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Vue International, Europe’s largest independent cinema operator, is finalising a fresh debt restructuring after the Hollywood actors’ strike halted the release of a string of blockbuster movies.

Sky News has learnt that UK-based Vue, its shareholders and lenders are in the process of organising the company’s second debt-for-equity swap in 18 months in a bid to put the business on a sustainable long-term footing.

Under the plans, hundreds of millions of pounds of existing debt will be converted to equity, with roughly £50m of new capital being injected into the company.

This weekend, Vue’s founder and chief executive, Tim Richards, told Sky News: “The unforeseen and unprecedented six months of strike action by Hollywood actors and writers in 2023 has had a short and medium-term impact on the industry, pushing back the release of anticipated number of movies and delaying the pipeline of new content.

“We are in discussions with our shareholders and lenders to ensure the business has the right capital structure to thrive and maximise exciting opportunities ahead once the pipeline of new content improves later this year and in 2025.”

Last year’s strikes brought the epicentre of the global film-making industry to a standstill, impacting studios, distributors and cinema operators.

Among the titles whose release was delayed by the crisis was Dune: Part Two, a sequel which had been among the most anticipated movies of 2023.

Vue employs more than 8,000 people and operates more than 225 multiplexes in countries including the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy and Taiwan.

One source said that the latest restructuring underlined its stakeholders’ confidence in the long-term prospects of the business, with hits this year expected to include the third instalment of the Deadpool franchise, Beetlejuice 2 and Gladiator 2.

Led by Mr Richards, Vue completed a previous restructuring almost exactly a year ago, which saw £470m of debt wiped out and the company taken over by its lenders, led by Barings and Farallon Capital Management, a US hedge fund.

With the support of those firms, Vue subsequently explored an offer for parts of Cineworld, its larger multinational rival, which went through an insolvency process last year.

While a deal between Vue and Cineworld did not happen, industry sources believe that Mr Richards remains keen to lead industry consolidation in the years ahead.

Question marks also remain over the long-term future of AMC, the American owner of Odeon Cinemas.

Mr Richards, who is about to step down as chair of the British Film Institute, founded Vue in its current guise just over 20 years ago.

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The company is now looking for a new chair to replace Stella David, who has stepped down after being parachuted in to Entain, the FTSE-100 gambling group, as its interim chief executive.

Vue’s previous owners, Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) and Omers, the Canadian pension funds, took control in 2013 in a deal worth close to £1bn.

Thet subsequently presided over a string of acquisitions which helped turn the group into Europe’s largest cinema operator.

In 2019 – a record year for Vue – they began to explore a sale but did not conclude a deal before the COVID-19 crisis brought the leisure industry to its knees.

Like its rivals, the company was forced to furlough thousands of UK-based employees during the pandemic, with its sites shut for months.

Mr Richards was also forced into a brief skirmish with Vue’s UK landlords as he sought rent reductions during the period of closures.

One banker said it remained unclear how long Vue’s owners would seek to retain control before selling or floating the company, but the latest restructuring was expected to mean that they would remain in place for longer.

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Thousands of jobs to go at Bosch in latest blow to German car industry

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Thousands of jobs to go at Bosch in latest blow to German car industry

Bosch will cut up to 5,500 jobs as it struggles with slow electric vehicle sales and competition from Chinese imports.

It is the latest blow to the European car industry after Volkswagen and Ford announced thousands of job cuts in the last month.

Cheaper Chinese-made electric cars have made it trickier for European manufacturers to remain competitive while demand has weakened for the driver assistance and automated driving solutions made by Bosch.

The company said a slower-than-expected transition to electric, software-controlled vehicles was partly behind the cuts, which are being made in the car parts division.

Demand for new cars has fallen overall in Germany as the economy has slowed, with recession only narrowly avoided in recent years.

The final number of job cuts has yet to be agreed with employee representatives. Bosch said they would be carried out in a “socially responsible” way.

About half the job reductions would be at locations in Germany.

