Page "Cineworld" Paragraph 1

The first Cineworld opened in Stevenage, Hertfordshire in July 1996 ; the second, in a purpose-built location in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, followed in November 1998.

Additional sites were opened at a steady rate throughout the late ' 90s and early 2000s ; in 2005, Cineworld also took over the UK and Ireland operations of French cinema company UGC.

( As part of the merger, seven locations were sold to Empire Cinemas, due to UK fair trading law: Birmingham Great Park, Bishop's Stortford, Ealing, Slough, Sunderland, Swindon and Wigan.