Vue International (otherwise known as Vue Cinemas, and stylised as vue), formerly SBC International Cinemas, is a British multinational cinema company operating in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Taiwan. The company was founded in May 2003 by the acquisition of Warner Village Cinemas by SBC and the subsequent rebranding of the business as Vue.
As of 2018, the company has 228 cinemas and 1,989 screens internationally, including in the United Kingdom 271 3D screens, 11 Extreme Screens, 7 Gold Class screens, 3 Scene Screens and Bars, and 3 IMAX screens.[1]
The parent company Vue International expanded through a number of acquisitions, including the Ster Century chain, Apollo Cinemas and Multikino. In June 2006, Vue’s executive team completed a management buy out with the backing of Bank of Scotland Corporate,[2] taking a 51% stake in the business and buying the four remaining Warner Village sites it had been operating under contract from Village Roadshow.
The company was bought by the private equity firm Doughty Hanson & Co in 2010.[3] In June 2013, Doughty Hanson & Co announced the sale of the company to the Canadian firms Alberta Investment Management Corporation and OMERS for ?935 million.[4]