Madame Tussauds owner Merlin feels terror chill in London
Shares in London Dungeon and Madame Tussauds owner Merlin tumbled on Thursday as its boss admitted that swathes of international tourists are shunning the capital in the wake of terrorist attacks across Europe.
Chief executive Nick Varney said that, in the aftermath of March’s Brussels airport bombing, the theme parks company “lost thousands of bookings from language schools” to some of its attractions in the capital, which include the London Eye.
He added that the attack’s timing was significant “as that’s when lots of people make bookings for holidays, so London is feeling the impact”.
After its update for the 26 weeks to June 25, Merlin was one of the biggest FTSE 100 fallers, dropping 11.7p to 462.3p.
Varney added: “This will endure during the summer but things will start to normalise and if the pound stays at a competitive rate, then that is one of the best bets for London recovering.”
The firm said last month’s Brexit vote had not hit trade so far, and overall visitor numbers rose 1.1% to 28 million.
Sales rose 5.3% to £573 million and pre-tax profits grew almost 1% to £50 million.
Visitor numbers to Merlin’s Alton Towers were down following the accident on the Smiler roller coaster that left four teenagers seriously injured last summer.
