Merlin Entertainments has today posted its trading performance for the 36 weeks ended 5 September 2015, including the key summer trading period of July and August.
The business has traded in line with revised expectations over the summer period, bringing revenue growth to 3.8% and like-for-like rise of 0.3%.
Legoland Parks continues to perform strongly, with like-for-like revenue growth of 6.7%, driven primarily by the two parks in North America and Legoland Deutschland. The new Lego 'Friends' themed areas at Legoland Windsor, California and Florida have been well received by guests, and have helped broaden the parks' demographics.
Alton Towers Resort, and to a lesser extent the UK Resort Theme Parks estate, has seen significantly reduced visitation following the accident at Alton Towers on 2 June. As anticipated, this has continued over the summer peak season, exacerbated by relatively poor weather in the UK in August, resulting in like for like revenues in the Resort Theme Parks Operating Group declining by 11.4% year on year.
New accommodation at Alton Towers Resort (the 125 lodge Enchanted Village) in 2015 and Chessington World of Adventures Resort (the 69-room Azteca hotel) in 2014 both contributed positively to partly offset the like for like revenue decline, resulting in overall revenue decreasing by 9.1%.
Nick Varney, Chief Executive Officer, said, “The trends we reported at the half year have continued throughout the summer. The performance of our Legoland Parks Operating Group has remained strong, with very positive guest satisfaction. However, this has been offset by the impact of reduced visitation across the Resort Theme Parks Operating Group, primarily at Alton Towers Resort, and Euro weakness impacting visitation at our London attractions.
“While near term challenges remain, the group is making good overall progress on its growth strategy. We have significant new investments planned across the estate and are well placed to deliver these in 2016 and beyond.”