02 Private Public Partnerships (PPP)

This will almost certainly be an area you need to explore as part of your fundraising strategy.  Public Private Partnerships essentially look at ways of involving the private sector in public enterprises, in particular in financing arrangements but also in operation.  Many people will be familiar with this type of scheme in relation to provision of healthcare and public transport in the UK.  In the case of cinemas, in the original edition of At A Cinema Near You, there are a number of examples of such partnerships including financing of the FACT centre in Liverpool. Since then, there have been some success and some horror stories relating to PPP in the wider public sector, so you just need to be aware of the risks.

UK Business Angels Association

Due to the high risk and low return on cinema builds, venture capitalists are unlikely to finance cinemas. Most of the money is private capital with some public sector capital subsidy. However there are investors such as the Angel Investors who make investments in small businesses, generally at the start-up or early stage of development using their own financial capital.  They will often ask for shares in return for providing equity finance and can bring their own experience and contacts to support the growth of the business.  Angel investors can invest as individuals and sometimes as syndicates, enabling them to pool their finance and knowledge.

Annually, an estimated £850m per annum is invested by business angels in the UK.  This is more than 2.5 x the amount of venture capital invested in early stage small businesses annually. For more information visit their website here.