Ireland-based exhibitor Arc Cinema has signed a long-term lease with developer and investor Squarestone Asset Management to open a cinema at Kyle Centre shopping hub in Ayr, Scotland—giving the town its first new cinema in over 80 years.
The planned cinema will be part of an overall refurbishment of Kyle Centre, aimed at revitalizing the city center. In addition to the cinema—which is planned to have eight screens—new food and beverage and leisure offerings are part of the future of Kyle Centre.
Says Brian Gilligan, director at Melcorpo, which runs The Arc Cinema: “We are delighted to be working with Squarestone Asset Management to bring one of our state-of-the-art cinemas to the Kyle Centre in Ayr. We would like to express our grateful thanks to them for their support in helping make this possible.
“The large high-specification eight-screen cinema has been specially designed to ensure we become a leisure hub, enabling us to provide a focal point for the people of Ayr. Our customers love the fact that we offer a luxurious VIP experience, but we only charge standard cinema prices, and we think that unique combination is perfectly suited to Ayr.
“Everyone is really looking forward to treats like cinema and restaurant trips again so we’re particularly excited to have the opportunity to be part of this good news story for the South Ayrshire community at this time.”
Councillor Peter Henderson, Leader of South Ayrshire Council added that the addition of the Kyle Centre theater—which “will bring blockbuster movies, live cinema events and films for all the family”—means that “residents will not have to travel elsewhere to see a wide variety of new films, and it will be a big draw for visitors, which I am sure will delight the town’s traders.”
Arc Cinema originally operated a trio of cinemas in Ireland and began an aggressive expansion campaign in 2019 with the opening of their first U.K. location in Great Yarmouth, England. The following year saw the circuit open two additional locations in the UK despite the Covid-19 pandemic. A further two U.K. sites are under construction and expected to open mid-2021. Last month, Arc Cinemas signed a long-term lease with Muse Developments to open a cinema that will serve at a leisure anchor in another centrally-located shopping center, this one at the Forge Island complex in Rotherham, England.
Construction for the Kyle Centre cinema is expected to begin in 2023.
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