Cinema operator Hoyts is ready to pull out of the UK market.
The Australian-based operator is in secret discussions with various cinema chains about selling the lease on its flagship 12-screen multiplex at Bluewater. Industry sources say Hoyts, which is paying around £183 per m2 (£17 per sq ft) at Bluewater, is asking for £12m for the multiplex and its six-screen cinema planned at Wood Green.
One cinema operator confirmed that Hoyts had approached it about Bluewater. “We’re not interested because Hoyts wants too much money. Why on earth would we spend a lot of money on the cinema when it only costs around £6m to fit out a cinema and it has only been operating for a few months?” said the source. Hoyts’ development plans in Europe are uncertain since Consolidated Press Holdings, owned by Kerry Packer, took full control of the company in July. Last year Hoyts declared it wanted 150 screens in the UK within five years.
Hoyts’ UK director Tony Murray would not confirm whether the chain was pulling out of the UK, but said: “We have new shareholders who are looking at the business. Decisions have not yet been made.”
Speculation is also mounting about whether rival operator AMC plans to pull out of the UK market. Although the operator denies the claims, it has been plagued with rumours about takeover talks since the death of its CEO Stan Durwood in July.
Commenting on the market, John Fraser of Harvey Spack Field said: “It is almost saturated. The trend is to look at other parts of Europe instead of trying to break into the UK.”
EGi News 20/08/99
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