The Competition Commission has rejected a call to reconsider its decision to force Cineworld to sell off Aberdeen’s only arthouse cinema.
Aberdeen Central MSP Kevin Stewart wrote to the regulator’s deputy chairman, Alasdair Smith, after it emerged a buyer was being sought for the Belmont Cinema.
Mr Smith chaired an inquiry into the acquisition of the Picturehouse chain by Cineworld, which ruled the owners had become too powerful. It ordered Cineworld to sell sites in three cities after deciding its takeover could drive up prices for filmgoers.
The company said it would “reluctantly” sell Picturehouse cinemas in Aberdeen and Suffolk, and was weighing up whether to sell another Cineworld or Picturehouse outlet in Cambridge.
But in a written response to the Nationalist MSP, Mr Smith said: “We understand well that the Belmont is not a run-of-the-mill cinema and that it currently receives a subsidy from Aberdeen City Council.
“However, Cineworld already owned two out of the four cinemas in Aberdeen and even though the Belmont is different in scale, style and – to some extent – programming from the two Cineworld multiplexes, there is competition between all cinemas.
“The merger gave Cineworld control of three out of the four cinemas in Aberdeen. We considered that this was likely to give rise to a significant lessening of competition.”
Mr Stewart said it was “disappointing” that the competition commission has rejected his request.
He said: “I am still very much opposed to this enforced sale and do not think that it is in the best interests of customers, putting at risk as it does the one venue offering something different from the mainstream.
“My hope now is that a buyer will be found and that they will commit to upholding the Belmont’s proud reputation as Aberdeen’s only art house cinema.”
Meanwhile, Cineworld issued a trading update for the third quarter yesterday. In the past 16 weeks, Cineworld Cinemas’ box office increased by 1.4% driven by admissions which increased by 2.3%. The higher proportion of lower-priced family orientated films over the summer period, most notably Despicable Me 2 which is the highest grossing film of the year so far, resulted in average ticket price declining by 0.9%.