CINEWORLD has secured £201million in credit to shore up its finances as it prepares to reopen its cinemas, including Poole’s 16-screen multiplex at Tower Park.

The move comes as the company prepares to publish results which will show the full impact of the lockdown on the business

It plans to reopen cinemas next month – but analysts are warning that attendance figures are likely to remain depressed.

Cineworld said the new deal with unnamed institutional investors “further strengthens the group’s balance sheet as cinemas begin to reopen around the world”. It comes a month after the group secured £90m by extending a revolving credit facility.

Cineworld announced in May that it plans to reopen all its UK cinemas in July, with Christopher Nolan’s new film Tenet expected to be one of its first releases.

The company said: “With the easing of lockdown restrictions in key jurisdictions, Cineworld is excited to welcome customers back to cinemas and enjoy the best place to watch a movie.”

The new funding announcement also comes amid the threat of a costly legal battle after Cineworld pulled out of a £1.6billion takeover of Canadian chain Cineplex.

Earlier in June, Cineworld said it was terminating the plan after “certain breaches” of the acquisition deal.

The takeover would have created North America’s largest chain of movie theatres to better compete with Odeon owner AMC Entertainment.

On Friday, Cineworld is set to file its latest set of quarterly results and reveal the full impact of months of theatre closures.

Last week, a report by rating agency Moody’s warned Cineworld and other chains could struggle even after reopening as Britons spend more time at home.

“Attendance will likely remain low at least for a few months due to social-distancing measures or moviegoers’ health concerns,” Moody’s vice-president and senior credit officer Gunjan Dixit said.

Cineworld’s main rival, Odeon – which has 10 screens at BH2 in Bournemouth – has said it intends to begin reopening in July, but has not given exact dates.

Odeon’s parent company, AMC Theatres, has said it will not be screening Universal films after the studio said it would be releasing films digitally at the same time as their big screen openings.