CINEWORLD FEELS THE FORCE AHEAD OF US DEAL

CINEWORLD has approached shareholders for £1.7bn to fund its £2.6bn blockbuster takeover of US cinema chain Regal Entertainment, as it revealed a stellar 2017.

Top- grossing films Star Wars ( starringDaisyRidley,pictured), Beauty and the Beast and Dunkirk lifted admissions by 10.3pc last year, with overall revenue up 11.6pc.

As cinema-goers like to sip coffee as they watch, it opened five Starbucks, and sales from coffee, popcorn and soft drinks rose 15.6pc.

Cineworld confirmed it was beginning to tap shareholders to raise money to buy Regal, creating the second-biggest cinema group in the world. It will have 9,500 screens in ten countries and enable Cineworld to enter the lucrative US market.

The deal, which is expected to complete by the end of March, is being financed through a mix of debt and the equity raising from investors.

The results come amid reports that Britain’s biggest cinema chain, Odeon, hopes to list on the London Stock Exchange this summer, valuing it at around £1.5bn.