12:01pm Thursday 7th January 2010
By Alex Lewis
CINEMA enthusiast James Hannaway is optimistic he will be able to raise the £1 million he needs to exchange contracts on the purchase of the former Odeon cinema next month.
He told the Review: “I am hopeful we will meet the deadline. There has been a lot of interest.
“Enquiries have reached over 1,000 since the public meeting on November 29.
“But in total we have to raise just over £3 million.
“A million is needed to buy the building, and another two million or so to restore and rebuild it.”
He has set up a company, The Alpha St Albans Ltd, adopting the cinema's original 1920's name, with a bank account to store funds.
Supporters willing to stump up £285 can become “members” with advance booking rights, while £1,000 will buy sponsorship of a seat .
Mr Hannaway said: “People who want to support can give as much or as little as they like.
“Sponsorship of the screen, projectors, sound system, lighting and digital equipment will be offered later in January, alongside the other essentials - carpets, curtains and box office systems.”
Mr Hannaway is hoping to raise money through loans and “investments” from supporters, but has discovered he has to structure these carefully to avoid falling foul of the Financial Services Agency.
He said: “Perhaps we should have researched this earlier, but I did not anticipate a difficulty in collecting money a second time to rescue another neglected cinema building and return it to the community.
“We anticipate handling loans and investments through a couple of stages.
“In the first instance in order to buy the freehold of the St Albans site and begin restoration we are seeking a limited number of investors who are prepared to invest shares in the newly formed cinema company or offer loans.
“At the top end we envisage those who are able and prepared to invest a minimum of £25,000.
““This is merely the first obstacle. No doubt there will be more, but we will endeavor to find a way round them, over them or under them.”
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