm enters administration
T
he Empire Cinemas chain has introduced it’s going into administration, with six cinemas to be closed and 150 jobs misplaced.
Eight of the 14 cinemas within the group – beneath the Empire Cinemas and Tivoli manufacturers – will stay open.
Brits have loved the newest movies on 128 screens in Empire cinemas throughout the UK for the reason that agency was opened in 2005, however it’s now unclear whether or not they’ll ever present movies once more.
Here’s what it’s essential know.
Which cinema areas are being closed?
The following areas are being closed right away.
- Bishop’s Stortford
- Catterick Garrison
- Sunderland
- Swindon
- Walthamstow
- Wigan
Additionally, Sutton Coldfield cinema is already closed and won’t reopen, the directors from accounting agency BDO introduced.
Any advance tickets bought for the closed cinema might be refunded.
Gift playing cards and visitor passes might be accepted on the cinemas that stay open.
These embody:
- Birmingham
- Clydebank
- High Wycombe
- Ipswich
- Sutton
- Bath
- Cheltenham
Why has the Empire Cinemas chain entered into administration?
Administrators have mentioned they’re in search of a purchaser and have blamed the monetary impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, inflation and cost of living disaster for closures.
A restructuring accomplice at BDO, assigned as an administrator, mentioned: “The well-publicised challenges for the leisure sector for the impact of Covid-19, rising inflation and the cost of living crisis have significantly affected the company’s business.”
Companies amassed big quantities of debt over the pandemic years as lockdowns stopped typical buying and selling.
In addition, costs have been growing after post-Covid provide issues drove prices up and the invasion of Ukraine resulted in excessive power costs.
Empire Cinemas Group is just not alone in struggling, the world’s second-largest cinema operator, Cineworld, is because of exit chapter this month.
When was Empire Cinemas based?
Empire Cinemas was based in 2005, following the mergers of Odeon and UCI and Cineworld and UGC.
Empire Leicester Square was the corporate’s flagship website till its sale to Cineworld in August 2016.
Its web site says: “From the earliest days of the moving image, the Empire played host to the technological advances of cinema. In March 1896, Louis and Auguste Lumiere gave the first theatrical performances of a projected film to a paying UK audience at the Empire, assuring a unique place in cinema history.
“By the turn of the century the Empire had established itself as one of London’s premiere theatres, with live acts and ballet interspersed with performances of short film reels.
“With the dawning of the golden age of motion pictures in the late 1920s, the Empire was acquired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who rebuilt the Empire as a movie theatre, with the stated intention of creating a ‘veritable temple to the motion picture’.
“Bearing the famous lion trademark, the Empire was to be the jewel in MGM’s circuit of movie theatres around the globe, unsurpassed not only in London’s West End but also across Europe and beyond.
“After setting admission records through the 30s and 40s – twelve million admissions in its first six years – the Empire became a haven for the public during World War II with its classic atmosphere and glossy escapist movies.”