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Merlin Entertainments: General Discussion

AT86 said:
So what’s actually left that Merlin still operate at their theme parks?

Ticketing/Entrance, rides and retail is that it?

Photography, food and beverage, entertainment and now landscaping, cleaning and maintenance (excluding rides) are now all outsourced?
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Accomodation, life guards (at Splash), animal keepers (Towers and Chessington... Just), car parks, H&S / safeguarding and security (?).

I am very much grasping at straws.
 
Dave said:
I’m no expert but it does baffle me how this saves Merlin money, but there must be some business logic to it.
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I don't understand big business (*hears Goose approaching... oh no...*), but I suspect the main driver is simply to remove staff from payroll. Even if day-to-day running costs go up, there seems to be a large desire from big business to minimise headcounts, and outsourcing like this is a great way to reduce your staff base.

In this case, removing multiple departments across the UK no doubt removes hundreds of staff :(
 
Islander said:
I don't understand big business (*hears Goose approaching... oh no...*), but I suspect the main driver is simply to remove staff from payroll. Even if day-to-day running costs go up, there seems to be a large desire from big business to minimise headcounts, and outsourcing like this is a great way to reduce your staff base.

In this case, removing multiple departments across the UK no doubt removes hundreds of staff :(
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Like you I'm no business expert, but as well as this, I suspect another reason is that they are also protecting themselves from fluctuations in staffing levels and associated costs. I'd imagine there is a flat rate involved here that Merlin are paying OCS for their services and for that OCS have committed to a minimum required level of staffing. If they fall short of that due to illness, or they need more because of other reasons, then its down to OCS to bridge those gaps and find replacement/extra staff which they can do from their pool of staff that's on their payroll. So there is a chance that we may not see as many staff shortages because its in OCS's interests to get people to the park to work when needed (over and above the minimum levels) to keep within the contract. The same as RWS; they'll have a [country wide] bank entertainers to call upon if they need more at the park due to illness or whatever, whereas if its all in-house, Towers only has their pool of employed staff to call upon which if many of them are already on holiday or off ill, there isn't much chance of getting replacement staff.

I'm sure @GooseOnTheLoose will correct us and/or explain this in a much more eloquent way! ;)
 
For reasons I’m not entirely sure of, agency staff frequently come out of a separate budget pot to permanent staff, so in Merlin’s case, outsourcing decreases headcount and makes the staffing cost lower while still having the same amount of people doing work for them.

How that saves them money, I’m not sure, but having the money come from a different pot may look better on the balance sheet.
 
Islander said:
*hears Goose approaching... oh no...*)
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From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGYYijgtN5E

Dave said:
I’m no expert but it does baffle me how this saves Merlin money, but there must be some business logic to it.
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On the surface, paying a third party, who also needs to make their own profit margin, to do a job you were already doing seems counterintuitive. There are savings and value which could come from removing the hidden costs of employment and transferring risk.

If you pay a cleaner £12 an hour, they cost the business significantly more than £12. You have Employer's National Insurance contributions, mandatory pension contributions, holiday pay, sick pay, uniform costs, training costs, HR administration time, and payroll processing fees. If you outsource, all of those variable headaches become a single, predictable line item on an invoice. Merlin no longer employs these people, OCS does.

There are also savings to be had with economies of scale. Merlin buys a lot of toilet roll and bleach. OCS buys significantly more. As a dedicated FM giant, OCS has purchasing power that dwarfs Merlin's. They can procure the consumables, machinery and equipment needed to maintain the parks at a unit cost far lower than Merlin ever could.

Risk transfer and accountability are also points to consider. If a Merlin employed gardener calls in sick or does a bad job, it is Merlin's problem to find cover or manage performance, costing management time and money. Under an outsourced contract, there ought to be an SLA. If the bins aren't emptied or the grass isn't cut to the specified standard, Merlin doesn't have to hold a disciplinary hearing. They can withhold payment or demand service credits. The headache of staffing levels becomes OCS's problem, not Merlin's.

Investors and private equity firms (hello Blackstone / Kirkbi) love efficiency metrics. One key metric is usually Revenue Per Employee. Removing hundreds (or thousands) of lower paid operational staff from the books keeps Merlin's revenue the same, but their employee count drops drastically. Suddenly, on paper, the company looks significantly more efficient and productive per head. This is usually classic trimming the fat behaviour ahead of a potential future sale or floatation, but I don't want to pour fuel on the fire of those rumours again. (Though if forced to pick, I'd possibly say a possible float again).

Theoretically it creates a leaner organisation that focuses purely on its core product (brand?), whilst letting someone else worry about the bins... the food... the entertainment... the theming construction...
 
Not very exciting but I noticed a change with OCS already at towers last week, in the toilets the Hand dryers have changed, and have stickers on them with OCS. So I imagine we may see more bits like this, like when Aramark took over they have all their ow till systems installed rather than Merlin’s.
 
