Alton Towers ‘continues recovery’ after difficult years

Alton Towers is enjoying a “continued recovery” after a difficult few years, according to its owner Merlin Entertainments.

A high-profile accident in 2015 resulted in life-changing injuries to two people and a £5m fine while terrorist attacks in the UK in 2017 dampened demand after a promising start to the year.

Merlin was relegated from the FTSE 100 last November after its shares lost one-third of their value in five months.

A trading update to the stock market this morning was upbeat about the group’s operating performance, although currency movements resulted in pre-tax profits falling 14% to £43m.

Merlin’s chief executive Nick Varney said: “We have had strong customer reception to our product investments and we continue to see the anticipated recovery at Alton Towers.

“Having so far traded in line with expectations we are now entering our peak season where we generate the majority of our annual profit. With many exciting new initiatives and launches to come in the future, we remain confident in our long term prospects.”

Merlin last month opened Legoland Discovery Centre at Arena Birmingham and is launching the Bear Grylls Adventure at the NEC later this year.

Merlin’s Resort Theme Parks division, which includes Alton Towers, saw organic revenue grow by 9.7% in the 26 weeks to June 30, which it credited to successful product investment, the continued recovery at Alton Towers and favourable weather.

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