Summer sunshine boost for Alton Towers theme park owner
Alton Towers amusement park owner Merlin Entertainments has high hopes for its new Bear Grylls Adventure in Birmingham and its Pepper Pig attraction in Shanghai.
Unveiling a mixed bag of results of the year so far, it admitted that the summer heatwave hit visitor numbers at its indoor attractions like Madame Tussauds, but its resort theme parks like Alton Towers, Warwick Castle, Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventure saw "particularly strong trading", up nine per cent, as families flocked to enjoy the sunshine.
The Bear Grylls Adventure, at the NEC, opened in the autumn after a £20 million building project.
Merlin operates sites around the world, but has a string of attractions in London, including the Eye, Dungeon and Shrek's Adventure. As predicted, takings in London declined in the first half of Merlin's financial year – a hangover from the terror attacks of 2017. But summer trading showed early signs of recovery with " increasingly consistent, if modest, year on year growth reported in recent weeks".
Nick Varney, Merlin Entertainments' chief executive officer, said: "Group trading has been in line with expectations, with variances by operating group reflecting the diversified nature of the portfolio."
The Midway attractions – Madame Tussauds, Sealife Centres and Legoand Discovery Centres, enjoyed growth of 4.7 per cent as it opened six new attractions and 644 accommodation rooms, which were boosted by a growing trend towards short breaks.
Mr Varney said: "The impact of terror attacks which adversely affected performance from early 2017 has started to abate and we have seen early signs of recovery in the London tourism market over the summer.
"We are excited by the recent launch of our two new Midway brands – The Bear Grylls Adventure in Birmingham, UK, and Peppa Pig World of Play in Shanghai. It is too early to comment on their commercial success, which as for all new brands could take time to build, but the attractions look fantastic and we are pleased with early guest feedback."
He added: "The cost environment remains challenging, with tighter labour markets in many parts of the world adding to the pressures resulting from legislative changes such as the National Living Wage in the UK. Our productivity agenda remains a key area of focus, and it is testament to our teams that, despite these cost pressures, we have continued to deliver excellent levels of guest satisfaction overall.
"The underlying fundamentals of our markets are strong and we remain excited by the global opportunities that Merlin enjoys."
The bottom line for today's trading update was that performance so far this year is in line with expectations and the company's outlook for 2018 is unchanged.
It was braced for a slowdown at its Legoland attractions after years boosted by Lego movies and new investment, but it has seen success for its new Legoland in Japan.
Its resort parks enjoyed strong trading in the first half of its year and that continued throughout the summer. The company said: "Weather in Northern Europe has remained favourable, particularly when compared to 2017, and we have enjoyed the benefit of strong product investment, which included the 'Wicker Man' wooden roller coaster at Alton Towers, and 'Peppa Pig Lands' at Gardaland and Heide Park."
