A luxury cinema chain saw a boost in its earnings after opening a new venue in a 'brilliant' Buckinghamshire town.

In a consistently challenging economic climate for businesses of all shapes and sizes, luxury cinema chain Everyman seems to be resolutely bucking the trend that has caused some of its competitors to fold entirely in just the last twelve months. 

After opening a new venue at the top of Marlow High Street in September 2023, the Everyman group's earnings steadily grew, resulting in an annual increase of 19.1 per cent up to December 28.

The chain's growth was despite the second half of 2023 being "marginally affected" by Hollywood writer and actor strikes, which caused some releases to be pushed back to 2024.

Alongside the new Marlow cinema, Everyman also opened venues in Salisbury, Northallerton and Plymouth last year and acquired Tivoli venues in Bath and Cheltenham after previous owner Empire Cinemas fell into administration.

Alex Scrimgeour, chief executive officer of Everyman, said: “We have delivered robust, double-digit growth in both revenue and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) against a challenging economic backdrop, delays to new openings and both writers’ and actors’ strikes.

“Further operational progress has been made with improvements in all key metrics, illustrating that our proposition remains as relevant as ever.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our incredible venue teams and head office without whom the positive achievements of this year would not have been possible.”

READ MORE: How a town in Bucks helped create a Hollywood blockbuster

Speaking to the Free Press earlier this month, venue manager of the Marlow Everyman, Ana, said she was focused on making the cinema feel more like a community asset than a remote chain presence.

She also praised the friendliness of the town, adding: “So many people have come in to introduce themselves and welcome us, it’s been lovely.

“We’ve been steadily busy so far, especially on Friday and Saturday nights because some people come in to watch the films and others just come for food and drink.

“What I love about this company is that when you have an Everyman in Marlow, it becomes a Marlow thing. I think the town is brilliant and we’ll continue to support it in any way that we can.”