A HUGE cinema chain has given a major update on its future as it officially files for administration.

Cineworld has said the move will help it to "strengthen its financial position" in the UK as it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US.

Shares in the London-listed company have been suspended, but it stressed that the move will not impact operations and that its cinemas will continue to remain open as usual.

The chain currently has 128 branches across the UK and Ireland.

A spokesman for the chain said: "Cineworld continues to operate its global business and cinemas as usual without interruption and this has not and will not be affected by the entry of Cineworld Group plc into administration on July 31, 2023."

When a company enters administration in the UK, all control is passed to an appointed administrator – who has to be a licensed insolvency practitioner.

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Their goal is to leverage the company's assets and business to repay creditors.

It comes after the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US last year due to giant debts and low footfall.

Filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy means a company intends to reorganise its debts and assets while remaining in business.

At the time, the future of the chain's 129 UK and Irish cinemas looked to be at risk.

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But in April it said would raise $2.26billion (£1.8 billion) in new funding in order to remain operational.

And in June Cineworld said it was preparing to file for administration.

The group also scrapped plans to sell its businesses outside the UK, US and Ireland after potential bidders failed to meet the value desired by its lenders.

The firm operates 103 cinemas under the Cineworld brand across the UK and the Republic of Ireland:

• Aberdeen – Queens Links
• Aberdeen – Union Square
• Aldershot
• Ashford
• Ashton-under-Lyne
• Barnsley
• Basildon
• Bedford
• Belfast
• Birmingham – Broad Street
• Birmingham – NEC
• Boldon Tyne and Wear
• Bolton
• Bracknell
• Bradford
• Braintree
• Brighton
• Bristol
• Broughton
• Burton upon Trent
• Bury St Edmunds
• Cardiff
• Castleford
• Cheltenham
• Chesterfield
• Chichester
• Crawley
• Dalton Park
• Didcot
• Didsbury
• Dover
• Dundee
• Eastbourne at The Beacon
• Edinburgh
• Ely
• Falkirk
• Glasgow – Parkhead
• Glasgow – Renfrew Street
• Glasgow – Silverburn
• Gloucester Quays
• Harlow – Harvey Centre
• Harlow – Queensgate
• Haverhill
• Hemel Hempstead
• High Wycombe
• Hinckley
• Hull
• Huntingdon
• Ipswich
• Leeds – White Rose
• Leigh
• Llandudno
• London – Bexleyheath
• London – Enfield
• London – Feltham
• London – Hounslow
• London – Ilford
• London – Leicester Square
• London – South Ruislip
• London – The O2 Greenwich
• London – Wandsworth
• London – Wembley
• London – West India Quay
• London – Wood Green
• Loughborough
• Luton
• Middlesbrough
• Milton Keynes
• Newcastle upon Tyne
• Newport – Friars Walk
• Newport – Isle of Wight
• Newport – Spytty Park
• Northampton
• Nottingham
• Plymouth
• Poole
• Rochester
• Rugby
• Runcorn
• Rushden Lakes
• Sheffield
• Shrewsbury
• Solihull
• Speke
• Stevenage
• St Helens
• St Neots
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Swindon – Regent Circus
• Swindon – Shaw Ridge
• Telford
• Wakefield
• Warrington
• Watford
• Weston-super-Mare
• Weymouth
• Whiteley
• Witney
• Wolverhampton
• Yate
• Yeovil
• York
• Dublin

It also runs a further 26 cinemas under the Picturehouse brand:

• Ashford
• Bath – Little Theatre Cinema
• Brighton – Duke of York’s
• Brighton – Duke’s at Komedia
• Cambridge – Arts
• Edinburgh – Cameo
• Exeter
• Henley-on-Thames – Regal
• Liverpool – Fact
• London – Bromley
• London – Clapham
• London – Crouch End
• London – East Dulwich
• London – Finsbury Park
• London – Fulham Road
• London – Greenwich
• London – Hackey
• London – Picturehouse Central
• London – Ritzy
• London – Stratford
• London – The Gate
• London – West Norwood
• Norwich – Cinema City
• Oxford – Phoenix
• Southampton – Harbour Lights
• York – City Screen

The company's shares have plunged almost 99% over the past five years, as it was hit particularly hard by the pandemic, which led to the enforced closure of its cinema sites.

The business has posted significant losses since and has also come under pressure from platforms offering streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.

The company employs 28,000 workers globally, with operations in 10 countries.

It runs almost 130 sites in the UK and the Republic of Ireland and roughly 750 globally.

It comes after cinema chain Odeon closed five of its branches in June.

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While Empire cinema closed multiple sites after falling into administration last month.

The company made its decision following "a thorough assessment of all available options".

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