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Bubbles and moving seats to be introduced as part of Cineworld's O2 refurb

UK cinema chain Cineworld has revealed that extension and refurbishment work has begun at its O2 Greenwich site where it plans to add extra screens and immersive 4DX seats.

The chain is expanding the number of screens at the Greenwich venue from 11 to 18 as well as introducing its 4DX technology to the cinema, which provides cinemagoers with immersive features such as moving chairs, wind, scent and water.

According to Cineworld, the newly expanded venue is expected to be completed by 2018 along with similar refurbishment efforts at its Ipswich, Northampton and Solihull sites.

The London-headquartered cinema operator also revealed in its half-year report to the stock exchange this morning that expansion at its Leicester Square cinema was continuing, with a new 4DX screen and foyer area expected to be completed by the end of the year.

It comes after a bumper first half of the year for Cineworld, which saw adjusted pretax profit jump by over 22% in the first six months of the year, rising to £50m from £41m last year.

Mooky Greidinger, chief executive of Cineworld Group plc, said: “We are very pleased to report our results for the first half of 2017 - showing strong growth in admissions, revenues, EBITDA and profit after tax.

“I believe that the six months results clearly reflect our strategy and a good quality of film slate.”