Luke Johnson leads takeover of cinema operator The Light

The new owners plan to invest more than £15 million to support plans to double the size of the business over the next three years.

Henry Saker-Clark
Thursday 10 October 2024 13:56 BST
The Light cinema group has been bought in a takeover deal led by Luke Johnson (The Light/PA)
The Light cinema group has been bought in a takeover deal led by Luke Johnson (The Light/PA)

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Hospitality entrepreneur Luke Johnson has led a buyout of cinema and leisure chain The Light.

The businessman, who is an investor in Gail’s bakeries, has acquired the group with his Risk Capital Partners firm, as well as fellow industry investor Melcorpo.

The Light, which was previously backed by Connection Capital, currently has 13 venues across the UK.

The new owners have said they plan to invest more than £15 million to support plans to double the size of the business over the next three years.

The deal, which is supported by a new large banking facility, will fully recapitalise the business.

We think the combination of cinema together with competitive socialising is a compelling offer for both consumers and landlords

Luke Johnson

The Light runs venues which offer bowling, mini golf, interactive darts, climbing and karaoke in addition to its core cinemas.

Mr Johnson said: “I have spent 40 years building businesses in the leisure and hospitality sectors, ranging from Pizza Express to Gail’s.

“We think the combination of cinema together with competitive socialising is a compelling offer for both consumers and landlords and believe the disruption facing the cinema industry provides opportunities.

“The Light model offers a long-term, exciting solution to the challenges facing high street and existing cinema locations rather than short-term fixes.”

James Morris, chief executive of The Light, said: “Our talented team have worked hard over the last few years to develop a commercially robust model which protects cinema, re-imagines entertainment and creates unique spaces.

“We strive to offer the best quality, value and experience, with each venue tailored to meet the needs of the local market.

“Our unique offer, strong covenant and diversified model allows to re-purpose space and strengthens the commercial deals for cinemas.

“We expect to announce our largest project to date which will re-purpose an old department store and deliver a strong cinema offer in the coming weeks.”

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