Merlin reveals the impact of attacks

MERLIN ENTERTAINMENTS, the owner of Madame Tussauds and Alton Towers, has laid bare the impact of last summer’s terror attacks in London.

In a trading update covering 2017, the group said it saw a 17 per cent plunge in visitors to its London attractions – which include the London Eye and the London Dungeons – after attacks took place.

This led to a five per cent fall in operating profit at Merlin’s Midway division last year to £152m, with like-for-like revenue dipping 1.2 per cent.

The group said: “After a strong start to the year, Midway like-forlike revenue growth slowed following the spate of terror attacks in the UK which particularly impacted trading in London.

“The attacks led to a significant and immediate decline in domestic visitation, with international visitation falling from the summer onwards.

“This resulted in an estimated 17 per cent drop in the London visitor attraction market over the key trading period.”

Merlin confirmed that it will now shift investment from Midway, which includes Madame Tussauds and Sea Life.

Between 2018 and 2021 it will put £100m of cash into developing new hotels instead.

On a group level, the company saw profits rise 4.8 per cent to £271m in 2017, helped by a record 66 million visits to its attractions around the world.

Revenue grew 11.6 per cent to £1.59bn and like-for-like sales rose 0.7 per cent.