Going local
For the Really Local Group it goes beyond putting cinemas back on high streets. Each location is chosen based on detailed research and, crucially, must serve as a catalyst for community engagement and commercial regeneration. David Leck went to meet the team at the company’s newest site.
The Australian songwriter Peter Allen (Hugh Jackman won a Tony award for playing him on Broadway) wrote that Everything Old is New Again. Take a walk down certain high streets in the UK and his words ring true. And thankfully so after a turbulent few years.
If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember cinemas that could consume an entire block. They started as huge venues seating upwards of a thousand filmgoers (or more) before often being divided into smaller screens until they closed the red velvet curtains and shifted to the perceived holy grail of shiny out-of-town retail parks.
Fast forward and a global pandemic, new ways of working, and a consumer increasingly aware of community and the environment, and the cinema has been making a return to towns without one for 30 years.
The new film-going experience, though, has been flipped on its head by an audience demanding, not just great product (powerful film slates make or break local cinemas), but comfort and the best in picture and sound quality.
The shift was on its way pre-Covid as could be seen by the march of independent operators such as Curzon and Everyman, but one player is making its mark with a business ethos that chimes very much with the times in which we live.
When Preston Benson came to the UK from the States in 2005, he saw so many high streets were identical so, 11 years later, when he had the opportunity to set up his own business the overriding desire was to do something different.
“We want to build infrastructure that is welcoming and can bring in all different groups and communities. And location is crucial,” says Benson, who has a long-career in development, commercial and finance – and even a spell as a business development manager at Deloitte.
The Really Local Group’s first site was at Catford Mews in southeast London – a town blending a rich cultural heritage with post-war brutalist architecture (and one that had previously been home to three multi-screen cinemas).
“The clue is really in our name,” adds Benson. “We chose Catford because we believed we could bring something to the community and work with what was already there, such as the existing architecture, to create something both vibrant and a catalyst for positive change.”
The company also operates Reading Biscuit Factory, Ealing Project and Peckham Levels, with Sidcup in the final stages of fitting-out. Ealing occupies a former night club, Reading Biscuit Factory was previously an Argos, and Sidcup will - somewhat ironically - be born out of a former Blockbuster store, lay empty for years. To come are developments in Bermondsey, Sutton, Hayes and Canning Town.
But what does that community-inspired drive look like as part of the business model?
“That will depend on the site and will grow organically once it’s up and running as we respond to what that community needs and wants,” says Benson.
“In Catford, for example, we’ve worked with local creatives and specialist food retailers to blend their offering into the experience. At Sidcup, where we share the space with a new library (the development has been appropriately named Storyteller), we’ll be looking to welcome local groups who want to use the space for meetings and events where hire rates are affordable and they can grow to be part of something wider that benefits everyone.”
“Of course, the pandemic was devastating and the repercussions continue, but if we are to take any positives from it then one is certainly people really engaging with their local community again. They’re spending more time at home and in their towns so, with that, commands a renewed demand for services.”
When fully-open this spring, Sidcup Storyteller will feature three screens equipped and kitted out to the highest standards, the aforementioned library and event spaces, a café bar, and flexible working areas. At the rear of the site are nine residential flats developed in partnership with Bexley Council.
And it’s certainly impressive without in any way blotting the landscape as some back-to-the-high-street developments can be prone. The entrance leads to a stylish area for refreshments but it’s an abundant use of glass and high ceilings that give the development a feel that is both modern and welcoming.
Sidcup was a prime location for Preston Benson and a team that includes expertise gained at Everyman Cinemas, Cineworld, Vue, and the iconic Curzon Mayfair. Not only did all its research identify a demand, but it’s also a town with a ripe catchment and has its own cultural fabric with two well-regarded performing arts schools whose alumni include Gary Oldman and Stephen Graham.
“Although delayed by the pandemic, Sidcup Storyteller is another exciting opening for us. Each of our venues is unique in conception, execution and branding (you’ll look hard to see the Really Local Group name) so they come to a high street with an individuality that allows it to do what we’re all about – becoming a focal point of that community,” adds Benson.
“Of course, the pandemic was devastating and the repercussions continue, but if we are to take any positives from it then one is certainly people really engaging with their local community again. They’re spending more time at home and in their towns so, with that, commands a renewed demand for services.”
It’s also, of course, the changing face of retail that has seen independent cinemas not only evolve but set the standards, as Crispin Lilly, the Really Local Group’s business development director cited in an interview with industry bible Screen Daily last year.
“When I first entered the industry three decades ago, it was at the start of the huge exodus out of the high street — everything was about creating new purpose-built, aggregated, food-and-beverage and entertainment spots on the edge or out of towns,” says Lilly.
“And even when the multiplexes started looking to come back into town, they were doing so as part of huge malls, and very much fuelled by retail. But that square footage simply isn’t there now. Not only have you got ghost malls, but there are also areas of towns of all sizes where there is so much vacant space. The big format of anything doesn’t work anymore. You’ve got to be cuter; you’ve got to be cleverer.”
It's a brave move opening any new business venture with the UK economy stagnant and the price of just above every good and service rising. Given the way it tackles everything else, it comes as no surprise Benson and his team have carefully considered the complex issue of pricing. Something once considered a “cheap date night” had grown to become an expensive one.
“As with our other sites, Sidcup will follow the same pattern with affordable ticket prices and fantastic discounts for members,” says Hollie Bradley, the company’s head of marketing and someone who spent seven years at Vue Cinemas during which the slashing of ticket prices (at a time when multiplexes were often charging more than double) resulted in a significant increase in business.
“Now, more than ever, people want to go out and watch films as part of that communal experience you only get in an actual cinema. And customers also expect the best seats, great picture quality, pristine sound and a great overall experience. And that’s what we’re doing. We are also focusing on bringing live and community-based events to the venue to add another dimension to the Sidcup Storyteller offer.”
So far, the company’s ambitions have been centred around Greater London, but what of the future?
“As I said, it’s all about location – that has to be the starting point and it has to be in places where we feel we can add value and, yes, make a difference,” says Preston Benson.
“We have a number of sites coming forward but see no reason why we can’t take a model that is clearly working and that people love nationally and even internationally. And we’re always keen to hear from anyone with suggestions of where we might consider next.”
Peter Allen had it partly correct but, as far as cinema-going is concerned, not only is the old new again but it’s back better, more customer-focused and - as far as the Really Local Group is concerned - with a laudable purpose.