A Message from The Board of Trustees
Title
Rich Text
Dear Phoenix Friends and Supporters
We are writing to you as the trustees of the Phoenix about the sale of the piece of land behind the cinema. We have heard concerns about this sale from a couple of people who have now started a petition on it, so we thought everyone should hear what is happening directly from us. We also want to share early news of the exciting changes this will enable for the Phoenix.
The Phoenix bought a small piece of land 40 years ago along with the freehold of the cinema. Despite the Phoenix having a long-running goal of a second screen and despite many architects and experts looking at the land over the years, nobody has come up with a feasible way of linking a building on it to the main cinema. If the Phoenix built a second screen on the land, it would need a second ‘front of house’ and the extra staffing for this would cancel out any extra revenue from this screen. So it has never been seen as viable.
Instead we have got planning permission for a small second screen within the main building in the former café area. This is fully costed will help provide the flexibility needed to support and we think it is key to the sustainability of the Phoenix going forwards. It will provide a new community resource which we would love to offer.
Like all cinemas and theatres, since the pandemic the Phoenix has suffered the double whammy of higher costs (particularly energy) and lower admissions. UK cinema admissions are still 30% down on pre-pandemic levels. Most months we do not break even and this is creating a risk that the cinema becomes insolvent and would have to cease trading.
The board has thought long and hard about how to address this situation, looking at a range of options, and we shared our thinking at our AGM prior to taking the decision to sell the land. While we are aware that the sale is a one-off move, there is no purpose to retaining it and it is clearly best to realise its value before it is too late to use the proceeds.
We will invest the money in creating a second screen and bringing the main auditorium up to audience expectations, particularly with new comfortable seating. We are already preparing to raise extra funds to support the proceeds of the land sale and will be pleased if Phoenix Friends and supporters can get involved in this too in a few months’ time.
We are confident that we have found a way of transforming the Phoenix into a cinema that is the first choice for our local community so that it can remain a much-loved local venue for years to come. We hope you agree with this goal and we look forward to sharing more about the plans soon.
Phoenix trustees: Alison Gold, Benjamin Ellis, Marta Montague, Madeleine Hoare, Patrick Swaffer, Shouma Khan, Steve Smith, Vicki Kelsall, Viran Ram
Footer
