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- Visitor numbers increased overall, with 62.8 million people (up 1.1%).
- Revenue is down 3.2% from 2023, £2.053 billion.
- Underlying operating profit is down to £285 million in 2024, compared to £408 million in 2023.
- Total operating profit swung from £172 million in 2023, to a loss of £132 million in 2024.
- £191 million relates to existing brands.
- £163 million relates specifically to Madame Tussaud's.
- £48 million for gateway attractions more broadly.
- £110 million for Legoland New York.
- £35 million for Legoland Korea.
- £2 million invested in 50 green energy projects.
- The energy generated from these schemes has been enough to power the London Eye for 8,000 cycles (whatever that means).
- Legoland Windsor's new Woodland Village is their first carbon neutral accomodation.
- The instalment of 28 recycling reverse vending machines in their UK parks.
- Investments have been made in shading, misters for heatwaves and flood defences.
- Funding of 16 new global conservation projects worldwide.
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Merlin Entertainments: General Discussion
GooseOnTheLoose
TS Member
Some notes from the 2024 report.
From 2025, Legoland Parks, RTPs and Gateway attractions will no longer operate as separate entities. Instead they will be managed by four regions: North America; UK; Europe; Asia-Pacific. The idea is to give a more cohesive experience, and share best practices, across the attractions.
An increase in promotions and discounts, were part of the adaptions Merlin has made. In addition to increasing spend on advertising, from £90 million in 2023, to £100 million in 2024.
The calculated move here was to keep visitor increasing, and maintaining market share.
Rising operational costs were a major factor in the losses, in addition to inflationary wage increases. Staff expenses increased from £545 million to £575 million. Some central teams, such as data and digital, also saw increases investment.
The biggest hit and factor though, which is largely outside of Merlin's control, was foreign currency exchange rates. Merlin is a UK based business and was particularly struck by a very weak Pound, especially as it operates globally. Without currency movements, revenue would only be 0.7% lower, not the 3.2% reported at the top. That's a £52 million difference right there, just from currency swings.
Impairment charges totalled £384 million. This isn't cash going out of the door, but an accounting adjustment relating to the perceived value of long term assets. It's Merlin signalling that some of their larger bets, particularly on new resorts, aren't paying off as quickly as they hoped. They have to re-evaluate the future earning potential.
Impairment charges hit hardest in these areas:
Guest top box satisfaction, those who were "Very Satisfied", increased to 73% from 72% in 2023. Net promoter score, which is how likely people are to promote them, improved too. Employee engagement score also increased to 69% favourable, from 68% the year before, from a survey response rate of 86%.
Merlin have stated that they are are still committing to long term investment plans for their attractions.
ESG takeaways
Cost inflation is a constant battle. This will be addressed through strategic pricing, trying to make more costs variable rather than fixed. Redesigning capital projects to manage spending, without hurting the guest experience, requires constant vigilance.
Cyber related activity is a huge risk, considering their large customer data set. Multilayer technical controls, in addition to targeted staff training and regular updates to the board on the cyber threats landscape are their controls here.
Liquidity and cashflow will be managed with detailed cash forecasting, maintaining strong relationships with lenders.
Merlin completed a large debt refinancing early in 2025, issuing $410 million in new notes, to repay $400 million in older ones. This gives them financial flexibility and shows that they can access capital, whilst staying compliant with their financial covenants.
Foreign exchange translation is a bit of a headache, creating a lot of volatility on paper. It will be managed, moving forward, by presenting constant currency figures; showing underlying results without the currency swings. They also match their borrowings with the currency where they operate.
Merlin is facing complex financial and operational challenges. They are actively adapting, innovating and investing. I look forward to 2025's results, this time next year.
TLDR
No. You're not having one @rob666. I've just distilled a 117 page report for you. This post is a TLDR. Go back and read it. 🪿
From 2025, Legoland Parks, RTPs and Gateway attractions will no longer operate as separate entities. Instead they will be managed by four regions: North America; UK; Europe; Asia-Pacific. The idea is to give a more cohesive experience, and share best practices, across the attractions.
An increase in promotions and discounts, were part of the adaptions Merlin has made. In addition to increasing spend on advertising, from £90 million in 2023, to £100 million in 2024.
The calculated move here was to keep visitor increasing, and maintaining market share.
Rising operational costs were a major factor in the losses, in addition to inflationary wage increases. Staff expenses increased from £545 million to £575 million. Some central teams, such as data and digital, also saw increases investment.
The biggest hit and factor though, which is largely outside of Merlin's control, was foreign currency exchange rates. Merlin is a UK based business and was particularly struck by a very weak Pound, especially as it operates globally. Without currency movements, revenue would only be 0.7% lower, not the 3.2% reported at the top. That's a £52 million difference right there, just from currency swings.
Impairment charges totalled £384 million. This isn't cash going out of the door, but an accounting adjustment relating to the perceived value of long term assets. It's Merlin signalling that some of their larger bets, particularly on new resorts, aren't paying off as quickly as they hoped. They have to re-evaluate the future earning potential.
Impairment charges hit hardest in these areas:
Guest top box satisfaction, those who were "Very Satisfied", increased to 73% from 72% in 2023. Net promoter score, which is how likely people are to promote them, improved too. Employee engagement score also increased to 69% favourable, from 68% the year before, from a survey response rate of 86%.
Merlin have stated that they are are still committing to long term investment plans for their attractions.
ESG takeaways
Cost inflation is a constant battle. This will be addressed through strategic pricing, trying to make more costs variable rather than fixed. Redesigning capital projects to manage spending, without hurting the guest experience, requires constant vigilance.
