Everything is awesome at Merlin as the Lego Movie boosts sales
Theme park owner Merlin Entertainment said The Lego Movie’s runaway success this year helped boost already strong growth at its six Legoland parks and increase visitor numbers.
The owner of the London Eye and Madame Tussauds said operating profits rose 10 per cent £71m in the first half of the year to 28 June.
Visitor numbers jumped by 6.6 per cent to £27.5m while revenues rose 6.1 per cent to £513m.
“There has been strong momentum for some time now… Clearly, we benefitted from the increased awareness around movie launch, which was launched Legoland in California,”chief executive Nick Varney said.
Merlin has ramped up new hotel openings at its sites, with a hotel due to open at Chessington World of Adventures in August and Legoland San Francisco next year.