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Bosch, the world’s biggest car parts supplier, has already committed to not making layoffs in Germany until 2027 for many employees, and until 2029 for a subsection of its workforce. It said this pact would remain in place.

The job cuts would be made over approximately the next eight years.

The Gerlingen site near Stuttgart will lose some 3,500 jobs by the end of 2027, reducing the workforce developing car software, advanced driver assistance and automated driving technology.

Other losses will be at the Hildesheim site near Hanover, where 750 jobs will go by end the of 2032, and the plant in Schwaebisch Gmund, which will lose about 1,300 roles between 2027 and 2030.

Bosch’s decision follows Volkswagen’s announcement last month it would shut at least three factories in Germany and lay off tens of thousands of staff.

Its remaining German plants are also set to be downsized.

While Germany has been hit hard by cuts, it is not bearing the brunt alone.

Earlier this week, Ford announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs across Europe – including 800 in the UK – as the industry fretted over weak electric vehicle (EV) sales that could see firms fined more for missing government targets.

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Cambridge college puts O2 arena lease up for sale

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Cambridge college puts O2 arena lease up for sale

Cambridge University’s wealthiest college is putting the long-term lease of London’s O2 arena up for sale.

Sky News has learnt that Trinity College has instructed property advisers to begin sounding out prospective investors about a deal.

Trinity, which ranks among Britain’s biggest landowners, acquired the site in 2009 for a reported £24m.

The O2, which shrugged off its ‘white elephant’ status in the aftermath of its disastrous debut in 2000, has since become one of the world’s leading entertainment venues.

Operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group, it has played host to a wide array of music, theatrical and sporting events over nearly a quarter of a century.

The opportunity to acquire the 999-year lease is likely to appeal to long-term income investment funds, with real estate funds saying they expected it to fetch tens of millions of pounds.

Trinity College bought the lease from Lend Lease and Quintain, the property companies which had taken control of the Millennium Dome site in 2002 for nothing.

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The college was founded by Henry VIII in 1546 and has amassed a vast property portfolio.

It was unclear on Friday why it had decided to call in advisers at this point to undertake a sale process.

Trinity College Cambridge did not respond to two requests for comment.

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Surprise fall in retail sales a sign economy is slowing

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Surprise fall in retail sales a sign economy is slowing

Budget fears and unseasonably warm weather led to consumers spending far less than expected last month, according to official figures.

In a sign of a slowing economy, retail sales fell a sharp 0.7%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The fall was larger than expected. A drop of 0.3% was forecasted by economists polled by the Reuters news agency.

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Clothing stores were particularly affected, where sales fell by 3.1% over the month as October temperatures remained high, putting shoppers off winter purchases.

Retailers across the board, however, reported consumers held back on spending ahead of the budget, the ONS added.

Just a month earlier, in September, spending rose by 0.1%.

Despite the October fall, the ONS pointed out that the trend is for sales increases on a yearly and three-monthly basis and for them to be lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Retail sales figures are significant as household consumption measured by the data is the largest expenditure across the UK economy.

The data can also help track how consumers feel about their financial position and the economy more broadly.

Another signal of a slowing economy was the latest growth figures which showed a smaller-than-expected GDP (gross domestic product) measurement.

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Business owners worried after budget

Consumer confidence could be bouncing back

Also released on Friday was news of a rise in consumer confidence in the weeks following the budget and the US election.

Market research company GfK’s long-running consumer confidence index “jumped” in November, the company said, as people intended to make Black Friday purchases.

It noted that inflation has yet to be tamed with people still feeling acute cost-of-living pressures.

It will take time for the UK’s new government to deliver on its promise of change, it added.

A quirk in the figures

Economic research firm Pantheon Macro said the dates included in the ONS’s retail sales figures could have distorted the headline figure.

The half-term break, during which spending typically increases, was excluded from the monthly statistics as the cut-off point was 26 October.

With cold weather gripping the UK this week clothing sales are likely to rise as delayed winter clothing purchases are made, Pantheon added.

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