Cinema operator Cineworld is set to cut hundreds of jobs and reduce its presence in the UK by about a quarter.
According to City sources, the chain, which also operates Picturehouse cinemas, will shortly publish details of a restructuring plan that will lead to the loss of about 25 of its 100 sites across the UK.
It is thought between five and eight Cineworld cinemas will initiate a closure process immediately and be closed later in the summer. Job losses were considered to be in the low hundreds.
The company has been in preliminary talks with commercial landlords Landsec and Legal & General about its restructuring plans. It is not clear whether all the involved landlords approve the plan. The firm’s creditors will need to approve the chain’s proposals to eventually close about 25 sites, with rent reductions being sought at a further 50.
Cineworld initially held talks about a sale of the business with prospective buyers but has now switched its focus to a formal restructuring process.
The company is being advised by AlixPartners.
Cineworld was badly hit by Covid and had to reclose its cinemas in late 2020 after the delay of the James Bond film No Time to Die from November 2020 to 2 April 2021.
The aftermath forced the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2022 and it delisted from the London Stock Exchange last August, having seen its share price collapse amid fears for its survival.
Under a deal struck last year, several billion dollars of debt were exchanged for shares, with a significant sum of new money injected into the company by a group of hedge funds and other investors.
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A Cineworld spokesperson previously said in a statement: “We continue to review our options but we don’t comment on rumours and speculation.”
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