2026: General Discussion

[jonhotboy2023]

I think the bluey coaster looks great there done A good job on theming I’m to old to do it so I will enjoy looking at it when I go

 

[Squiggs]

Actually... an interesting question. If the X-Position Food Tucks have now been relocated to Fountain Square, does that mean the site at the bottom of X-Sector is now empty again? (i.e. has the X-Position signs been taken down, etc?)

 

[Ash]

Some flats for anyone 0.9m and up who want to do more than CBeebies Land is far more a necessity over YET another thrill ride.

Non coaster rides, ride availability and sorting the food out should all be achievable goals.

Flat rides (thrill and family)
Boat rides
Walkthroughs
Cinemas
Shows
Exhibits
Omni-movers

All are drastically lacking and could be improved with not vast amounts of capex

4D cinema
Dungeons re-theme
X Sector flat (Indoor breakdance)
Pirate Ship (Mutiny Bay)
Towers historical walkthrough
Chapel AV show/exhibition
Museum area within the towers with shop

Would do untold good to improve the park, offer year round, all weather, all ages capacity with often low associated Opex costs

No reason all of that couldn’t be done in a year or two.

 

[Jb85]

Non coaster rides, ride availability and sorting the food out should all be achievable goals.

Flat rides (thrill and family)
Boat rides
Walkthroughs
Cinemas
Shows
Exhibits
Omni-movers

All are drastically lacking and could be improved with not vast amounts of capex

4D cinema
Dungeons re-theme
X Sector flat (Indoor breakdance)
Pirate Ship (Mutiny Bay)
Towers historical walkthrough
Chapel AV show/exhibition
Museum area within the towers with shop

Would do untold good to improve the park, offer year round, all weather, all ages capacity with often low associated Opex costs

No reason all of that couldn’t be done in a year or two.

I genuinely believe as @GooseOnTheLoose has said it’s not down to the will - it’s staffing

All the above would take a lot of staffing - at a huge cost. But i genuinely don’t think the staffing is available

 

[dave___]

Actually... an interesting question. If the X-Position Food Tucks have now been relocated to Fountain Square, does that mean the site at the bottom of X-Sector is now empty again? (i.e. has the X-Position signs been taken down, etc?)

I guess X Sector will remain empty for a while and the food trucks will stay at the square to cover/fill in for whatever they are doing with the Burger Kitchen building?

 

[Jb85]

Leading on from my other point two posts ago

I firmly believe AT is suffering primarily because of this government (and the lasts) poor choices

Im an FD for a SME factory - and I tell you now when a factory supervisor wants £16.50 and hour plus NI costs pension and the like - it’s no wonder AT cannot attract staff at minimum wage in a rural location

 

[JAperson]

Leading on from my other point two posts ago

I firmly believe AT is suffering primarily because of this government (and the lasts) poor choices

Im an FD for a SME factory - and I tell you now when a factory supervisor wants £16.50 and hour plus NI costs pension and the like - it’s no wonder AT cannot attract staff at minimum wage in a rural location

I understand this, and that you know your stuff with regards to business finances, what I am unsure of is if the Government can really do anything that's actually fair to employees or the country as a whole that helps this. I certainly don't think reducing minimum wage is remotely fair, or even going to fix this issue, nor is reducing the small increase in NI and pension. I think the new plan to get young people into work, with the government funding or partially funding placements, could be hugely helpful for Merlin, and they could perhaps get some more staff busses going. Really Merlin fundamentally need to increase operating budget of Towers, and allow them to introduce a pay and conditions increase too to retain staff but with Merlin's current financial state, I don't think borrowers would like them doing this, but @Jb85 you'd know more? (even if the park does make a profit, surely it's subsidising loss making parts of Merlin.
I think they really are in a difficult situation with this, and frankly if I were them I would look to try basically anything to increase staff and look at ways of retention, whether they can find a way to retain slightly more staff over the closest season without loosing to much money, as an example, or something along those lines, to give people more stability.

 

[Ash]

Leading on from my other point two posts ago

I firmly believe AT is suffering primarily because of this government (and the lasts) poor choices

Im an FD for a SME factory - and I tell you now when a factory supervisor wants £16.50 and hour plus NI costs pension and the like - it’s no wonder AT cannot attract staff at minimum wage in a rural location

Although I understand the point.

