Cinema chain Vue eyes blockbuster £1.5bn sale or listing
Vue is bringing in bankers to oversee a float or sale which could value the cinema titan at as much as £1.5bn, according to reports.
The British cinema chain, helmed by Canadian founder Tim Richards, has been interviewing banks in recent days as it pencils in the formal appointment of advisors later this year.
Vue has enjoyed a barnstorming start to the year, as biopic Michael has boosted the company to record takings, with new instalments yet to come from blockbuster film series Star Wars, Toy Story and Spider Man.
The deal, first reported by Sky News’ Mark Kleinman, would value Vue at more than £1bn and as much as £1.5bn.
Profit soars on blockbuster releases
The cinema chain has raked in more profits in the first three months of this year than in the entirety of last year, Sky News has been told.
American asset manager Barings and hedge fund Farallon Capital are among the investors which gained control of Vue during a post-Covid restructuring, and the sale or float would signal their exit.
Before this overhaul, Vue was owned by two Canadian pension funds: Omers and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo).
Late last year, Vue hired a new chief financial officer, former cruise company head James McArthur, to prepare the company for a change in ownership.
Vue took loss last year
Vue is the largest cinema in the UK, Italy and Germany, and operates in five other countries.
The cinema chain operates more than 2,000 screens across 225 sites worldwide, and employs thousands of people.
Vue lost more than £90m in the year to November 2024, according to its most recent accounts, more than the previous year’s £74m.
The Jersey-based firm said its performance was “ahead of expectations, although lower than the prior year due to a decrease in market size across all territories”.
Vue said at the time that it was still suffering from the knock-on effects of the actors strikes, which it said meant fewer films were released towards the end of 2024 and in the beginning of last year.
But the cinema chain said it was expecting a boost last year from titles including Wicked, Moana 2 and Mufasa.