115 jobs lost as theme park enters administration

Wicksteed Park, the Northamptonshire theme park, has entered administration with over 100 jobs lost.

The Wicksteed Charitable Trust, which owns Wicksteed Park, has launched a fundraising appeal in a bid to save the park in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wicksteed Park is the oldest theme park on the UK mainland and one of the oldest in the world.

The move has meant the loss of 48 permanent staff and 67 part-time and other jobs.

Earlier this year, Wicksteed revealed plans to create 100 jobs by unveiling an expansion programme.

Now, backed by the Wicksteed Charitable Trust, a small group of employees has formed a new company, much reduced in size, to try and safeguard the future of the park.

The decision to call in administrators comes after the government announced the closure of the hospitality and leisure industry, hitting seasonal businesses particularly hard.

Oliver Wicksteed, chairman of the Wicksteed Charitable Trust, said: “We are all devastated by what has happened and the effect this will have on our staff, their families and our visitors.

“We fully appreciate the effect this decision will have on staff members who have already been through months of uncertainty and difficulty due to Covid-19 and we are working hard to ensure they have access to the support and advice they need at this time.

“We are working hard to enable the park to continue but the reality is that without urgent significant support Wicksteed Park will not survive as we know it.”

The Charity has said it will try to continue funding the opening of the park and Pavilion.

The Charity has also pledged to honour any bookings for forthcoming events as well as annual passes and will endeavour to retain functions and shows in the park Pavilion as soon as government guidelines allow and it is practical.

Oliver Wicksteed said: “The new company, funded by the Trust, is a much streamlined business aimed at getting the park through to next spring when it can hopefully start to re-open fully but we need people’s help, support and understanding in order to try and make that happen.

“The costs of the old business were crippling and could not be sustained with the huge loss of revenue already suffered this year. Even if park rides opened in July, the costs of social distancing measures and the reduced capacity at which the park would have had to operate, would have meant it was unlikely to be financially viable.”

The charity says it has invested millions in recent years to secure a sustainable future for the park. Mr Wicksteed said that this level of investment had affected profitability over the last two years and that, coupled with the prospect of no profitable trading for a whole financial year, had meant the Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) was not an option.

He said that the company would not have been able to afford the repayments on a “huge” bank loan whilst maintaining charitable output such as free access to playgrounds and parkland.

“There has been no meaningful Government support for charities such as ours – apart from the Government furlough scheme.”

He acknowledged that even with the furlough scheme the company had still needed a substantial amount of additional money each month simply to continue operating the country park alone, even without the its rides and attractions.

He added: “We have been overwhelmed by messages of support received from people across the country during the current crisis and would like to thank people for their continued backing and loyalty.”