How do Paultons, Blackpool and Drayton make it work?

How much are they shelling out servicing Merlin’s other bad decisions? Or land rents? How much revenue have they given up to Aramark?

They’ve saved a fortune on staffing costs shutting all these rides. That money has gone somewhere.

It may be unreasonable but same old same old from Merlin just isn’t acceptable for me anymore

 

[Bert2theSpark]

I understand this, and that you know your stuff with regards to business finances, what I am unsure of is if the Government can really do anything that's actually fair to employees or the country as a whole that helps this. I certainly don't think reducing minimum wage is remotely fair, or even going to fix this issue, nor is reducing the small increase in NI and pension. I think the new plan to get young people into work, with the government funding or partially funding placements, could be hugely helpful for Merlin, and they could perhaps get some more staff busses going. Really Merlin fundamentally need to increase operating budget of Towers, and allow them to introduce a pay and conditions increase too to retain staff but with Merlin's current financial state, I don't think borrowers would like them doing this, but @Jb85 you'd know more? (even if the park does make a profit, surely it's subsidising loss making parts of Merlin.
I think they really are in a difficult situation with this, and frankly if I were them I would look to try basically anything to increase staff and look at ways of retention, whether they can find a way to retain slightly more staff over the closest season without loosing to much money, as an example, or something along those lines, to give people more stability.

It was very much an active decision to increase Employee National Insurance costs because it’s not a tax that’s directly felt by the employees payslip. Same reason why numerous British governments have pursued high VAT on consumption, because it’s already factored into the price and is seen as a ‘stealth tax’.

A land value tax would make the world of difference, but the aristocracy in the UK really wouldn’t like that because they can’t find a loophole around it. The more money in the consumer’s pocket gets re-circulated in the economy, the rich just save it and it compounds.

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

I understand this, and that you know your stuff with regards to business finances, what I am unsure of is if the Government can really do anything that's actually fair to employees or the country as a whole that helps this. I certainly don't think reducing minimum wage is remotely fair, or even going to fix this issue, nor is reducing the small increase in NI and pension. I think the new plan to get young people into work, with the government funding or partially funding placements, could be hugely helpful for Merlin, and they could perhaps get some more staff busses going. Really Merlin fundamentally need to increase operating budget of Towers, and allow them to introduce a pay and conditions increase too to retain staff but with Merlin's current financial state, I don't think borrowers would like them doing this, but @Jb85 you'd know more? (even if the park does make a profit, surely it's subsidising loss making parts of Merlin.
I think they really are in a difficult situation with this, and frankly if I were them I would look to try basically anything to increase staff and look at ways of retention, whether they can find a way to retain slightly more staff over the closest season without loosing to much money, as an example, or something along those lines, to give people more stability.

Contrary to popular belief, operationally Merlin is still robustly profitable. The business generates a strong underlying EBITDA (over £500m in 2024).

Its reported net losses are driven by the massive £380m annual cost of servicing debt from the 2007 Tussauds acquisition and the 2019 transition back to private ownership.

The recent statutory losses have been further exacerbated by non-cash accounting write downs on brand values, masking the fact that the core estate continues to be a profit generating machine..

The credit downgrades we saw at the end of last year were standard market responses to a large company, with a large amount of debt, and a slightly precarious world situation. Essentially credit brokers saying that as long as Merlin continues to service their debt payments, they'll be fine... but if there's a worldwide economic downturn, it could be risky.

 

[JAperson]

How do Paultons, Blackpool and Drayton make it work?

To be fair to these parks they are in easier to reach locations, and in Draytons cost require significantly less staff. Blackpool is also an area lacking much other employment opportunities isn't it while Staffordshire has other options that have been discussed before.

It was very much an active decision to increase Employee National Insurance costs because it’s not a tax that’s directly felt by the employees payslip. Same reason why numerous British governments have pursued high VAT on consumption, because it’s already factored into the price and is seen as a ‘stealth tax’.

A land value tax would make the world of difference, but the aristocracy in the UK really wouldn’t like that because they can’t find a loophole around it. The more money in the consumer’s pocket gets re-circulated in the economy, the rich just save it and it compounds.