Cyber related activity is a huge risk, considering their large customer data set. Multilayer technical controls, in addition to targeted staff training and regular updates to the board on the cyber threats landscape are their controls here.
Liquidity and cashflow will be managed with detailed cash forecasting, maintaining strong relationships with lenders.
Merlin completed a large debt refinancing early in 2025, issuing $410 million in new notes, to repay $400 million in older ones. This gives them financial flexibility and shows that they can access capital, whilst staying compliant with their financial covenants.
Foreign exchange translation is a bit of a headache, creating a lot of volatility on paper. It will be managed, moving forward, by presenting constant currency figures; showing underlying results without the currency swings. They also match their borrowings with the currency where they operate.
Merlin is facing complex financial and operational challenges. They are actively adapting, innovating and investing. I look forward to 2025's results, this time next year.
TLDR
No. You're not having one @rob666. I've just distilled a 117 page report for you. This post is a TLDR. Go back and read it. 🪿
So really a case of short term pain for long term gain.
The cost of living crisis really hitting people hard hopefully should be resolved in next few years
havaska
TS Member
I think you mean Merlin has been hurt by a stronger pound Goose.
It’s steadily been gaining strength against the US dollar and other currencies (relatively stable against the Euro in the €1.15-€1.20 range).
If Merlin make most profit in US dollars and say made $1,000 back in 2023 and it was £1=$1.20 they would have made £833
Now let’s say it’s 2024 and they still made $1,000 but it’s now £1=$1.30 they now have made only £769.
Between the start of 2022 and now the pound has gone from £1=$1.22 to currently £1=$1.37 so it’s gained roughly 13% over that time span.
It’s steadily been gaining strength against the US dollar and other currencies (relatively stable against the Euro in the €1.15-€1.20 range).
If Merlin make most profit in US dollars and say made $1,000 back in 2023 and it was £1=$1.20 they would have made £833
Now let’s say it’s 2024 and they still made $1,000 but it’s now £1=$1.30 they now have made only £769.
Between the start of 2022 and now the pound has gone from £1=$1.22 to currently £1=$1.37 so it’s gained roughly 13% over that time span.
Gardaland is their crown jewel park they certainly won't get rid of that nor Heide Park or Legolands others are up in the air
owenstreet7
TS Member
I don't think they have very many resort theme parks and I'd imagine they'd be looking to grow that if they could. I'm thinking PortAventura will join them not too far in the future but that's my opinion.
The gateways I can see them consolidating so there's not as many either by selling them off or franchising them like Blackpool did.
I think it would be a smart idea to cancel a couple of the Chinese Legoland parks they have in development and focus on quality over quantity.
Warwick Castle, I think could be an option to sell off to English Heritage at some point but I think this has been run by Tussauds or Merlin for decades.
Times are hard, especially in leisure.I'm really confused by all this, on one hand I'm hearing they've made a profit from am article a few months ago but now it seems they are making losses?
Don't know who to believe now.
Simple as that.
They are trying to adapt to a difficult time for their customer base.
In lean times, and these are, florists, posh bistros and leisure firms often go to the wall...none are necessities, and are easily cut from the family budget.
Times are indeed hard for leisure and tourism however I question why Merlin have gone so hard and fast with new Lego parks in higher risk parts of the globe. I'd like Merlin to focus on the parks they have rather than opening new ones. Focus on offering a quality experience over crappy food, poor opening and ageing ride lineups.
Islander
TS Member
Pretty sure that part of the agreement that Merlin have with Lego is that X new parks will be opened every Y years.
Not that I agree with it, but I'm not sure Merlin have much choice!
Dave
TS Founding Member
I'm really confused by all this, on one hand I'm hearing they've made a profit from am article a few months ago but now it seems they are making losses?
Don't know who to believe now.
It’s complicated, on a pure cash flow perspective they are in profit but they have made a number of accounting adjustments that put them into a loss.
I’m no expert but basically their accounts will have predicated a certain performance on a range of assets that have not come to fruition so they have to make these adjustments,
There are a lot of YouTube videos and social media posts click baiting this but it’s not as big a deal as some are making out.
AT86
TS Member
The new Lego parks they are opening in China are not funded by Merlin, which massively reduces the risk for them - they won’t face the same issues they have with New York and Korea for example if these parks don’t take off as they hope.
More info from their accounts on this here:
jon81uk
TS Member
This isn't going to happen, they've just built a hotel at Warwick Castle and English Heritage likely aren't interested in running a resort, or maintaining waxworks and similar. Warwick Castle has operated in its Tussauds form for about 40 years and I don't see it changing to just being opened as a stately home.
deathproof69
TS Member
Do we think this is why horizon has gone very quiet?
GooseOnTheLoose
TS Member
Project Horizon is an interesting case, having now been in existence for three different Merlin CEOs. It was conceptualised during Varney's era (who always had a soft spot for Towers), approved during Scott O'Neil's reign and languished under the recently appointed Fiona Eastwood.
O'Neil appeared to have a focus on Midway attractions, carrying on in the same tradition of Varney's Merlin. Eastwood appears to be a safe and experienced pair of hands, having previously been the serving COO.
I hope we see Horizon's appearance soon, but only time will tell for certain. The park needs something.
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We need to see what Eastwood does hasn't been in the job long so maybe we are getting some shake ups at start before things get better.
Really Hope Horizon happens we need an indoor coaster again a sequel to black hole with a modern layout an intamin straddle could be a good option