Ayr's former Odeon could reopen under another name as a UK cinema chain eyes up a move.
Ayrshire Live can reveal that negotiations have opened up between Odeon and Merlin Cinemas.
Chiefs at Merlin Cinemas have admitted that talks are ongoing over iconic picture house which screened its last film earlier this month.
Odeon bosses last month announced they were going to axe the cinema citing the venue was "no longer viable."
But Cornwall-based chain Merlin Cinemas have now stepped in to discuss the future of the Burns Statue Square theatre.
Should Merlin take over, Ayr would be their second Scots cinema alongside Merlin Cinema in Thurso in the north of the country.
In total Merlin boasts 18 sites across the UK, with the majority of its theatres lying on the south coast of England.
Merlin Cinemas Director, Geoff Greaves, told Ayrshire Live: “We are in negotiations with Odeon cinemas with regard to the Ayr Odeon, nothing has been concluded at this point.”
The move comes after local cinema-goers were left devastated by the closure of the Odeon.
A campaign launched last month in a bid to save it as residents vowed to fight to save the art-deco picture house dating back to the 1930s.
Read next:
- Man who 'sacrificed family home' in doomed business venture to turn former hotel and bar into residential property
- Teenager is in the final of Miss Great Britain
- Popular cafe closes its doors for good
- Six beaches receive national award as Scotland sizzles in warm spell
- Controversial new manufacturing facility nodded through
Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter
