Depot

What Depot does

Depot is an independent, community-owned cinema and hospitality venue in Lewes, East Sussex, England, operated by Lewes Community Screen, a registered charity (charity number 1150757). The single-site venue comprises three cinema screens (Screen 1 with 142 seats and Dolby Atmos sound across 32 speakers, Screen 2 with 128 seats, and Screen 3 with 38 seats) alongside a full-service restaurant, cafe, cocktail bar (Robert's Bar), and hireable event spaces including the Gallery, Studio, and Walled Garden. Programming spans mainstream releases, art house and independent films, world cinema, documentaries, classics, live arts broadcasts from the Royal Opera House, Royal Ballet and National Theatre, and recurring film clubs (French Cinema Club, Book to Film, Homegrown, Cinelogue, KnitFlicks, Rascals, Kino Collective).

The business operates a multi-stream revenue model combining transactional cinema ticket sales (£3.50-£25 depending on format and audience), restaurant and bar F&B, an annual membership (£45 yielding four free tickets plus 10% off subsequent tickets), venue hire for weddings, corporate events, wakes, and private screenings, courses and workshops (screenwriting, filmmaking, photography, film appreciation), gift vouchers, and a £250 seat-sponsorship scheme. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the venue's website calendar, phone booking (£1/ticket fee), box office (no fee), and walk-in traffic, with restaurant reservations managed through OpenTable.

Depot's competitive positioning rests on three pillars: accessibility leadership (Selwyn Goldsmith Award for Universal Design, universal ground-floor design, infrared hearing systems, autism-friendly, relaxed, and audio-described screenings), sustainability credentials (Creative Green Highest Achievement 2020, Big Screen Green Screen Award 2022, four-out-of-five-star Julie's Bicycle certification), and programming depth anchored by national cultural-institution partnerships. The venue's customer base is distributed across general cinema-goers, families with young children, accessibility-focused audiences, F&B customers, event hirers, and film education students, with no disclosed enterprise-anchor dependency.

Name

Depot

Legal name

Lewes Community Screen

Website

https://lewesdepot.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Depot is a community-owned independent cinema and hospitality venue in Lewes, UK, operating three screens (including Dolby Atmos), a restaurant and bar, and hireable event spaces under registered charity Lewes Community Screen. It serves local cinema-goers, families, accessibility-focused audiences, event hirers, and film students through diverse programming and live-arts broadcasts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Cinema & Hospitality Services

NAICS

Motion Picture Theaters (except Drive-Ins) (512131), Motion Picture and Video Exhibition (51213)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Screenings & Venue Rentals (Corporate, Parties) (MPADAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conference Centers & Dedicated Meeting Venues (THAHAAAB), Venue & Facility Reservations (Private Rooms, Event Spaces) (HSACALAJ)

Keywords

• Independent cinema screenings
• Restaurant and bar
• Venue hire services
• Film education workshops
• Live arts cinema

Headquarters

HQ city

Lewes

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Cinema Ticket Sales: Primary revenue from selling cinema tickets across three screens. Standard pricing varies by day and time, with discounts for concessions, under 25s, and members. Live arts events priced at £25.
2. Food & Beverage: Restaurant, cafe, and bar sales including brunch, lunch, dinner menus, and drinks. Restaurant serves from breakfast through dinner with local and seasonal ingredients.
3. Membership: Annual membership at £45 per year, offering four free tickets and 10% off subsequent cinema tickets.
4. Venue Hire: Rental of cinema screens, Robert's Bar, Gallery, Studio, and Walled Garden for private events including parties, weddings, wakes, meetings, conferences, and private screenings.
5. Gift Vouchers & e-Gift Cards: Paper gift vouchers and e-gift cards sold for cinema tickets, valid for 12 months.
6. Sponsor a Seat: Seat sponsorship program at £250 for 10-year plaque engraving.
7. Courses & Workshops: Educational courses and workshops including filmmaking, photography, screenwriting, and directing workshops at various price points.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Depot operates a multi-functional independent cinema, restaurant, and bar venue in Lewes, East Sussex, offering film screenings across three screens (mainstream, art house, independent, and live arts broadcasts) alongside a full-service restaurant and bar, and hireable event spaces. The venue is run by registered charity Lewes Community Screen and is supplemented by venue hire, courses/workshops, film clubs, and an annual membership program.

Product overview

Depot is a multi-screen independent cinema and venue in Lewes, East Sussex, operated by Lewes Community Screen (registered charity #1150757). The offering consists of three cinema screens (Screen 1 with Dolby Atmos and 142 seats, Screen 2 with 128 seats, Screen 3 with 38 seats) as the core product, supplemented by a full restaurant, cafe, and bar service. Additional venues include Robert's Bar (cocktail bar) and hireable spaces (Gallery, Studio, Walled Garden). Seasonal programming includes Dalliance (summer outdoor music and street food events), Supper Clubs (film-themed dining), and various film clubs. Educational offerings include filmmaking and screenwriting courses and workshops. The venue also offers venue hire for private screenings, events, and celebrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dalliance: Summer outdoor live music and street food event series running May to September, featuring live music performances and street food vendors on the terrace.
• Robert's Bar
• Supper Club
• Homegrown
• French Cinema Club
• Book to Film Club
• KnitFlicks
• Cinelogue
• Rascals
• Kino Collective
• RBO (Royal Ballet & Opera)
• NT Live

