A NIGHTspot chain has acquired an interest in the freehold of a doomed cinema.

National company Luminar says the Odeon, Middlesbrough, is "a landmark leisure site".

The four-cinema picture house is closing, with the loss of 29 jobs, because of the imminent opening of an 11-screen competitor on an adjacent site.

Luminar Leisure, of Luton, which already has two operations in the town, has stepped in, although the company has not decided yet what to do with the old Odeon, which closes in June this year.

A spokeswoman said: "Luminar will be considering development on this landmark leisure site. Currently no applications have been made, and we are looking at the brands within our portfolio, and the provision of leisure in the Middlesbrough area, before making any decisions.''

Company representatives have already met Cleveland Police chiefs.

Last week, Superintendent Graham Strange, head of licensing, appealed to Middlesbrough Borough Council to reject future applications for public entertainment and late licences.

Middlesbrough council says it works closely with the police and will continue to do so, while looking at each licence application on its merits.