Cineworld UK intends to float on the London Stock Exchange by summer this year, for an estimated £450m.

A spokesperson for the cinema group said on 10 May that it wishes to “proceed with an initial public offering of ordinary shares to certain investors in the UK and elsewhere outside the US”.

JPMorgan Cazenove and Lehman Brothers are acting as joint sponsors and coordinators.

Cineworld was acquired by The Blackstone Group in October 2004 and it purchased UGC’s UK and Ireland cinema operations that December.

The group is the UK’s second largest cinema operator and currently has 79 cinemas under the Cineworld brand. As of January 2006, the group’s portfolio represented around a quarter of cinema screens in the UK.

In the 52 weeks to 29 December 2005, the group increased revenue from £260m in 2004 to £272m and EBITDA from £38m in 2004 to £44m.