Cineworld begins negotiations with owners over closure plan | Business News

Cineworld has opened talks with some of Britain’s biggest commercial landlords over its plans to cut up to a quarter of its British film estate.

Sky News understands that landlords including Landsec and Legal & General, who between them own around 30 Cineworld multiplexes, are engaged in active discussions with the company over an imminent restructuring plan.

City sources said a date had been set for a hearing at which a majority of creditors would need to approve the cinema operator’s proposals to close about 25 locations, with rent reductions being sought on 50 more.

Several owners are said to be considering opposing the proposals, although it is unclear whether this would be enough to block the restructuring plan.

The remaining 25 would remain untouched by the restructuring, Sky News reported earlier this month.

Cineworld initially held talks regarding the sale of the business with potential buyers, but has now shifted its focus to a formal restructuring process.

The company is being advised by AlixPartners.

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.

Major summer film releases in Britain include Despicable Me 4, A Quiet Place: Part One and Alien: Romulus.

Landsec and L&G declined to comment.