Newport’s only Cineworld branch, in Newport Retail Park, Spytty, should remain open despite announcement labelling it ‘at risk of closure’.

Instead of closure, Cineworld will be negotiating rent costs and leasing agreements with landlords, in order for the company to return to a state of profitability.

A spokesperson said: “We are implementing a Restructuring Plan that will provide our company with a strong platform to return our business to profitability, attract further investment from the Group, and ensure a sustainable long-term future for Cineworld in the UK.”

The plan includes shutting down an estimated six UK branches, including “Glasgow Parkhead, Bedford, Hinckley, Loughborough, Yate and Swindon Circus.”

The actual number of site closures cannot be confirmed until the ‘Restructuring Plan’ is approved by the courts.

A spokesperson said: “If the Restructuring Plan is approved by the court, it is expected to become effective in late September 2024. The total number of impacted sites cannot be confirmed until the process is complete.”

Employees at these six branches will be offered redeployment in their nearest Cineworld branches.

This news comes following Cineworld labelling the operating costs of their cinemas as “unsustainable.”  

Newport currently has one Cineworld cinema after the closure of their former site in Friars Walk, which never reopened following the Covid lockdowns.

Currently, the company trades from more than 100 sites in Britain, including at the Picturehouse chain.

It grew under the leadership of the Greidinger family, acquiring chains including Regal in the US in 2018 and the British company of the same name four years earlier.

However, its multibillion-dollar debt caused issues and forced the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2022.

It delisted from the London Stock Exchange last August, having seen its share price collapse amid fears for its survival.

Since it emerged from bankruptcy protection, Cineworld has appointed a new leadership team, installing Eduardo Acuna, who ran Mexican cinema chain Cinepolis's operations in the Americas, as its chief executive.

Their ‘Restructuring Plan’ hopes to provide Cineworld with “the opportunity to obtain further funding to meet its working capital needs, reduce its liabilities, and to benefit from a significant capital expenditure programme in the UK”.

While this process is ongoing, all Cineworld sites will be operating as normal.