Amount of money ploughed into Wolverhampton's Light House Cinema revealed by council
Wolverhampton Council has shared its 'sadness' as it was announced the city's Light House Cinema would cease to trade later today.
The authority revealed that over the last decade it has been the venue's 'biggest, single financial backer' providing £330,000 of funding support but the current debt levels were 'unsustainable'.
The news comes after a staff member made the announcement on social media.
All of the planned listings after today have been removed from the venue's website.
The Light House, based in the Chubb Buildings in the city centre is the Black Country's only independent cinema, a registered charity offering film and cultural events.
The council confirmed it was 'urgently' reaching out to the commercial landlords, the company that owns the Light House café space, to discuss the current situation.
The venue has been there since 1991 but has faced a battle to keep going in recent years.
A council spokesman said: “It’s very sad to see that the Light House, a key part of the city’s cultural offering for years, has ceased to trade.
“The Council has always been committed to supporting the Light House and over the last decade has probably been its biggest, single financial backer, providing some £333,000 of funding support to help the owners sustain their business.
“Council officers met with the venue’s management team a fortnight ago to offer additional help. This included a business review, marketing support and providing connections to grant funding opportunities. Unfortunately, though it seems that the venue’s debt levels were unsustainable, resulting in the very sad situation we find ourselves in today.
“We are now urgently reaching out to the Light House’s commercial landlords – the company that owns the Light House café space - to discuss the current situation and their potential future plans.”
