Independent cinemas owner James Collington is in confident mood and looking to increase his portfolio of venues.
The owner of Savoy Cinemas has called on the expertise of Lincoln-based chartered surveyor Banks Long & Co, retaining the firm’s services to track down and identify suitable sites for expansion.
Mr Collington is keen to invest further in the industry, after welcoming a rising number of film fans to the Savoy Cinema in Nottingham, which he established in 1994, before going on the open the West End Cinema in Boston (2002) and the Savoy in Worksop last year.
His expansion drive holds the promise of more leisure sector jobs and a boost for the construction industry.
“Ultimately we would love to have a dozen or so venues, but each potential opportunity will be judged on an individual basis as we go along,” said
Mr Collington.
“Quality is the key factor. We are specifically looking for town and city centre sites within a 100-miles radius of Nottingham, although suitable edge of town
sites may be considered.
“Now is an opportune time. The industry has fared very well recently and we
want to push the pace of our expansion. Each cinema typically needs a team
of about 20 people, so we will also be investing in jobs.
“I have every confidence in the ability of Banks Long & Co to identify new sites
for Savoy,” added Mr Collington.
Banks Long & Co Director Tim Bradford said: “We work well with Savoy and
have a clear understanding of Mr Collington’s requirements. The time is right
for him to actively expand the company into locations which have immediate
catchment populations of over 40,000 people.
“We are looking for regeneration sites throughout the Midlands and Northern
England. Multi-screen cinemas can ring wider benefits to town centres and
provide the anchor to Local Authority led mixed-used developments.”
Mr Bradford is urging landowners with potentially suitable sites to call him
on Lincoln (01522) 544515.
The Cinema Exhibitors’ Association (CEA) represents the interests of about
90 per cent of UK cinema operators. It said 2012 was a buoyant year for the
industry and 2013 also got off to a good start.
In 2012, the UK total box office revenue was £1,099,095,773 – a 5.9 per cent
rise on 2011 figures. UK admissions were up 0.5 per cent on the previous
year to 172,498,775. (Source: Screen Digest from CII and EDI)
CEA Chief Executive Phil Clapp said fans of the big screen had continued to flock
to the cinema in 2012, despite the pressure on household incomes and the
fact that the Summer months had played host to not just the London 2012
Oympic and Paralympic games, but also the European Football Championships
and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
“Industry partners EDI Rentrak recorded 17,081,700 admissions to UK cinemas
in January this year, up an incredible 26 per cent on the same month in 2012.
This followed a strong final quarter in 2012, when annual admissions reached 172.5 million. This suggests that the cinema sector continues to perform strongly
during times of continuing economic difficulty,” added Mr Clapp.
