York cinemas owned by Cineworld will remain open as the troubled chain announces it will close six venues across the UK as part of a restructuring plan.

The world’s second-largest cinema chain revealed on Friday (July 26) that it is taking the measures to cope with “increasingly high and unsustainable costs”.

In York the firm runs Cineworld York which is part of the city's Community Stadium at Monks Cross and opened on December 13, 2019.

It also owns the Picturehouse chain in the UK which runs City Screen in Coney Street.

Cineworld owns the Picturehouse chain which runs City Screen in Coney Street (left)Cineworld owns the Picturehouse chain which runs City Screen in Coney Street (left) (Image: Newsquest/PA)

Cineworld said its restructuring plan – a court process allowing companies to reduce fixed occupancy costs to return to profitability – hopes to reduce rent to a “market level” at some UK locations so the business is viable.

But for the business to turn a profit it said six sites that are “commercially unviable” will close.

These are Cineworld locations in Bedford, Glasgow Parkhead, Hinckley, Loughborough, Swindon Circus and Yate.

Cineworld said it is at the beginning of a consultation process with employees at the six affected cinemas and will offer redeployment to as many of them as possible at nearby sites.

Restructuring plan will start in late September if approved by court

The restructuring plan will start in late September if approved by the court.

Cineworld said the total number of impacted sites cannot be confirmed until the restructuring process is complete.

The firm added that all its UK cinemas will continue to operate as normal while this process is ongoing.

A Cineworld spokesperson said the restructuring proposals will provide the chain 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”.

“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 will not affect the Cineworld business outside of the UK, they added.

Friday’s announcement comes after Cineworld, last June, said it would file for administration in the UK as part of a restructuring plan set to wipe out shareholders.

The company said it would apply for administration for the London-listed company in July 2023, which would see shares in the firm suspended.

But it stressed the move would not affect the British operations for the holding company, with cinemas continuing to remain open as usual.

It followed Cineworld filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US in 2021 after being weighed down by its mammoth debts and weaker-than-hoped audience numbers.

Last April, the group also scrapped plans to sell its businesses outside the UK, US and Ireland after potential bidders failed to meet the value desired by Cineworld’s lenders.