Cineworld

Cineworld Group plc is the second largest cinema operator in Europe with 2000 screens in 9 countries. The UK operations consist of arthouse chain Picturehouse Cinemas and multiplex chain Cineworld Cinemas with 24 and 82 cinemas respectively. All but two Cineworld sites are located in the UK, with one each in Ireland and Jersey. Cineworld is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with over 800 screens, and the owner of the single largest multiplex by screens and customer base in Ireland.Cineworld Glasgow Renfrew Street is the tallest cinema in the world and the busiest, by customer base, in the UK. The Cineworld site with the greatest number of screens is that located at Valley Centertainment in Sheffield, which has 20. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

The first Cineworld opened in Stevenage, Hertfordshire in July 1996; the second, in a purpose-built location in Wakefield, Yorkshire, followed in late 1996, with Shrewsbury, Shropshire, following in November 1998. Additional sites were opened at a steady rate throughout the late '90s and early 2000s; in 2005, Cineworld also took over the UK and Ireland operations of French cinema company UGC. (As part of the merger, seven locations were sold to Empire Cinemas, due to UK fair trading law: Birmingham Great Park, Bishop's Stortford, Ealing, Slough, Sunderland, Swindon and Wigan.)

Cineworld (Glasgow)

Cineworld Glasgow Renfrew Street is a cinema on Renfrew Street, Glasgow, located in the north east of the city centre, it is adjacent to the Buchanan Bus Station and the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, as well as being close to Sauchiehall Street and Buchanan Galleries. At 203 feet (62 metres) high, the building is currently the tallest cinema in the world.

By 2003 it was the busiest cinema in the United Kingdom by admissions, having attracted over 1.8 million patrons that year. Cineworld Glasgow has 18 screens over 9 levels, and can accommodate more than 4,300 people. Its most distinctive feature is the huge glass curtain wall on the east face which houses a system of criss crossing escalators (similar to the Lloyd's of London building), which are lit neon blue during the hours of darkness.

History

The cinema was built on the site of Green's Playhouse, and opened as the UGC Cinema in September 2001. In 2005, it became part of the Cineworld chain when then-owners UGC of France sold all of its UK cinemas which were then re-branded. Green's Playhouse the original cinema on the site also held a record, for being Europe's largest cinema in terms of number of seats (4,368). At over 200 ft high, and with an entry in the Guinness Book of Records, Cineworld Glasgow is the world's tallest cinema. In 2000 however, during the cinema's construction, the building design came under heavy criticism from the architecture community. The building was designated the "Carbuncle of the Year" for its poor design choices and contrast with the surrounding area, although following the reclad of the adjacent St. Andrew House during its conversion to a hotel in 2011, this arguably is less of an issue.