Heavily in-debt Cineworld has seen profits and share price fall amid increased competition from Netflix and other streaming services
It has only just opened a 12-screen multiplex in Plymouth’s £53million The Barcode but financial speculators are betting that Cineworld’s fortunes will nosedive amid competition from streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The company, which has brought 4DX and IMAX screens to the Ocean City, may be planning to open more cinemas around the country but it has also emerged as the most shorted business in the UK.
That means financial institutions are effectively betting on Cineworld’s shares losing value and are engaged in borrowing shares to sell and buy back at a cheaper rate, in order to make a killing from the fall in value.
The company is remaining bullish with Mooky Greidinger, chief executive, saying: “The short position has no real substance.”
He said: “This business has been in the industry for a long time and has had all kinds of ups and downs. The streaming threat is non-existent in my eyes.”
Cineworld will also have opened venues in York and Warrington before Christmas 2019, and vice president operations Shaun Jones said that despite the advance of streaming, with new channels joining Netflix and Amazon Prime in the coming months, cinema will continue to attract huge audiences by giving a not-to-be-missed destination experience.
“Cinema has a brilliant future,” said Mr Jones, as he attended the debut screening at the Cineworld in Plymouth’s Drake Circus The Barcode leisure development in October 2019. “Anybody can build a home cinema. But this is about the experience, and customer service.”
Source: Barcode cinema chain tops list of UK firms facing grim future – Plymouth Live