CINEWORLD is reportedly planning to shut a quarter of its 100 cinemas in Britain after the cost-of-living crisis hit sales.

The cinema chain is preparing to outline formal restructuring plans and will seek renegotiated rents on around 50 other cinemas, with the remaining 25 or so to be unaffected, Sky News reported.

The US company, which also runs the Picturehouse chain, was listed on the London Stock Exchange until last year, when, billions of dollars in debt, it was taken over by investors and hedge funds.

The investors exchanged the debt for equity in the business, after the group also filed for bankruptcy protection in the US.

The group has been knocked by the growth of streaming services, delays to releases following actor and writer strikes, and the increased cost of living for customers.

Head of Bectu Philippa Childs said: “This is very worrying news, which is unfortunately symptomatic of the uncertain state of the UK’s cinema industry, following the devastating impacts of the pandemic, the proliferation of streamers and historic strike action in the US.

“UK Cineworld and Picturehouse workers have already been through a tumultuous time and this latest news will be very unsettling for the workforce. Bectu will do everything we can to support our members during this challenging time and will be looking to Cineworld to mitigate the impact of any closures or restructuring on its employees.”

A Cineworld spokesperson said: “We continue to review our options but we don’t comment on rumours and speculation.”