Everyman Media Group PLC (AIM:EMAN), the cinema operator, has confirmed Blue Coast Capital, the private equity firm, has increased its stake in the company to just under 22.9%, up from around 20%.
Blue Coast is the premium film operator’s largest shareholder, even before Friday’s share purchase, and has investments in three hotels in Israel, Germany and Florida and holds stakes in retail and real estate assets.
Shares were up slightly over 3% in market trading on Friday after Blue Coast purchased £1.3 million worth of Everyman shares.
Cinemas have faced a tough time of late, with streaming services and the pandemic making them near-obsolete post-lockdown. Rising costs due and lower demand resulted in several peers slipping into financial hardship, with Vue and Cineworld having been taken over by lenders within the last year.
Everyman has slipped in market value by more than 73% since the start of the pandemic and although revenues and underlying earnings slipped in the group’s first half, management is still confident in achieving its full-year guidance.
Barbenheimer, a viral craze which saw movie-goers watch Barbie and Oppenheimer back-to-back, provided a key tailwind across the industry earlier this year and has helped propel sales for the group.
Both films were immensely popular in their own regards and have helped punters reignite their love for the pictures.
Taylor Swift’s new film, a concert movie about her world tour, is being shown in Everyman as well as Odeon and Vue and has helped boost what was expected to be a dull quarter, especially after writer’s strikes in the US delayed blockbusters like Dune 2.
Other artists are following the trend including Beyonce and even Talking Heads’ 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense has been remastered in 4k and re-released.
Shares in Everyman are down 30% in 2023, having opened trading on Friday at around 57p.