Apollo Cinemas, the UK's largest independent cinema chain, has chosen Retail Logic to manage all of its payment card transactions. The roll out of the managed service supporting Apollo's 58 screens nationwide will be complete by the end of the year.
During the move Retail Logic will manage the migration from Apollo's legacy PDQ system to Retail Logic's industry-leading EFT (Solve/SE) and bank settlement (SilverFleet Payment) software. Authorisation for Customer Not Present transactions for tickets purchased over the Internet or by phone will be implemented in the following months.
"Payment processing is crucial to our business, and we needed a company with the systems and resources to grow with us as we bring new cinemas online over the coming months. Retail Logic was the obvious choice, offering a secure, reliable and scalable payment processing service," says Nick McKieran, Project Manager at Apollo Cinemas. "We can now commit more of our staff time and energy to providing the UK's best on-screen entertainment experience for our customers."
"Apollo leads a growing trend of businesses selecting our managed services to free up staff and IT resources," adds Mark McMurtrie, Marketing Director, Retail Logic. "Apollo has ensured the resilience of its payment systems and freed-up vital resources in one fell swoop. Crucially, our managed services operation has the flexibility and capacity to grow with our clients – the same basic software is also used by Europe's largest retailers.
"We're seeing an increasing number of companies across Europe looking to outside specialists to handle complex, resource-intensive, mission-critical IT tasks such as card processing."
Opening today, the new Apollo West End five-screen complex is the first new purpose-built cinema in London's West End for over ten years, and is part of a £70 million scheme set to enhance lower Regent Street.
The new cinema will bring levels of technical excellence, luxury and comfort not yet experienced by West End cinemagoers. Apollo believes this is a great opportunity to develop its new concept of high quality movie presentation with very high quality auditoria and seating.
Apollo Chairman Paul Gregg says: "London is particularly exciting as it will be our first site in the capital and we believe the quality and content of our new concept will be ideal for development in other cities throughout the UK, and will make a visit to the movies a special occasion once again".
Notes to Editors
About Retail Logic Managed Services:
Retail Logic's Managed Services group provides an outsourced online authorisation and large-volume EFT batch processing service. Transactions are processed at two locations with links to all major acquirers. The group provides services to a wide range of customers such as major DIY chains, utility companies, Internet Service Providers and currency services. The operation handles millions of transactions each month.
About Retail Logic:
The Retail Logic team has been providing payment processing software for more than 15 years. Covering any form of payment card and transaction environment, Retail Logic's software now handles more than £100 billion a year. Investment in people and research and development, together with a clear focus on the needs of retailers, have led to award-winning products and European market leadership.
About Apollo Cinemas:
Apollo Cinemas is the largest independent cinema exhibitor in the UK, currently operating eleven cinemas. An ambitious expansion programme will see seven new, purpose-built, multiplex cinemas coming on-stream in 2005. London's Apollo West End will be the first of these, coming on stream in August this year. The programme is designed to ensure that Apollo Cinemas maintains its leading position and, when completed, Apollo will operate at 13 cinema locations, with a total of 78 screens.
The company currently welcomes 2.5 million customers each year and is continually investing in the latest projection equipment and sound systems, along with audio description and soft subtitling for its disabled guests.
For further information, please contact:
Richard Fogg/Nick Head
Companycare Communications
+ 44 (0) 118 939 5900
richard@companycare.com/ nick.head@companycare.com
Andrew Thomas
+44 (0) 1252 776755
andrew.thomas@retail-logic.com
Web:- www.retail-logic.com
