Mason Moore & Vaughan Moore | 16 April 2022

A FORMER Hinckley cinema, based on the corner of Trinity Lane and Upper Bond Street, has quietly been placed “under offer”, the Free Press have learnt.

That is according to a property listing on the Savills website, who are the estate agents and letting agents that have been tasked with managing the currently derelict cinema, the land that it occupies, and viewings for the site.

This makes for an interesting development as when a property is marked as “under offer” it simply means that an offer has been accepted, but the contracts have not yet been exchanged.

It was just two months ago back in February, eagle-eyed passers-by had noticed that a ‘for sale’ sign had appeared atop the landmark former cinema and sports bar building.

And, on the blue ‘for sale’ sign, it was advertised as a ‘development opportunity’, with all who were interested being encouraged to call Savills directly on 0115 934 8152.

Much-needed love and care would need to be put in to the fixing the building, if any plans do arise, as it is filled with rotting wood, asbestos, and sharp materials.

It is a building that Hinckley Police’s top cops are all too familiar with, after many instances of them meeting with ‘urban explorers’ inside, who have been warned to ‘stay out’ but continued to gain unauthorised access, by removing security grates.

In recent years, officers have warned against trying to go in, time and time again, and they have even stressed how the building is now “a death trap” in its current state.

The inside of the building can be viewed on their website for the first time since 2004, through an interactive 360 tour, which was recorded by estate agents on an official visit, giving people a chance to have a ‘sneak peek’ inside of the building legally.

The last owners of the building were a firm from Warrington, named APV Leisure Limited, who acquired the site for an ‘unknown sum’ sometime in 1995 with help from the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland, who were their lenders.

It was last used as a sports bar named All Bar Sports from 1998 through to 2004.

Since its closure, many efforts and attempts have been made to try and put the building back in to use.

Most recently, back in 2016, plans were lodged with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council (HBBC) for a retail development on the land, though plans were halted.

The current interested party has not been publicly made available, but the Free Press will keep you updated on any further developments as soon as they become available.