THE company behind the cinema at the Odyssey Pavilion in Belfast has said it will file for administration in the UK.
Cineworld said it will apply for administration for the London-listed company in July, which will see shares in the firm suspended.
But it stressed that the move will not impact UK operations for the holding company, with cinemas continuing to remain open as usual.
While it is the world's second largest cinema chain, Cineworld’s only site in Northern Ireland is located at the Odyssey Pavilion, now rebranded as Odyssey Place following a multimillion pound revamp.
The company also owns Ireland’s biggest cinema, located in Dublin’s Parnell Square.
It has 128 cinemas in total across the UK and Ireland.
Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US last year after being weighed down by its mammoth debts and weaker-than-hoped audience numbers.
The group, which also owns the Picturehouse brand, is moving forward with plans to restructure its near $5 billion (£3.9bn) debt pile to allow it to exit bankruptcy.
It is also looking to raise $800 million (£628m) through a rights offering and secure $1.46bn (£1.1bi) of new debt financing.
The restructuring plan is set to wipe out shareholders in the cinema chain in order to support its lenders and creditors.
Cineworld said: "Cineworld continues to operate its global business and cinemas as usual without interruption and this will not be affected by the entry of Cineworld Group plc into administration.
Read More :
[ Odyssey Pavilion partly closes for £17m redevelopmentOpens in new window ]
The group and its brands around the world - including Regal, Cinema City, Picturehouse and Planet - are continuing to welcome customers to cinemas as usual.
"The group continues to honour the terms of all existing customer membership programmes, including Regal Unlimited and Regal Crown Club in the United States and Cineworld Unlimited in the UK."
The company's shares have already plummeted by almost 99 per cent over the past five years, after being hit hard by the pandemic which forced it to close some of its sites.
In April, the group also scrapped plans to sell its businesses outside the UK, US and Ireland after potential bidders failed to meet the value desired by Cineworld's lenders.
It hopes to emerge from bankruptcy protection in July after receiving backing for its overhaul from most of its lenders.