Products and services

• Cinema Screenings Daily film screenings across three cinema screens (Screen 1 with 142 seats and Dolby Atmos, Screen 2 with 128 seats, Screen 3 with 38 seats), covering mainstream, art house, independent, world cinema, documentary, and classic films for the Lewes community and visitors.
• Live Arts Cinema Live and recorded broadcasts of opera, ballet, and theatre performances from institutions including The Royal Opera House, Royal Ballet, and National Theatre, screened as part of the Live Arts Cinema programme at £25 per ticket.
• Restaurant, Cafe & Bar Full-service restaurant offering breakfast through dinner with seasonal menus built around locally-sourced ingredients, plus a bar serving beers, ales, ciders, wines, spirits, and soft drinks for both cinema-goers and walk-in diners.
• Robert's Bar Chic Hollywood-glamour cocktail bar within Depot offering expertly crafted cocktails and wine tastings; can be hired for private events and adjoins Screen 3 for private screenings.
• Dalliance Outdoor Events Summer outdoor live music and street food event series running May to September every Saturday and Bank Holiday Sunday, featuring rotating street food vendors and live musicians on the Depot terrace.
• Supper Clubs Film-inspired dining experiences pairing a curated film screening with a themed meal inspired by the movie's locations and themes, served in the Depot gallery space.
• Film Clubs Recurring specialised screening series including French Cinema Club, Book to Film Club, Homegrown (British Independent Cinema), Cinelogue (arthouse and cult films), KnitFlicks, Kino Collective (youth-led), and the Rascals family programme.
• Courses & Workshops Educational programmes led by Education Manager Anthony Gates covering filmmaking for kids and teens, screenwriting, photography, The Art of Directing, and Introduction to Film Appreciation, delivered in the studio and gallery spaces.
• Venue Hire Hire of cinema screens, Gallery, Studio, Walled Garden, and Robert's Bar for private screenings, parties, weddings, wakes, meetings, conferences, and industry events, with in-house restaurant catering available.
• Annual Membership Annual membership programme at £45 per person per year, providing four free cinema tickets, 10% off subsequent standard cinema tickets, and other cinema benefits for frequent customers.
• Gift Vouchers & e-Gift Cards Paper gift vouchers in £10 adult or £5 under-25 denominations and digital e-gift cards reloadable with any monetary amount, redeemable against cinema tickets for 12 months.
• Sponsor a Seat Permanent seat sponsorship programme at £250 providing a personalised three-line metal plaque engraving on a cinema seat for 10 years as a charitable contribution to Depot.
• Parent & Baby Screenings Weekly Monday screenings exclusively for parents and carers with babies under 12 months, with babies attending free and a free hot drink included, designed as a relaxed environment for new parents.
• Accessible Screenings Specialised cinema screenings including autism-friendly, audio-described, descriptive subtitles, and relaxed screenings, supported by infrared hearing systems in all three auditoria and the venue's Selwyn Goldsmith Award-winning universal design.

Quantifiable outcome

• Selwyn Goldsmith Award for Universal Design - recognition for accessibility excellence
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Royal Opera House, Royal Ballet & National TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDepot screens live broadcasts from The Royal Opera House, Royal Ballet, and National Theatre as part of its Live Arts Cinema programme. This includes opera productions (Macbeth, Carmen, La Fanciulla del West, Götterdämmerung, Così fan Tutte, Tosca) and ballet performances (Manon, The Nutcracker, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet).
• Small World CinemaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDepot works in partnership with Small World Cinema to bring interactive workshops for toddlers and film events as part of the Rascals family programme.
• Otherfield Film FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Otherfield Film Festival to screen three insightful documentaries from contemporary documentary filmmakers, introduced by documentarian Jerry Rothwell.
• Fourth DoorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFourth Door produces the Fabricateur series of events at Depot, exploring materials and making. The second event in the series featured artist LR Vandy discussing rope materials.
• Oska Bright Film FestivalminorOthersVideo walkthrough of Depot accessibility features produced with thanks to Sarah Watson from Oska Bright Film Festival.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Curzon: UK independent cinema chain focused on arthouse, world cinema and event cinema with café/bars in many sites. Comparable independent-leaning, programming-led positioning, scaled across multiple locations.
• HOME: Manchester arts centre with two cinema screens, restaurant/bar and event hire. Directly comparable mixed cinema + restaurant + venue hire model targeting a regional cultural audience.
• The Lexi Cinema: Small independent social-enterprise cinema in Kensal Rise, London, screening arthouse and mainstream films with strong community programming. Closest structural analogue to Depot as a small-format, mission-driven independent cinema.
• Watershed: Bristol-based independent cinema and media centre combining cinema screens, café/bar and cultural programming. Closely comparable mission-driven multi-functional community cinema + cultural hub model.
• The Prince Charles Cinema: Single-screen independent repertory cinema in central London focused on cult, classic and event programming. Comparable independent, programming-led model with cult/arthouse specialisation.
• The Gate Picturehouse: Single-location independent-feeling boutique cinema in Notting Hill, London, with café/bar and curated arthouse programming. Directly comparable small-format independent cinema with F&B and curated cultural focus.
• Broadway Cinema: Nottingham independent cinema, café and arts venue with a similar community-led, multi-format programming ethos and venue hire operations. Comparable regional independent cinema + arts + venue hire profile.
• The Electric Cinema: Historic independent cinema in Birmingham and London with seated service dining in auditoria. Closely comparable premium independent cinema + F&B model targeting a similar adult cultural audience.

Broad incumbents

• Everyman Cinemas: UK boutique cinema chain known for in-seat dining, sofa seating and premium positioning. Larger incumbent operating in the same premium independent-cinema-with-hospitality niche.
• Picturehouse Cinemas: UK boutique cinema chain (including The Gate, Ritzy, Hackney Picturehouse) with full restaurant/bars and event cinema programming. Larger-scale incumbent operating in a similar independent-leaning, premium-F&B space.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/lewesdepot
• Facebookfacebook.com/DepotCinema
• Instagraminstagram.com/lewes_depot

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Depot