Terror fears hit Merlin

THE owner of the London Eye and Madame Tussauds said terrorist attacks had hit visitor numbers at its most popular city centre attractions.

Merlin Entertainments said it had suffered from ‘significantly reduced demand’ at its Midway division – which includes the London Dungeon, Legoland and Shrek’s Adventure.

The fall in demand dragged down profits in the six months to July 1 – which came in flat at £50m. At Midway, operating profit fell almost 17pc to £57m. A suicide bomber murdered 22 concert-goers at an Ariana Grande gig in Manchester in May and three jihadis slaughtered seven and injured 48 on London Bridge and Borough Market the following month.

Merlin said the attacks had an immediate effect on demand, and it was still cautious about international visitor numbers over the key summer trading period.

Group sales increased 9.6pc to £685m. Visitors to Merlin’s attractions grew 6.2pc to 29.7m.