Vue Cinemas
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder(s) |
Timothy Richards (CEO) |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
| Owner(s) | Doughty Hanson & Co |
| Website | www.myvue.com |
Vue Entertainment (stylised as vue), formerly known as SBC International Cinemas, is a cinema company in the UK and Ireland. The company was formed in May 2003 when SBC acquired 36 Warner Village cinemas. There are now 80 Vue cinemas (making it the second largest British cinema chain), with 755 screens[1] including the rebranded flagship Warner Village cinema in Leicester Square. 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.[citation needed]
As of 20 June 2006, Vue's executive team completed a management buy-out of the company with the backing of Bank Of Scotland Corporate, with 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]
In May 2013, Vue Entertainment acquired Polish Multikino S.A.- operator of 30 cinemas with almost 250 screens in Poland and Baltic countries. [4]
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Cinema organisation [edit]
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, whilst the other members of the management team assist the GM. 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, 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 bought the company Apollo, in 2012, retaining 14 new sites across the UK, making it the second largest Cinema Company in the UK behind Odeon.[5]
Vista Point of Sale [edit]
In 2006 Vue completed the rollout of the Vista Entertainment Solutions integrated Point of Sale software to every site.[6] 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.
With the new system customers can buy tickets at any retail point in the cinema, as well as online through the company website. Vue are the first major cinema operator in the UK to implement this "single point of sale" concept. Some cinemas (including those in Aberdeen, Birkenhead, Camberley, Cardiff, Carlisle, Cwmbran, 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 the retail stand.
Vue Cinema sites [edit]
The cinema site at The O2 Arena, once controlled by Vue, is now operated as a Cineworld.
United Kingdom [edit]
| Location | Screens | 3D Screens | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 7 | 1 | Free WiFi |
| Accrington | 4 | 1 | |
| Acton | 9 | 4 | Free WiFi |
| Altrincham | 6 | 4 | Formerly Apollo |
| Barrow-in-Furness | 6 | 4 | Formerly Apollo |
| Basingstoke, Festival Place | 10 | 3 | Free WiFi |
| Bedford | Opening Soon | ||
| Bicester | 7 | Opening July 2013 | |
| Birkenhead | 7 | 1 | Free Wifi |
| Birmingham | 25 | 3 | 5 Screens closed |
| Blackburn | 10 | 2 | |
| Bolton | 12 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Bristol, Cribbs Causeway | 12 | 4 | Free WiFi |
| Bristol, Longwell Green | 13 | 1 | Free WiFi |
| Bury, The Rock | 10 | 4 | |
| Camberley | 9 | 4 | |
| Cambridge | 8 | 2 | |
| Cardiff | 13 | 1 | |
| Carlisle | 7 | 2 | |
| Carmarthen | 6 | 6 | Formerly Apollo |
| Cheshire Oaks | 16 | 5 | |
| Cleveleys | 8 | 1 | |
| Cramlington | 9 | 3 | Opening July 2013 |
| Croydon, Grant's | 10 | 1 | Free WiFi |
| Croydon, North End | Opening 2014 | ||
| Croydon, Purley Way | 8 | 3 | Free WiFi |
| Cwmbran | 8 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Dagenham | 9 | 1 | |
| Doncaster | 7 | 2 | |
| Eastleigh | 9 | 3 | |
| Edinburgh, Ocean Terminal | 12 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Edinburgh, Omni Centre | 12 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Exeter | 7 | 3 | |
| Farnborough | Opening 2013 | ||
| Finchley Road, O2 Centre| | 12 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Fulham Broadway | 9 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Gateshead | Opening 2013 | ||
| Glasgow Fort | 8 | 3 | Opening July 2013 |
| Halifax | 9 | 0 | |
| Hamilton, South Lanarkshire | 9 | 1 | Free WiFi |
| Harrow | 12 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Hartlepool | 7 | 1 | Free WiFi |
| Kingston upon Hull, Princes Quay | 10 | 2 | |
| Inverness | 8 | 3 | |
| Ipswich | (Opening 2014) | ||
| Islington | 10 | 4 | |
| Lancaster | 6 | 1 | |
| Leamington Spa | 6 | 4 | Formerly Apollo |
| Leeds, Kirkstall Road | 10 | 3 | Free WiFi |
| Leeds, The Light | 14 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Leicester | 9 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Leicester Square | 9 | 3 | Free WiFi |
| Livingston | 8 | 1 | |
| Manchester, Lowry Outlet Mall | 9 | 1 | |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 8 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Newbury | 7 | 3 | |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | 8 | 1 | |
| North Finchley | 8 | 2 | |
| Northampton | 10 | 1 | |
| Norwich | 8 | 1 | |
| Oxford | 12 | 1 | 3 Screens not in use |
| Piccadilly Circus | 5 | 4 | Formerly Apollo |
| Plymouth | 15 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Portsmouth | 14 | 4 | Free WiFi |
| Preston | 7 | 1 | |
| Reading | 10 | 4 | |
| Redditch | 7 | 4 | Formerly Apollo |
| Rhyl | 5 | 5 | Formerly Apollo |
| Romford | 16 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Scunthorpe | 7 | 1 | Free WiFi |
| Sheffield (Meadowhall) | 11 | 1 | Free WiFi |
| Shepherd's Bush | 12 | 2 | |
| Southport | 8 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Staines-upon-Thames | 10 | 2 | Free WiFi |
| Stirling | 8 | 1 | Free WiFi, 1 Beanbag Screen |
| Stoke-on-Trent | (Opening 2015) | ||
| Stroud | 6 | 4 | Formerly Apollo |
| Swansea | 12 | 1 | Free WiFi, 6 Beanbag Screens |
| Thanet, Westwood Cross | 10 | 3 | Free WiFi |
| Thurrock, Lakeside | 9 | 3 | Free WiFi |
| Torbay | 9 | 5 | Formerly Apollo |
| Watford | 11 | 4 | Free WiFi |
| Westfield White City | 17 | 7 | |
| Westfield Stratford | 17 | 5 | |
| Weston-super-Mare | (Opening 2014) | ||
| Wood Green | 6 | 1 | |
| Worcester | 6 | 1 | Free WiFi |
| York | 12 | 1 | Free WiFi |
Former sites [edit]
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Newcastle upon Tyne | (closed in 2004) |
| Greenwich, The O2 Arena | (as of June 2010 now run by Cineworld) |
| Pilsworth, Park 66 | (closed 14 July 2010) |
| Basingstoke Leisure Park | Now run by Odeon Cinemas |
Ireland [edit]
- Dublin, Liffey Valley Shopping Centre - 14 Screens (5 - 3D)
Portugal [edit]
- Faro, Forum Algarve
References [edit]
- ^ About Vue Cinema
- ^ Clarity Partners: Vue Entertainment Announces Management Buyout
- ^ Doughty Hanson buys Vue cinemas
- ^ Vue Entertainment buys Polish Multikino
- ^ "You are here: Home Private Equity News 2012 Vue Entertainment Purchases Apollo Cinemas UK News Vue Entertainment Purchases Apollo Cinemas UK". Doughty Hanson & Co. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- ^ Vista Case Study: Vue Entertainment
External links [edit]
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