Vue Cinemas

Vue Entertainment
Private
Founded May 2003 (2003-05)
Founder Timothy Richards (CEO)
Alan McNair (CFO)
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Owner OMERS
Alberta Investment Management Corporation
Slogan The Future of Cinema
(2003 – 2015)
Big Screen Entertainment
(2015 – present)
Website www.myvue.com

Vue Entertainment (stylised as vue), formerly SBC International Cinemas, is a cinema company operating in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The company was formed in May 2003 by the acquisition of Warner Village Cinemas by SBC and the subsequent rebranding of the business as Vue. As of 2013 the company has 80 cinemas in the UK, making it the third largest cinema chain in the country, with 755 screens.[1] The company's flagship site is Vue West End, the former Warner Village cinema in Leicester Square.

The company expanded through a number of acquisitions, including the Ster Century chain, Apollo Cinemas and Multikino. In June 2006, Vue's executive team completed a management buy-out with the backing of Bank of Scotland Corporate,[2] taking a 51% stake in the business and buying the four remaining Warner Village sites it had been operating under contract from Village Roadshow. The company was bought by the private equity firm Doughty Hanson & Co in 2010.[3]

In 2013, Doughty Hanson & Co announced the sale of the company to the Canadian firms OMERS and Alberta Investment Management Corporation for £935 million.[4]

Inside Vue Magazine

When Vue first opened more than a decade ago, the company published its first-ever free monthly magazine based upon reviews and other future listing of various films. Up until now, hundreds of thousands of issues have been collected by customers. The magazine has been restocked every first Friday of every month up until April 2016.

History

Vue at Cardigan Fields in Leeds

The company was formed in 2003 when SBC bought Warner Village Cinemas from Warner Bros. for £250 million. At the time, SBC owned four cinemas, and Warner Village Cinemas owned 36.[5]

In April 2005 the chain acquired the Ster Century chain from Aurora Entertainment; this included the highest grossing cinema in the UK or Ireland at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Dublin, Ireland.[6]

On 20 June 2006, Vue's executive team completed a management buy-out of the company with the backing of Bank of Scotland Corporate; the management team retaining a 51% stake.[2] Also, as part of the buy-out, Vue took full ownership of the four Village sites it had been operating under contract from Village Roadshow. The private equity firm Doughty Hanson & Co acquired Vue in 2010.[3]

Vue bought the company Apollo in 2012, retaining 14 new sites across the UK, making it the third largest cinema company in the UK behind Odeon and Cineworld.[7]

By 2013, it was reported that Vue had increased to the size of 143 cinemas.[8] In May 2013, Vue Entertainment acquired Multikino, the Polish cinema operator owning 30 cinemas with almost 250 screens in Poland and Baltic countries.[9]

In June 2013, Doughty Hanson & Co announced it had sold Vue to the Canadian pension fund OMERS and Alberta Investment Management Corporation for £935 million.[4]

In 2015, Vue International (Vue) acquired JT Bioscopen (“JT”) the second largest cinema chain in the Netherlands, bringing a number of total sites to over 200.[10]

In November 2015, Vue changed its slogan from The Future of Cinema to Big Screen Entertainment, due to new lease funding. Also around this time, Vue Cheshire Oaks & Leeds both had been upgraded to be the first two cinemas to have IMAX screens.

In January 2016, it was revealed that Vue Cinemas would show Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight as normal, but would have a 10-minute intermission in between, as the film is more than 3-and-a-half hours long.

In March 2016, Vue designed promotive t-shirts for the thriller film London Has Fallen. The shirts were worn by cinema staff during the preview and official release of London Has Fallen on 1 March.

In May 2016, the company designed primitive t-shirts for the upcoming Fox/Marvel film, X-Men: Apocalypse on May 18. They were worn from May 1, 2016.

Facilities

Vue's multiplexes vary in size from 4 to 30 screens and as a result the staffing of each site is slightly different. Each cinema is run by the management team. This team will consist of one general manager (GM) assisted by between 2 and 5 other members of the management team, depending on the size and complexity of the site. The general manager has general control of the running of the cinema at site level, while assisted by the other members of the management team. Team Leaders act as duty managers and are responsible for the operational running of a cinema on a shift basis. Customer Assistants serve guests throughout the cinema and report to the management team.

In addition to this, all cinemas have a dedicated projection team and a mascot, responsible for the running of the "box" and the maintenance of the projection and sound equipment. The projection department is structured much like the rest of the cinema. The Technical Manager has overall responsibility, supported by a Senior Projectionist. They are accompanied by a team of 2 to 4 full or part-time projection staff, some of which can also share duties with the standard operation of the cinema. However, all Vue sites are now fully digital, and therefore ran by the management team, or Technical Manager.

Vue in Swansea

Vue completed the rollout of the Vista Entertainment Solutions integrated Point of Sale software to every site in 2006.[11] Prior to this the majority of Vue cinemas ran the WaBITS ticketing system, developed in-house in London by Warner Bros. International Cinemas. This was an internal system used in all former Warner Village cinemas until 2007, when the division responsible for development was closed owing to the sale of the remaining joint venture cinema chains. WaBTIS continues to be used in Japan by Warner Mycal Cinemas who now own the rights to the system.

