Cinema sale threat to cheap ticket prices (From Haringey Independent)

Cinema sale threat to cheap ticket prices

8:12am Tuesday 25th March 2008 in

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The proposed takeover of a Wood Green cinema has been referred to the Competition Commission (CC) over fears it would create an unfair monopoly in the area.

The CineWorld Group, which owns a cinema in The Mall, in Wood Green High Road, is in talks with the Showcase Cinema - located just a few hundred yards away at the Hollywood Green Leisure Park - about the possibility of buying it.

But this week, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) referred the proposed acquisition to the CC, claiming the merger would significantly lessen competition in the Wood Green cinema market, thought to have an annual box office revenue of £15million.

Simon Pritchard, OFT senior director of mergers, said: "This merger, while small, matters to the relevant London consumers from whom we received unsolicited complaints. Close competition between the parties in Wood Green has contributed to some of the lowest ticket prices in London, and we have unusually clear evidence that the rivalry lost by the merger would make it profitable for CineWorld to charge cinema-goers significantly more."

Cinema tickets can be purchased in Wood Green for as little as £4 on some days, which the OFT says is due to competition with the cinema in The Mall. The nearest alternative cinemas are the Odeons in Muswell Hill and Lee Valley, in Edmonton.

Noel Kerr, 23, of Broadwater Farm Road, Tottenham, is one resident against the proposals. He said: "It's quite sad, because Haringey is one of the poorest boroughs in London, so the fact that prices for the cinema could increase, especially for the youth, is really bad.

"Going to the cinema is one of the few things they can afford, rather than roaming the streets. It may not be significant for some people, but it would marginalise the youth even more, which would be the worst thing that could happen."

Sonia Williams, general manager of Wood Green CineWorld, could not comment on the negotiations, but said: "As a forward-looking business, we have ambitions to improve and grow the estate through selective new openings, expansions and acquisitions."

A report by the CC is expected in August.