MARKET REPORT: Cineworld left reeling as survey reveals 60 per cent of Britons ‘rarely' or ‘never' go to cinema
A trip to the flicks has apparently lost its allure. According to a survey conducted by vouchercloud.com, a money-saving brand, 60 per cent of Britons ‘rarely' or ‘never' go to the cinema.
Over half the respondents said that they go less than they did five years ago, with many opting to stream movies via Netflix and LoveFilm instead.
Others used Sky Movies or Sky box office to satisfy their film needs and more than 30 per cent said they just waited for films to come out on DVD and watch in the comfort of their own home.
The survey is enough to make Cineworld's chairman Anthony Bloomer choke on his popcorn. Shares of the UK's largest cinema operator Бесплатные фильмы lostfilm eased to 335p before closing 5p off at 338.5p as nervous investors not only took notice of the bearish survey but also jumped ship on hearing that broker Panmure Gordon had produced a 14-page sell note and slashed its target price to 260p from 295p.
Analyst Lindsey Kerrigan believes the group's proposed £227m cash acquisition of Poland-based Cinema City International, to be financed by a £110m rights issue at 230p a pop, represents a good deal for CCI's shareholders but not for Cineworld's as evidence by the 16 per cent fall in its share price since the deal was unveiled.
Risk has increased through exposure to ‘emerging' markets whilst the track record of CCI is unimpressive. Cineworld is buying about 100 multiplexes in eastern Europe and Israel and the combined group will have 201 sites and 1,852 screens. Bloomer described the deal as an ‘exciting and unique opportunity' for his company.
Kerrigan adds that the UK market was weak in the fourth-quarter with admissions down 16 per cent and box office data also indicates that January has also seen a double-digit decline in admissions. With weather in February deteriorating on almost a daily basis, the last thing Joe and Joan Public will be doing is braving the elements to sit in a cinema.
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