The new system enables customers to buy tickets at any retail point in the cinema, as well as online through the company website. Vue were the first major cinema operator in the UK to implement this "single point of sale" concept. Some cinemas (including those in Aberdeen, Accrington, Birkenhead, Blackburn, Bury The Rock, Camberley, Cardiff, Carmarthen, Carlisle, Cwmbran, Eastleigh, Hull Princes Quay, Lancaster, The Leeds Light, Hartlepool, Merthyr Tydfil, Harrow, Northampton and Swansea) have no dedicated box office, meaning that all transactions are carried out at retail stands.

In 2015 Vue cinemas opened in Farnborough [12] and planning permission has been approved for an eight-screen venue on Elizabeth Street and Westcott Way in Corby.[13]

Vue cinema built the first UK's eSports arena in cooperation with Gfinity, costing £350,000.[14] The Fulham Broadway cinema was converted into a 600 seat 'Gfinity Arena,' to host e-gaming events [15]

Venues

United Kingdom

Location Screens Sound Notes
Aberdeen 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound approx. 1531 seats
Accrington 4 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 849 seats
Altrincham 6 Digital Dolby Surround Sound approx. 897 seats
Barrow 6 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 951 seats
Basingstoke Festival Place 10 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 2166 seats
Bicester 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 854 seats
Birkenhead 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1756 seats
Birmingham 25 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 5128 seats
Bolton 12 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, VueXtreme approx. 2477 seats
Bristol Cribbs Causeway 12 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, VueXtreme approx. 2470 seats
Bristol Longwell Green 13 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 2686 seats
Bury The Rock 10 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, VueXtreme, 4K approx. 1690 seats
Camberley 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1839 seats
Cambridge 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1724 seats
Cardiff 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1600 seats
Carlisle 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1647 seats
Carmarthen 6 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 900 seats
Cheshire Oaks 16 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, IMAX approx. 3390 seats
Cleveleys 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1066 seats
Cramlington 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, VueXtreme
Croydon Grant's 10 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1778 seats
Croydon Purley Way 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1996 seats
Cwmbran 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1179 seats
Dagenham 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1724 seats
Doncaster 11 Digital Dolby Surround Sound approx. 1386 seats
Eastleigh 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1578 seats
Edinburgh Ocean Terminal 12 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 2602 seats
Edinburgh Omni Centre 12 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 2188 seats
Exeter 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1044 seats
Farnborough 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 921 seats
Gateshead Trinity Square 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D
Glasgow Fort 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1900 seats
Halifax 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound approx. 1400 seats
Hamilton 10 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1478 seats
Hartlepool 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1773 seats
Hull Princes Quay 10 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1694 seats
Inverness 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1758 seats
Lancaster 6 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D approx. 1574 seats
Leamington Spa 6 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 898 seats
Leeds Kirkstall Road 10 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K, IMAX approx. 1886 seats
Leeds The Light 14 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 2834 seats
Leicester 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 2391 seats
Livingston 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1645 seats
London - Acton 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 2332 seats
London - Finchley Road (O2 Centre) 12 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1710 seats
London - Fulham Broadway 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 2252 seats
London - Harrow 12 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1808 seats
London - Islington 10 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, VueXtreme approx. 1753 seats
London - North Finchley 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 2102 seats
London - Piccadilly 5 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 481 seats
London - Shepherd's Bush 12 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 2557 seats
London - Leicester Square 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 2471 seats
London - Westfield London 17 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, VueXtreme approx. 3000 seats
London - Westfield Stratford City 20 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, VueXtreme approx. 2600 seats
London - Wood Green 6 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1742 seats
Manchester Lowry 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 2087 seats
Merthyr Tydfil 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1212 seats
Newbury 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 973 seats
Newcastle-under-Lyme 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1976 seats
Northampton 10 Digital Dolby Surround Sound approx. 2547 seats
Norwich 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1800 seats
Oxford 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1712 seats
Plymouth 15 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, VueXtreme, 4K approx. 3315 seats
Portsmouth 14 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 3203 seats
Preston 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1848 seats
Reading 11 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1840 seats
Redditch 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1172 seats
Rhyl 5 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 601 seats
Romford 16 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 3715 seats
Scunthorpe 7 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1500 seats.
Sheffield 11 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1953 seats.
Southport 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1403 seats.
Staines 10 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 2126 seats.
Stirling 8 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1061 seats.
Stroud 6 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 796 seats.
Swansea 12 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1762 seats.
Thurrock 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1322 seats.
Torbay 9 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1638 seats.
Watford 11 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1844 seats.
Westwood Cross, Thanet 10 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K approx. 1644 seats.
Worcester 6 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K

Republic of Ireland

Location Screens Sound Notes
Dublin 14 Digital Dolby Surround Sound, 3D, 4K

References

External links

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