The former EMD cinema in Walthamstow has been bought by a pub company, it has emerged.

Antic Ltd, which owns the Red Lion in Leytonstone and the Leyton Technical, has purchased the grade II-listed building in Hoe Street from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG).

Campaigners had hoped the historic venue would be sold to the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust (WFCT), working in conjunction with Soho Theatre, which planned to re-open it as an entertainment venue.

UCKG yesterday confirmed the sale to unnamed buyer following failed attempts to gain permission to turn the building into a place of worship.

WFCT and Soho Theatre said it had met with Antic, describing discussions as “positive and productive”.

In a joint statement, Steve Marmion and Mark Godfrey, directors of Soho Theatre, and WFCT chair Neil Gerrard said: “Following news of the private sale of the former Granada, Soho Theatre have held an initial meeting with the new owners, Antic, and this was positive and productive.

“We hope and believe that we share a commitment to seeing this important building brought back to life as a cultural and entertainment centre in the heart of Walthamstow, and for this to run alongside Soho Theatre’s important education work in the borough," they added.

“We look forward to further discussions with them as to how we can facilitate this and will be able to say more about the detail of that very soon.

“Meantime, we thank all those that have worked so hard to campaign and remain hopeful that we can secure a positive outcome for this important community building.”

 Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy, who opposed UCKG plans and backed a campaign for the building to be used as an entertainment venue, said: “I believe the residents of Walthamstow would love to see Antic working with the Waltham Forest Cinema Trust and Soho Theatre in keeping with all the hard work done by the council and the Trust members to try to bring the building back as a cinema and performance space.

“In the weeks to come I will do all that I can along with the community to help make that happen. For twelve years we have dreamed of restoring the EMD and now Antic have the opportunity to help us turn this to a reality.”

The cinema closed and has been unused since 2002.