Everything is awesome at Merlin as the Lego Movie boosts sales July 31, 2014 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 [...]
Merlin to open Legoland in Japan June 30, 2014 MERLIN Entertainments, owner of Alton Towers and Madame Tussauds, announced yesterday it planned to tap into the world’s second-largest theme park market by building a £185m Legoland site in Japan. The company, which floated last year, said it would invest £53m of cash into the Nagoya theme park. The remainder will be funded by Kirkbi, [...]
Merlin conjures up more visitors after UK listing February 27, 2014 NEARLY 60m people visited attractions operated by Alton Towers owner Merlin Entertainments last year, boosting revenues by almost 11 per cent. The visitor numbers, equivalent to the entire population of the UK, was up 10.7 per cent on 2012, with increasing numbers visiting Merlin attractions like Madame Tussauds, the Sea Life centre, Warwick Castle, Thorpe [...]
Merlin profits rise in wake of successful IPO February 27, 2014 Theme park company Merlin Entertainments has reported a jump in profits before tax to £186m for year ended 28 December, up £40m from the previous year. 2013 was an eventful year for the company with its flotation on the London Stock Exchange. The company reported strong growth in the number of visitors of 10.7 per [...]
Merlin to bring Shrek and Friends attraction to London February 24, 2014 Themepark company Merlin Entertainments and animation studio DreamWorks have announced the launch of a new "Shrek's Far Far Away Adventure" attraction. Based on the animated films, the attraction will join Merlin's five other brands – Legoland, Madame Tussaunds, Sea Life, The Dungeons, and The Eye. Shrek's universe is the most successful animated franchise of all [...]
Merlin plumps for 315p price for new shares November 7, 2013 SHARES in the Madame Tussauds owner Merlin Entertainments will start trading today following a sales process that had to be brought forward because it was going so well. Advisers to the float, which include Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Lazard, yesterday agreed a price for the new shares of 315p, valuing the firm [...]