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Investment success for Ultimate Picture Palace
Success for Oxford's only independent cinema as it hits target on share offer raise via Ethex.
The Ethex team are celebrating the exciting news that The Ultimate Picture Palace (UPP) in Oxford will now be community-owned cinema and is looking forward to an exciting new chapter in its 111-year history.
At the end of April, The Ultimate Picture Palace launched its biggest campaign yet. The UPP and the Ultimate Picture Palace Community Cinema (UPPCC), the Community Benefit Society set up to launch the share offer, invited the local community and film lovers all around the UK to save Oxford’s only independent cinema from being sold on the open market and, instead, have their chance to own a part of this historic business.
Built in 1911, The Ultimate Picture Palace is Oxford’s oldest purpose-built cinema and one of the oldest cinemas in the UK. The cinema’s fascinating history and its highly regarded ethos for eclectic programming at a low ticket cost has cemented the UPP’s role as a haven for film lovers and a priceless community resource.
The UPP’s last owner Becky Hallsmith reasserted the cinema as a cultural landmark within the East Oxford community. Due to Becky’s death in 2018, however, the cinema had to be sold and it was her wish that it become community-owned. A group of passionate locals and the cinema’s staff worked hard for four years, as well as through the challenges presented by COVID-19 during the last two years, to ensure this has now become a reality.
Margaret Wolf, UPPCC Committee member on the completion of the campaign:
“Today we add a new historic date in the cinema’s long and hugely-loved life. The campaign has now ended hitting not only its minimum and optimum targets (£280,575 and £312,575 respectively), the campaign has achieved the heady heights of £366.585 thanks to an incredible 1265 investors and even more supporters. It’s been a long hard four years but this is undeniably the best outcome we could have ever hoped for, thank you!”
Micaela Tuckwell, Executive Director, Ultimate Picture Palace, added:
“We are so very grateful to everyone who has supported and invested in our campaign to secure our beloved UPP’s future. This uniquely historic cinema is now truly owned by a community that clearly treasures it so much. It’s a huge relief that we can now, after two years of uncertainty, move forward with confidence to continue to run the cinema in the way that has captured so many people’s imaginations, loyalty and support. Not only this, but thanks to the phenomenal support that has taken us to our maximum target, we can also now greatly improve on the UPP, making it more accessible to the wider community, and creating an even more enjoyable and comfortable watching experience. Essentially, the UPP really is about to become the best it has ever been in its 111-year history. Long may it continue! We’d also like to say a big thank you to all the staff and volunteers who have worked so hard under the uncertainty to help promote the campaign and keep the cinema going. This new chapter is set to be its most exciting one yet.”
Lisa Ashford, CEO of Ethex added:
“We were honoured to be approached by the Ultimate Picture Palace to run their community share offer on the Ethex platform. As our offices are located nearby, we are aware of the importance of this independent cinema for the community in Oxford. We knew of the local support for the UPP and are delighted that this has translated into investment and many new community owners for the cinema! We wish the team and supporters of UPP a bright and long future in East Oxford."
The campaign was also generously supported by £20,000 of Ethex Match Funding provided by the Postcode Innovation Trust (a charity supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery) and an award of £20,000 from The Community Shares Booster Fund (a funding scheme to support community share offers that is funded by Power to Change, and delivered in partnership with Coops UK, Locality, Plunkett Foundation and Co-operative and Community Finance.)
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