Founded in 1961, the venue, known throughout as Ekraan ("screen") had belonged to the Forum chain of cinemas since 1998. Forum recently announced the cinema's closure, citing falling attendances even before the coronavirus pandemic arrived.

Tartu Postimees (link in Estonian) reports that no sale price is known and that an Estiko subsidiary, KEK Arendus OÜ, had had its eye on the property for some time.

Estiko CEO Kristo Seli told Postimees that there was little else the property, which he said was in a good location, could be used for other than to show movies, although screens and other capital items have already been removed from the site, on Riia 14 in Estonia's second city; the current situation did not make this a certainty, however, he added, noting that use as a conference center might theoretically be viable.

Headquartered in central Tartu, Estiko Grupp's main fields of activity include the production of packages and packaging materials, accommodation services and energy production, in addition to real estate development and management, the company says on its website.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!