So I had noticed something with Merlin’s recent animatronics, more particularly in Animal Treasure Island at Gardaland. As @GooseOnTheLoose described in the WoDW thread, the animatronics are quite frankly rejects from a crappy seaside ghost train
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They have incredibly limited movement, move really slowly, and literally have really stiff joints. I understand money is a problem at Merlin, but the fact that we went from the insanity of animatronics in the UK from Chessington in the ‘90s (Vampire’s Organist, 5th Dimension’s Zappomatic and Smuggler Cove’s Drunken Sailor) to **** like this bamboozles me.
 
Fammy said:
So I had noticed something with Merlin’s recent animatronics, more particularly in Animal Treasure Island at Gardaland. As @GooseOnTheLoose described in the WoDW thread, the animatronics are quite frankly rejects from a crappy seaside ghost train
image0.jpg

They have incredibly limited movement, move really slowly, and literally have really stiff joints. I understand money is a problem at Merlin, but the fact that we went from the insanity of animatronics in the UK from Chessington in the ‘90s (Vampire’s Organist, 5th Dimension’s Zappomatic and Smuggler Cove’s Drunken Sailor) to **** like this bamboozles me.
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Heavily disagree Animal Treasure Island has awesome large scale animtronics and a lot of them not they are not rejects from a seaside Ghost Train
 
One for some of the armchair experts on here. Merlin are looking for a Strategy Director to work closely with Fiona and the wider leadership team.

The Role

The Strategy Director plays a critical role in shaping Merlin’s future growth. You will lead major strategy projects across brands, attractions and markets, solving complex business problems and translating insight into action.

Working closely with the CEO, Executive Team and senior leaders across the business, you will help ensure the organisation’s agenda remains focused on delivering Merlin’s strategic priorities. From growth acceleration and channel strategy to loyalty, portfolio and brand strategy, your work will directly influence executive decisions and long-term value creation.

This role combines rigorous analytics, structured problem-solving and compelling storytelling, with a practical mindset focused on implementation and measurable outcomes.

Key AccountabilitiesStrategy Development

  • Lead the development and execution of strategic initiatives aligned to Merlin’s long-term objectives and growth priorities.
  • Apply structured problem-solving to identify opportunities, develop strategic frameworks and create execution roadmaps grounded in feasibility and impact.
  • Partner with senior leaders and cross-functional teams to define strategic goals, prioritise initiatives and allocate resources effectively.
  • Build robust business cases and financial models to evaluate strategic options and investment decisions.
  • Manage strategy projects end-to-end, from inception through to implementation and delivery.
CEO Office & Executive Cadence


  • Manage the overall business calendar, ensuring alignment between strategic initiatives, go-to-market plans and key governance forums.
  • Ensure agendas and materials for Executive Board and Main Board meetings are focused, strategic and decision-oriented.
  • Partner with senior stakeholders to deliver high-quality outputs on time and to a consistently high standard.
Data-Driven Decision Making


  • Champion analytics and data-led methodologies to shape business strategy.
  • Translate complex data into clear, actionable insights that inform executive decisions.
Collaboration & Leadership


  • Collaborate with commercial, operations and digital teams on strategic initiatives that optimise performance and growth.
  • Provide thought leadership, strategic guidance and best practice to teams across the organisation.
  • Share insights, tools and methodologies to strengthen strategic capability and decision-making.
Communication


  • Deliver clear, compelling written recommendations with a strong action orientation.
  • Present confidently to senior leaders and the Executive Team, translating complexity into clarity.
About You


Qualifications & Experience

You are a high-calibre strategy professional with the credibility, curiosity and drive to operate at executive level and deliver tangible results.

You’ll Bring

  • A Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, economics or a related field.
  • 3–4 years’ experience at a top-tier consultancy (eg MBB) or 5–6 years in a strategy role within a leading FTSE100 organisation.
  • Proven experience leading strategic initiatives in fast-paced and complex environments.
  • Strong analytical capability with advanced Excel and analytical tool expertise.
  • Exceptional communication and presentation skills, particularly in PowerPoint.
  • Executive presence and the ability to challenge, influence and advise C-suite stakeholders.
  • A practical, delivery-focused mindset with comfort managing ambiguity and complexity.
  • Experience managing change programmes, implementation roadmaps and cross-functional delivery.
 
Of course they don't mention experience within the tourism industry as being preferable for the role.

As it mentions how 'critical' the role is for Merlins future growth, you'd have hoped they'd only be looking for someone with a thorough understanding of the sector they're in.
 
Jb85 said:
Love the fact a huge company like Merlin is still reliant on advanced Excel skills.
Might apply for this one myself !
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You’d be surprised, I feel, at how much Excel is still used in industry.

Even with programming languages being a thing, loads of analysts in industry still work primarily in Excel; in my workplace, quite a few people pull SQL snapshots into Excel and do most of their data manipulation in Excel rather than in SQL itself or a programming language like Python!
 
The MBB consultants Merlin is asking for are going to laugh at the salary being offered. The description reads as if they're trying to bolt a Chief of Staff role onto the strategy commitments. The cynic in me thinks that this role has been created to be the fall person for whatever happens to the business over the next few years.
 
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