Vue, the largest privately owned cinema operator in Europe, has appointed Matt Eyre as Chief Operating Officer. Eyre will be responsible for all cinema operations across the group and will also join the Vue board.
Matt brings with him extensive operational and industry expertise having more than 35 years of experience overseeing operations for the biggest cinema chains in the world. Eyre started his career at Warner Bros., where for 16 years he oversaw g operations across 237 locations and 10 countries. He went on to become co-CEO of the Mann Theatres chain in California, following which he spent 19 years at Cineworld. Most recently, he oversaw operations as COO at Regal, Cineworld’s U.S. circuit.
Tim Richards, founder and CEO at Vue, commented: “I am delighted to be welcoming Matt to Vue. He is one of the best known and most highly respected cinema operators in the world with an incredible 35 years of operational and industry experience. His appointment puts us in an excellent position to continue our growth as Europe’s leading cinema operator and to provide our customers with the very best in the big screen experience.”
Matt Eyre commented: “I’m thrilled to be joining Vue at such an exciting time for the organization. I am looking forward to working with Tim and the Vue team, drawing on my extensive experience in cinema operations to ensure we’re well-placed for the future.”
The news comes as Vue received unanimous consent from its lenders and shareholders for a recapitalisation that will see a significant deleveraging of the balance sheet and £50 million of cash injected into the business. This arose as a consequence of the unforeseen and unprecedented six months of strike action by Hollywood writers and actors in 2023 which pushed back the release of a number of anticipated movies and delayed the pipeline of new content. The transaction is expected to complete later this month.
Tim Richards added: “Whilst the transaction has not yet completed, I would like to extend a huge thanks to our lenders and shareholders for their confidence in us, our management team and the industry as a whole. This ensures the business has the right capital structure and delivers a strong foundation for the future.”
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