Spean Bridge Cinemas to rebrand Warner Village after £250m deal
Cinema chain Warner Village is to be rebranded after it was sold to cinema operator Spean Bridge Cinemas (SBC).
The final details of an estimated &£250m deal are being agreed and the acquisition is expected to be completed by next week. The sale will mean the UK’s 34 Warner Village multiplexes will be given a new identity. The move also puts the future of Warner Village’s senior marketing team in doubt.
The Warner Village team is headed by director of sales and marketing Sarah Kelly and marketing manager Piers Skinner. Kelly is a former Burger King marketer and Skinner a former marketing director at the Radio Advertising Bureau and senior marketing manager at Blockbuster Video (MW 31 October, 2002).
SBC Cinemas has a small management team and only four UK sites, but senior vice president for marketing Mark De Quervan is a former international marketer with cinema chain UIP. SBC is owned by three venture capital firms, with Boston Ventures the majority stakeholder.
Warner Village uses full-service agency Alcone for advertising, Alchemy for direct marketing and MediaCom for media planning and buying. SBC uses local agencies on an ad hoc basis.
Warner Village completed building its last multiplex in Edinburgh last November. The company then stated that it would be looking to increase revenue by encouraging cinema-goers to spend more on drinks, confectionery and premium products.
