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London-based Concern Now Vue Master
SBC Buys 354 Warner
Village U.K. Screens
LONDON – London-based SBC International completed
its acquisition of the 354-screen 36-site Warner Village
Cinemas U.K. circuit in May (In
Focus, June 2003).
SBC will combine the assets with its
existing six multis to form “Vue,” a new
circuit boasting 384 screens at 42 sites.
The U.S. private equity firm that founded
SBC in 1998 joined with two new equal partners in the
acquisition – Los
Angeles-Clarity Partners and Legal & General Ventures.
 120 Screens By 2004
Portuguese Exhib
Bows Leiria’s First
LEIRIA, Portugal – Portuguese exhibitor Soccorama-Castello
Lopes Cinemas unveiled a duplex with stadium-style
seating for 230 in Portugal’s coastal village
Leiria. It’s the municipality’s first cinema.
The circuit, a joint venture between
exhibition leader Castello Lopes and holding company
JRP, has announced
plans to open 36 more screens this year. The 67-screen
chain expects its screen count to rise to 120 by the
end of 2004.
According to Screen
Daily, the circuit
was set to open new Portuguese sites this year in
Gondomar-Porto (12
screens), Santerem (6 screens),Viana do Castelo (4
screens) and Ponta Delgada in the Azores Islands (4
screens).
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International Union Votes
UNIC Appoints Van
Dommelen New Prez
CANNES, France – The Union Internationale des
Cinemas (UNIC) on May 22 elected to the association’s
presidency Jan van Dommelen, managing director of Jogchem’s
Theatres B.V. The vote was held at the organization’s
May 22 general assembly in Cannes, France.
 Van Dommelen began his career in 1963
as an assistant manager for Jogchem’s, a circuit based in Bunschoten,
The Netherlands. He has served as the circuit’s
managing director since 1971. He is also the honorary
president of the Dutch Federation for Cinematography
as well as a NATO member.
Belgium’s Guy Morlion is UNIC’s outgoing
president and new senior vice president. Other vice
presidents now include Italy’s Fabio de Luca,
Germany’s Steffen Kuchen-reuther, Denmark’s
Mette Schramm and Spain’s Primitivo Rodriguez.
France’s Philippe Paumelle serves as treasurer.
UNIC, an exhibition association representing
more than 25,000 screens in 14 European nations and
Israel, focuses
on industry matters such as digital cinema, piracy
and the Television without Frontiers directive.
Quad For Mumbai
Adlabs Nears Deal To
Convert India Single
MUMBAI, India – India’s largest film processing
company, Adlabs, was preparing in June to close a deal to convert the 76-year-old
Metro single
in Mumbai, India, to a 4-plex.
Expected to be a joint venture
between Adlabs and current owners Atul and Govind
Gupta, the site will maintain its total seat count of 1,490. Adlabs was expected
to supply the remodeling funds.
At press time, modification plans
were still subject to approval by the Heritage Committee
of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corp.
Adlabs, which launched India’s
first Imax site, opened another Mumbai 4-plex in
2001.
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