Independent cinema with 30+ year history up for sale

Ever wanted to know what it’s like to own a movie theatre?

The venue for Gympie Cinemas – the only place in the growing regional town to watch new films – is going up for sale, heading to auction later in September.

The cinema, which reportedly makes a profit of around $85,000 a year, will be sold with a minimum five year lease to its operators, who have helped the theatre operate for more than 30 years so far.

The 30 year-old Gympie Cinemas is up for sale, giving an investor the chance to own an independently operated theatre.

Located at 3/82 Monkland St, Gympie, the cinema is being offered on a minimum five year lease.

Original owners Paul McKeown and Tony Edwards developed the cinema, first named ‘Sovereign Cinema’, over the 1980s and 1990s, now modernised to seat up to 300 patrons.

The theatre’s two theatres are accompanied with a foyer and candy bar, with the building seated in the heart of the town and opposite Goldfields Plaza.

The property is being sold by portfolio auction with Burgess Rawson. Senior sales executive Craig Chapman said aside from its unique identity, the building offered a form of passive income that’s stood the test of time.

“It’s just a little bit different as a commercial investment,” he said. “The building itself is a beautiful old building in the centre of Gympie – it’s one of the more secure assets we have.”

Gympie Cinemas seats up to 300 patrons, following a revitalisation after its creation in the 1980s.

The cinema now has two theatres in a growing town with more than 300,000 people.

With a growing population exceeding 317,000 people, the property is expected to have an annual rental growth of 2 per cent, and is understood to sell for more than $1 million.

“I don’t think the movie business is ever going to go out of fashion,” Mr Chapman said. “There’s always going to be a cinema, even with Netflix and Stan. I think people want to go out and sit in a cinema seat, get the popcorn. I can’t see it going anywhere, and that’s one of the reasons it is secure.”

“There’s always going to be a cinema … people want to go and sit in a cinema seat, get the popcorn. I can’t see it going anywhere.”

The auction will take place on September 18 with Burgess Rawson, and is expected to sell for more than $1 million.

The auction for the cinema will take place on September 18.