In 1999, Tim Richards left Warner Bros. International Theatres in LA to start a new exhibition company, known at the time as SBC International Cinemas (SBC).

By 2002 SBC had established six new sites, four in the UK and two overseas and in 2003 the acquisition of Warner Villages UK Cinemas was completed - adding a portfolio of 36 sites and 353 screens to the company.

It was at this point that SBC was renamed Vue Entertainment (now Vue International) - which immediately established itself as one of the UK’s best run and most innovative exhibition companies. Boston Ventures were the hugely supportive venture capitalist and private-equity firm that backed the start-up in 1999. They were joined in 2003 by Clarity Partners from Los Angeles and Legal & General from London.

2006 marked the successful management buyout and sale of the shareholdings of previous investors Boston Ventures, Clarity Partners and Legal & General Ventures to Vue International and Bank of Scotland.

In 2010, a stake of the company was sold to private-equity firm, Doughty Hanson & Co.

Vue International was acquired by OMERS Private Equity (OPE), the private equity investment arm of the OMERS pension plan, and Alberta Investment Management Corporate (AIMCo) in 2013 in equal share who remained owners until the recapitalisation in 2023.