Founded in 2010, Centre for the Moving Image (CMI) incorporates three wholly owned subsidiaries, all of which are also in administration: The Edinburgh International Film Festival Limited (EIFF); Belmont Filmhouse Limited in Aberdeen and Filmhouse Trading Limited, which is the trading and hospitality arm of the Edinburgh Filmhouse.

The CMI and all three subsidiaries have ceased trading with 102 staff unfortunately being made redundant with immediate effect as follows: The CMI – 58; Filmhouse Trading – 22; Belmont Filmhouse – 20 and EIFF - 2. A total of 107 staff were employed across all four businesses. The balance of 5 staff will be retained to assist with the administration process.

The CMI and its subsidiary companies have faced extremely difficult and deteriorating trading conditions for some time and in particularly throughout and following the Covid pandemic. The CMI had become heavily reliant on various government-backed emergency funding packages and support measures during the pandemic however audience figures failed to recover and are down by more than 50% since pre-Covid.

The businesses have more recently been severely affected by the widely documented problems of escalating operating costs and overheads with soaring energy charges and inflation adding to unsustainable cash flow problems and debt with administration being the only option.

The joint administrators will now focus on marketing the assets for sale, including the iconic Edinburgh Filmhouse building on Lothian Road and are asking any interested parties to make prompt contact with the Edinburgh office of FRP Advisory.

The administrators will also seek to transfer the brand and trademark of EIFF and again interested parties should make prompt contact. They will move promptly to support the staff with any applications to the RPO (Redundancy Payments Office) for outstanding wages and/or holiday pay, and with accessing external employment support and training agencies, such as PACE.

Joint administrator Tom MacLennan, said: “Centre for the Moving Image was central to the development and promotion of Scotland’s thriving film industry and the catalyst behind many learning, cultural and development initiatives that widened the enjoyment and reach of film across Scotland. Unfortunately, CMI and its three subsidiary businesses have been severely affected by a wide range of factors that have rendered all businesses unsustainable and administration was the only option. We are hopeful that businesses already operating in the film industry or entrepreneurs looking to enter the film industry will be encouraged to register their interest in the assets.”

A spokesman for the board of the CMI added: “The board is proud to have led the CMI through incredibly challenging times in particular during the worst days of the pandemic. Unfortunately, the combination of sharply increasing energy and other costs, together with the lasting impacts of the pandemic and the rapidly emerging cost of living crisis affecting cinema attendances means that we have had no other option but to appoint administrators.

“We would like to put on record our immense gratitude to the entire staff team whose passion for film as an artform and for the audiences and communities we work with and serve has remained undented by the challenges of recent years. We’re fully aware that this will be an exceptionally stressful time for them.”