Stafford Cinema up for auction for £350k months after being saved
Stafford Cinema is up for auction for £350,000 – just months after being saved for the second time.
The freehold of Stafford Cinema is being offered by auctioneers Acuitus in London on February 12.
The historic venue reopened in October, eight months after it closed having been saved the first round by AJH Cinema in April 2018.
The three-screen cinema, in Newport Road, had been left with an uncertain future when it first closed at the end of 2017.
The cinema is just yards away from the new £6.5 million Odeon Luxe complex in Bridge Street which opened in November 2018 as part of the new Riverside development.
Concerns had been raised again earlier this month – with the owner saying it was “under threat of demolition”.
Owner Sam Lavington said he was “hopeful” the 1930s cinema would remain open if people keep attending and that he could not keep up the financial costs alone.
Earlier this month he posted online saying: “From January 2020 we are setting up the business of Stafford Cinema as The Cinema Heritage Trust.
“The cinema name will remain the same. Our aim is to save this wonderful building and purchase it for the people of Stafford.
“I alone cannot keep up the financial costs on my own much longer, however since opening the audience has gone from strength to strength.
“I can only thank you one and all, plus my very hard working team.”
Since reopening in October the 1930s building has undergone a refurbishment programme.
Now Stafford Borough Council has given pre-application advice saying the site could potentially be transformed into a multi-storey mixed-use conversion including ground floor retail and residential areas above.
David Margolis of Acuitus said: “The Stafford Cinema could offer the best of both worlds for landlords and developers.
"It continues to enjoy success as a popular local cinema, but also due to its prominent location, it has the potential for redevelopment and change of use.”
The auction will take place at The Montcalm Hotel, London, on February 12.
For more information about the auction, visit acuitus.co.uk/property/3760/
