Pearl & Dean sold to Empire Cinemas owner
STV has conditionally agreed to sell cinema sales house Pearl & Dean for £1 to Image, a company formed by the owner of Empire Cinemas.
STV describes Pearl & Dean as a “well known brand and longstanding screen heritage.” It has advertising contracts with just over a third of the UK’s cinema screens.
The current management team, including CEO Kathryn Jacob and enterprise director Mike Hope-Milne, are expected to transfer to the new company.
Rival sales house DCM, previously Carlton Screen Advertising, is jointly owned by cinema exhibitors Odeon and Cineworld
The sale is conditional upon approval by STV shareholders at a meeting scheduled for 12 May. For the year ending December 2009 Pearl & Dean had revenues of £19.9m and losses of £13.3m.
Image is fully owned by Thomas Anderson, a non-executive chairman and shareholder of Circle Oil, as well as director and owner of Empire.
STV’s board had decided to focus on its core activities of broadcasting, content and new media ventures. It has been selling non-core assets.
