MERLIN OFFLOADS AUSTRALIAN SKI RESORTS

MERLIN Entertainments is selling its Australian ski resorts business to an American firm for £95m.

The Alton Towers and Legoland owner has offloaded the business to Vail Resorts so it can focus on its tourist attractions and theme parks.

Vail Resorts will buy Falls Creek and Hotham in Victoria, Australia, leaving it with three of the largest ski resorts in the country including Perisher Ski Resort in New South Wales.

Merlin, which also owns Thorpe Park, Madame Tussauds and Sea Life Centres, has been struggling to boost profits amid dwindling visitor numbers. In August the firm blamed the warmer summer weather for a 14pc drop in its half-year profits to £43m.

It has also been grappling with the fallout of a roller-coaster crash at Alton Towers in 2015 which seriously injured several people.

Nick Varney, chief executive of Merlin Entertainments, said the agreement with Vail Resorts ‘will allow us to focus specifically theme parks and Midway attractions [Madame Tusaus, Sea Life].’

Shares fell 1.2pc, or 4.4p, to 361.6p.