Charlie Loughnan: business consultant on the sale of Christchurch boutique cinema Academy Gold

Now, an iconic Christchurch cinema is selling after 30 years of family ownership. The Academy Gold Cinema in Sydenham has been at its current site since 2013 after quakes closed the last location. The family says it's time to move on. Charlie Loughnan is a business consultant and a family member helping to sell the cinema, and he's with us. Hi, Charlie. Hi, Heather. Why are they selling?

Oh, it's time, I think. So I've been in the business a long time now. Annette, who's the proprietor of the business, she's 75, health's getting on a bit. And I think having the cinemas in general, the cinema industry has hit pretty hard by COVID, so it's taken a long time to recover from that. And it's a longer ride than most businesses, but it's back and it's trading well. It's been going for a good couple of years and it's now time to perhaps pass the baton on to someone new to put their mark on it.

Who do you reckon would want to

buy a cinema? Oh, actually, it's been astounding how many people have come through with inquiries on this. But it really suits either an existing operator who's looking for another venue or someone who's just a movie aficionado, which is where these guys had come from. And Ethan Rodney, when they bought the cinema 30 years ago, that was what their background was. They loved movies and just loved the passion of being able to select movies and put them on and talk to people about them all day long.

Just because, Charlie, of where cinemas are, like where the sector is, it feels like it's been in the decline for a long time. It feels like the people who are currently in the cinema business are people who've been there for a bit and have sort of managed to keep their businesses going despite that. But do you think that there is an opening here for somebody young to come in who maybe wants to, I don't know, find some scale in it?

Oh, without a doubt. Look, the big cinema operators are spending large on investing in their cinemas because the economy, certainly in Christchurch, is doing very, very well, and people are out doing it. The movie industry has been hit by all of those things that have come along, the videos, the DVDs, the streaming services, and they all take a wee bit of a hit, but people always go back to going out to the

movies.

It's the quintessential date night thing. And it's really a good quality night out with friends. It's quite a simple thing to go and do.

But it's now becoming luxe, eh? Like I noticed the guys in Wellington, the Reading Cinema guys, they are stripping out what they've got because, of course, the building's all earthquake prone and whatnot. And they're putting in the luxury offering that so many of the boutique cinemas have with the comfy chairs and the food to your seat. That's really where it's at now, isn't it?

Yes, of course. That's right. And so the movie industry has had to evolve. It's no longer 1,000-seat halls. I mean, the cinemas that the Academy have are three cinemas, one of 25 seats, one of 49, and one of 64. So they're not big. They are comfortable and luxurious, and we offer a different level of movies, perhaps maybe a little bit more arthousey, something a little different to go and do,