Cineworld is drawing up plans to close dozens of British cinemas as part of a radical restructuring that would also include major rent cuts.
Sky News understands that the company, which until last year was listed on the London Stock Exchange, is considering closing around a quarter of its around 100 British multiplexes.
Cineworld also wants to renegotiate leases on a further 50 sites, with the remaining 25 untouched by the restructuring.
Sources said the proposals were expected to be formally presented to creditors, including landlords, in the coming weeks.
They added that the insolvency mechanism used by the cinema operator was expected to be a restructuring plan rather than a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
In response to a question, a Cineworld spokesperson said: “We continue to review our options but do not comment on rumors and speculation.”
Sky News reported last month that Cineworld was holding initial discussions about a sale with potential buyers and had then moved into a formal restructuring process.
The company is being advised by AlixPartners in the process.
Other cinema operators are expected to step in to take over some of Cineworld’s sites if enough owners refuse to agree to the proposed terms.
The company trades from more than 100 locations in Britain, including the Picturehouse chain, and employs thousands of people, although its public relations consultant declined to confirm any of the figures.
Cineworld grew under the leadership of the Greidinger family and became a global industry giant, acquiring chains such as Regal in the US in 2018 and the British company of the same name four years earlier.
However, its mountain of multibillion-dollar debt led it into crisis and forced the company to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2022.
It left the London Stock Exchange last August, after seeing its share price fall due to fears for its survival.
Under the deal reached last year, several billion dollars of debt was swapped for equity, with a significant sum of new money injected into the company by a group of hedge funds and other investors.
Cineworld also operates in Central and Eastern Europe, Israel and the USA.
Since emerging from bankruptcy protection, Cineworld has appointed a new leadership team, naming Eduardo Acuna, who ran the operations of Mexican cinema chain Cinepolis in the Americas, as its chief executive.
Eric Foss, former Pepsi executive, was parachuted in as president of Cineworld.
Major summer film releases in Britain include Despicable Me 4, A Quiet Place: Part One and Alien: Romulus.
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