Merlin seeking £3.3bn market value

MERLIN Entertainments, the company that runs the York Dungeon, could have a market value of up to £3.3bn when it floats.

It expects to offer shares priced at between 280p and 330p and plans to use proceeds of around £200m to pay down debt.

London-based Merlin operates 99 attractions in 22 countries which it says makes it Europe’s biggest visitor attraction operator and the second in the world after Walt Disney.

It is planning to roll out more attractions, including the development of a Legoland Park in Dubai and in other locations in the Far East. It is also planning acquisitions in what it described as a “highly fragmented” market.

Chief executive Nick Varney said: “We believe that Merlin Entertainments has bright prospects for the future and, as we said in our Intention to Float announcement, the listing will provide us with the platform for our next stage of development. We look forward to embarking on the next stage of the process.”