 The Empire Cinemas chain has gone into administration, with six of its locations around the country being closed immediately. The closures will mean the loss of around 150 jobs – and leave the city of Sunderland and town of Wigan without a main cinema. Local reports suggest staff found out they had lost their jobs when they arrived at work today to find notices stuck to the doors and windows. Joint administrators at BDO have said the seven venues currently open will carry on operating while they seek a buyer for the business. The six sites that have closed for good are: Bishop's Stortford Catterick Garrison Sunderland Swindon Walthamstow Wigan Sutton Coldfield's Empire cinema, which was already shut, will also not reopen. The seven cinemas that will remain open while a buyer is sought for the business are: Birmingham Clydebank High Wycombe Ipswich Sutton The two Tivoli-branded cinemas in Bath and Cheltenham, which are owned by Empire, will also stay open. The Empire Cinema in Slough, which closed permanently in December last year (Picture: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock) People who bought tickets in advance for screenings at the closed locations will be refunded, the company said, while gift cards, ticket e-codes, guest passes and readmission tickets will still be accepted at the remaining sites. In a note on the Empire website, the company's chief executive Justin Ribbons said the chain had not recovered from the brutal impact of the Covid pandemic on cinemagoing. He wrote: 'As a consequence of Covid-19, where we were mandated by Government to close down our cinema chain in its entirety for protracted periods in 2020 and 2021, this left us with a high fixed cost base and no income. 'Cinema attendance levels have not yet returned to pre-Covid-19 levels and the operating environment remains extremely challenging. 'It has been a difficult economic environment for any bus){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
The Empire Cinemas chain has gone into administration, with six of its locations around the country being closed immediately.
The closures will mean the loss of around 150 jobs – and leave the city of Sunderland and town of Wigan without a main cinema.
Local reports suggest staff found out they had lost their jobs when they arrived at work today to find notices stuck to the doors and windows.
Joint administrators at BDO have said the seven venues currently open will carry on operating while they seek a buyer for the business.