Some people have taken a smug pleasure in the store group's demise. They have enjoyed the discomfort experienced by private equity group Apax, which ploughed more than£20 million into the venture. They take the collapse as evidence that the financiers don't really know anything much about retail and are only any good at privatising well-established businesses. Serves the greedy vultures right, they think.
That view could not be more wrong. The cash provided for Silverscreen was venture capital funding in its truest sense. There was risk, but the money was stumped up to support an imaginative and innovative idea fronted by hard-working entrepreneurs Sebastian James and Ernesto Schmitt.
Errors were certainly made at Silverscreen, not least the inflated prices paid for property in the rush to gain scale. The rent bill for the 65-store business, set up in 2003, was more than£11.5 million a year.
But it would be a pity and a mistake if Silverscreen's collapse scared investors away from young companies. Retail is crying out for good ideas. It's amazing how often, when asked which shops really excite them, directors of quoted store groups come out with something along the lines of: 'There's this little shop in Nowheresville and it's great because -'
The appeal of small companies that might become big ones puts a gleam in the eye of the most influential investors often associated with the most audacious deals. Furniture chain Lombok, for instance, is being backed by Pi Capital - the investment business whose members include heavyweights, such as private equity king John Lovering and Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Rose.
And on Tuesday, Barclays Venture and Lloyds TSB injected another£8 million into 99p Stores, founded by Whistlestop entrepreneur Nadir Lalani, to double store numbers to 90 within two years.
Sure, some new retail ventures will hit the buffers. But despite the failure of Silverscreen, Apax deserves more cheers than jeers for backing the business.
Long may the VCs continue to take risks in the hunt for great rewards, otherwise the Tescos of tomorrow may never see the light of day.
The stores sector's troubled relationship with property firms is changing the retail landscape in unexpected ways.
Property costs were one of the nails in the coffin of Silverscreen and Actif, the fashion group that went into administration this week.
But the most dramatic evidence of the unsustainability of the existing property regime was DSG International's decision to remove the Dixons fascia from the high street and set up shop entirely online. There are no landlords in cyberspace - whether there are big profits there for DSG will soon be evident.
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