Cineworld looks to Spain for growth

Cinema group Cineworld has made its first overseas acquisition with the purchase of Spanish cinema chain Cinesur Circuito Sanchez-Ramade. 


Cinema group Cineworld has made its first overseas acquisition with the purchase of Spanish cinema chain Cinesur Circuito Sanchez-Ramade. 

Cinema group Cineworld has made its first overseas acquisition with the purchase of Spanish cinema chain Cinesur Circuito Sanchez-Ramade.

The deal for Cinesur, Spain’s fifth largest cinema operator, is for an undisclosed amount but Cineworld report that gross assets valued at  €18.6 million (£16.3 million) are being acquired. The purchase is to be made using a new loan facility.

The move comes as Cineworld looks to expand its operations beyond the UK. According to a statement from the company, the average cinema attendance for each person in Spain is 2.38 times a year, compared with the UK where people attend 2.81 times a year.

The research, carried out by Dodona, also reveals that Spain is the fifth largest cinema market in Europe with annual revenues of €800 million in 2009.

Stephen Wiener, CEO of Cineworld, says that Cineworld’s first continental acquisition will enable the business to begin operations in a market that has ‘good growth prospects’.

Wiener adds: ‘ Cinesur is an attractive platform for growing market share in a country that is serviced by many smaller cinema chains.’

In June 2010, Cineworld acquired the 11-screen cinema multiplex at London’s O2 arena. Cinesur has a total of eleven cinema multiplexes and 136 screens.

Nick Britton

Nick Britton

Nick was the Managing Editor for growthbusiness.co.uk when it was owned by Vitesse Media, before moving on to become Head of Investment Group and Editor at What Investment and thence to Head of Intermediary...

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