The UK’s Really Local Group, the company behind five London community cinemas Catford Mews, Reading Biscuit Factory, Ealing Project, Sidcup Storyteller and Throwley Yard Sutton, has entered liquidation.
Really Local Group venues aimed to transform derelict retail units and abandoned spaces into multi-use community spaces, combining cinema, live performance and café-bars.
The company’s first venue, south London’s Catford Mews, opened in 2019. It was closed by Lewisham Council on October 29, with the council claiming the group had run up arrears of over £650,000 since 2019 and accusing the company of failing to pay its bills.
Sutton venue Throwley Yard was shut down by the council this month, around a year after opening.
The Reading, Sidcup and Ealing venues also shut earlier this year.
According to Companies House, the Reading Biscuit Factory, Ealing Project and Catford Mews all closed with debts of around £2m.
A statement from the group’s representative said the London venues hired over 700 local employees and sold 1.5 million cinema tickets.
“The UK is being hamstrung by an anti-business environment at local government level,” said the group founder, US entrepreneur Preston Benson. “For a model like ours to thrive, councils must act as partners. Instead, we encountered malicious obstruction that made long-term investment and operation impossible. Entrepreneurs aren’t a threat; we are often the only ones willing to take risks to revive struggling high streets. We proved the model works. With the right environment, it could have transformed dozens more high streets across the UK.
“Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how the business failed; it did, and I take full responsibility for that,” Benson added. “Cinemas close every week with barely a whimper. Our very public challenges over the past year generated a roar. This is a testament to both our model and incredible venue teams who have endured a great deal: you deserved a better ending. I will never forget the loyalty you have shown and hope, someday, to repay you. Really Local Group pioneered a new model with clear-cut results that show the future of cinema will always be really local.”
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