Omniplex group snaps up Odyssey for less than £10m

The Omniplex cinema group, controlled by the Anderson family, has agreed to buy the Odyssey Pavilion centre in Belfast from KPMG administrators for less than £10 million. It is understood to be planning to sink a "multiple" of the sale price into a revamp of the centre.

The deal for the Pavilion, which sits adjacent to the Odyssey Arena on Belfast's waterfront, is subject to approval from the board of the trust that controls the centre. The Pavilion was originally developed by Peter Curistan, who once owed Anglo Irish Bank up to €90 million.

If approved by the trust, the deal is likely to spell the end for Belfast’s largest nightclub, Box, which is located in the centre.

Mark Anderson, a member of the family that has dominated the Irish cinema business for years, said it will focus on "family entertainment" on the site.

Another member of the family told BBC that Omniplex is “not in the business of nightclubs” or of people “falling on to the streets at 2am”.

“We hope to make our presentation to the board of the trust perhaps early next month,” said Mr Anderson, who is the operations director of the Omniplex group, which also owns the Swan Centre in Rathmines, Dublin.

“We are a family entertainment company. That’s where our focus is going to be for the Pavilion,” he said.

The Odyssey comprises about 15 units and a 12-screen cinema complex. Mr Anderson said Omniplex, which operates more than 20 multiplexes on both sides of the border, will operate the Pavilion cinema unit itself and will act as landlord for the other units.

Dublin experience
"It's a huge development. We have experience of areas outside of the cinema sector, such as our redevelopment at the Swan and also of the Academy, where we have Twitter as a tenant," said Mr Anderson. Omniplex also recently acquired a retail park in Dundonald, in Northern Ireland.

Other large Omniplex sites also include bowling alleys, children’s adventure play centres and ice-skating rinks, and it is likely that many of these will be incorporated into the Odyssey.

Mr Anderson stressed that Omniplex will not close the centre during the revamp. Legal & General, which had been planning to buy the centre before a deal fell through, had previously indicated it would have shut the Pavilion for a period if its bid was successful.

It is understood the cinema at the Odyssey will require investment of “a few million”. The bulk of the capital expenditure required for the centre will be ploughed into a revamp of the retail units.