Cineworld plots blockbuster sale of British cinema operations
One of Britain’s biggest cinema chains is in secret talks about a sale as part of a strategic review that could lead to a wholesale restructuring of its business.
Sky News has learnt that Cineworld, whose parent company went through a series of insolvency processes last year, is working with advisers on a potential disposal of its UK operations.
Cineworld, which trades from more than 100 sites in Britain and employs thousands of people, has begun contacting prospective bidders in recent days.
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AlixPartners, the restructuring adviser which handled the administration of Cineworld’s London-listed holding company last year, has been drafted in to work on the process.
City sources said this weekend that the sale process was expected to run for several weeks.
They added, however, that the cinema giant was also expected to explore the option of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) – a further restructuring process which could put an unspecified number of its UK cinemas at risk of closure.
A spokesman for Cineworld at its public relations adviser, Hill & Knowlton, said he was refusing to provide information about many sites the company operated in the UK or how big its workforce was.
In a statement issued to Sky News, he said: “Like many businesses, we are continually reviewing our UK operations.”
Cineworld grew under the leadership of the Greidinger family into a global giant of the industry, acquiring chains including Regal in the US in 2018 and the British company of the same name four years earlier.
File pic: Geoffrey Swaine/Shutterstock
Its multibillion-dollar debt mountain led it into crisis, though, and forced the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2022.
It delisted from the London Stock Exchange last August, having seen its share price collapse amid fears for its survival.
Under the deal which secured its survival, several billions of 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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Cineworld also operates in central and Eastern Europe, Israel and the US.
The sale process only relates to its UK business, according to insiders.
It was unclear whether Picturehouse, which Cineworld also owns, is also part of the auction.
A number of financial investors are expected to examine offers for Cineworld’s UK business, while rival Vue is also likely to assess whether a bid would be viable.
Last year, Sky News revealed that Vue had assembled backing for a takeover of Cineworld, but was frozen out of a process that was eventually abandoned.
Vue itself has undergone a number of financial restructurings but its balance sheet is now on a sustainable footing after dealing with the twin shocks of the pandemic and the Hollywood writers’ strike.
Pic: PA
Since it emerged from bankruptcy protection, Cineworld has appointed a new leadership team, installing Eduardo Acuna, who ran Mexican cinema chain Cinepolis’s operations in the Americas, as its chief executive.
Eric Foss, a former Pepsi executive, was parachuted in as Cineworld’s chairman.
One property industry source said that any attempt by Cineworld to pursue a CVA or other restructuring which compromised landlords was likely to be met with fierce resistance.
Major summer film releases in Britain include Despicable Me 4, A Quiet Place: Part One and Alien: Romulus.
An international manhunt is under way for the husband of a murdered woman, whose body was found in the boot of a car.
The body of Harshita Brella was found in east London on Thursday, tens of miles away from her home in Corby.
On Sunday, Northamptonshire Police said they were looking for Pankaj Lamba – who they believe has left the country.
Sky News understands she had been under the protection of a court order designed for victims of domestic abuse.
“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said chief inspector Paul Cash.
“We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.”
“Fast track” enquires were made after the force was contacted on Wednesday by someone concerned about Ms Brella’s welfare. After she failed to answer the door at her home in Skegness Walk, Corby, a missing person investigation was launched.
Her body was found inside the boot of a vehicle in Brisbane Road in the Ilford in the early hours of Thursday morning.
A post mortem – conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday – established she had been murdered.
Harshita Brella, 24, from Corby. Her body was found in a car in east London. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
More than 60 detectives are working on the case, with lines of enquiry including going house to house and property searches, as well as looking at CCTV and ANPR.
“We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita,” said chief inspector Cash.
“I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”
Pankaj Lamba. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Force referred to police watchdog
On Saturday, Northamptonshire Police said it had made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact between the force and the victim.
Northamptonshire Police previously said officers had been conducting investigations at three locations: Skegness Walk and Sturton Walk in Corby and Brisbane Road, Ilford, where Ms Brella’s body was found.
East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU) and Northamptonshire Police said they were working “around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place”.
State-of-the-art technology has been used to create a voice for King Richard III – giving him a Yorkshire accent.
A digital avatar of the medieval king’s head went on display in front of excited history fans at York Theatre Royal.
Richard III was king of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32.
His remains were found in a car park in Leicester in 2012 by historian Philippa Langley.
Speaking about the recreation, she said: “We’ve got leading experts in their fields who have been working on this for 10 years and so everything has been meticulously researched, meticulously evidenced, so you are seeing the most accurate portrayal of Richard III”.
A team based at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University created the avatar based on the reconstruction of Richard III’s head with the help of a craniofacial expert.
His voice has been created by Professor David Crystal, a leading linguist in 15th-century pronunciation. He admitted that it’s impossible to know exactly how he spoke, but this is as close as they will get.
The king was born in Northampton but spent a lot of his life in Yorkshire. His parents were also from the north of England.
Vocal coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm spent a decade researching how the monarch would have sounded. She worked with the actor Thomas Dennis who was chosen as his body and face were such a a good physical match.
Speaking to Sky News, she said people will be shocked at how different he sounded compared with traditional portrayals of the king on stage and screen.
The coach and actor also examined the king’s letters and diary so that “as you pronounced a word that’s how you would write it”.
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The voice shows the change in pronunciation over the centuries – from regional variations to the Queen’s English.
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History fans at the unveiling were delighted with the accent, with one telling Sky News: “Northerners are known to be happy, positive, all those lovely qualities.”
Born in Northampton but a northerner through and through, technology has brought the king’s speech back to life
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