Without risking to turn this thread into politics I'm not sure it would be fare to do that without a manifesto commitment and would be a massive change to UK tax system. I think they didn't have a lot of options, frankly I am glad I am not having to make these decisions, because literally every tax you alter will put someone out of business, or affect a particular group of people disproportionality. I think there are other options for Merlin/Towers but most require loosing a certain amount of profit margain on Towers, which I'm just not sure would work with Merlins current balance sheet, although perhaps they could do it very gradually so as not to spook lenders.

 

[JAperson]

The credit downgrades we saw at the end of last year were standard market responses to a large company, with a large amount of debt, and a slightly precarious world situation. Essentially credit brokers saying that as long as Merlin continues to service their debt payments, they'll be fine... but if there's a worldwide economic downturn, it could be risky.

Sorry for the double post!
I think this is the point though, Merlin is profitable on paper, but taking a portion of profit margin to improve Towers working conditions might not necessarily go down well with lenders. Merlin has a huge amount of debt, and ideally they would find a quick way to pay a portion of it off to allow them to have a more stable balance sheet and make long term investments in staffing and operating budgets, technically reducing profit margins in the short/medium term for longer term gains.

 

[Bowser]

To be fair to these parks they are in easier to reach locations, and in Draytons cost require significantly less staff. Blackpool is also an area lacking much other employment opportunities isn't it while Staffordshire has other options that have been discussed before.

Paulton's isn't, it's very much a park that requires a car.

Yes there's technically a bus stop but there are only a few buses a day and the stop is a mile walk from the entrance. Slightly better than AT but only by a small margin.

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

Although I understand the point.

How do Paultons, Blackpool and Drayton make it work?

How much are they shelling out servicing Merlin’s other bad decisions? Or land rents? How much revenue have they given up to Aramark?

They’ve saved a fortune on staffing costs shutting all these rides. That money has gone somewhere.

It may be unreasonable but same old same old from Merlin just isn’t acceptable for me anymore

By primarily not having to service leveraged buyout debts, which are rarely the fault of the target company (in this case Merlin).

In order to finance the buyout of Tussaud's, and the subsequent buyback into private ownership in 2019, Blackstone and the consortium borrowed billions against Merlin itself. When Paultons Park makes a profit, the Mancey family puts it in the bank or buys a new rollercoaster. When Merlin makes a profit, a massive chunk of it immediately leaves the building to pay the interest on a £4 billion mortgage.

Comparing Merlin's operations to that trio requires a hefty dose of context:

Paultons Park is family owned, has organic growth, no crippling corporate debt and is situated right next to Southampton (a massive population centre with excellent transport links).

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is also family owned, but I would strongly argue they aren't "making it work" at the moment. They've closed multiple rides, cut hours, and their attendance is propped up by the fact that the local area has a captive tourist market and high deprivation (meaning a steady stream of available local labour).

Drayton Manor was bought out of administration by the Looping Group at a distressed, bargain basement valuation following a horrific tragedy. Their baseline debt is negligible compared to what it would cost to build or buy that park on the open market today.

A land value tax would make the world of difference, but the aristocracy in the UK really wouldn’t like that because they can’t find a loophole around it. The more money in the consumer’s pocket gets re-circulated in the economy, the rich just save it and it compounds

A Land Value Tax wouldn't actually hit Merlin Entertainments in the way you might hope. Why? Because Merlin doesn't own the land at Alton Towers, Thorpe Park or Warwick Castle.

They sold the freeholds years ago in a classic sale and leaseback maneuver to (you guessed it) pay down debt from the Tussauds acquisition.

If the government introduced a Land Value Tax tomorrow, LondonMetric would simply pass that entire cost directly back to Merlin via the service charges and lease agreements.

it’s no wonder AT cannot attract staff at minimum wage in a rural location

And this is key. Geography is destiny. Alton Towers breaks all of the rules and should not work on paper.

You can't run a massive, labour intensive hospitality venue in a Staffordshire forest when the local labour pool can earn the exact same National Living Wage stacking shelves in a warm supermarket ten minutes from their front door in Hanley.

Until Merlin either massively subsidises transport (which they refuse to do) or pays a rural premium above the minimum wage (which their debt pile restricts them from doing), the staffing crisis will remain a permanent feature of the Alton Towers experience.