Recent terror attacks in London have continued to have a big impact on the number of visitors coming to the capital, attractions group Merlin Entertainments PLC (LON:STI) warned today.
Merlin, the owner of Madam Tussauds and London Eye, had already flagged a sharp drop in visitors after the Westminster Bridge attack but said the incident that followed in London Bridge reduced demand further.
“International tourism deteriorated materially over the peak trading period resulting in a difficult overall market for London's visitor attractions,” Merlin said.
Uncertain outlook
London's problems mean that sales are currently flat compared to 2016 while underlying profits [EBITDA] for this year will be in the range of £470-480mln.
“Whilst it is too early to predict the outlook for 2018, it is likely that the recent trends experienced in London will persist for the foreseeable future,” added Nick Varney, chief executive.
London is part of Merlin’s Midway attractions division, which saw revenues fall by 1% like-for-like (LFL) in the 40 weeks to October 7, though these were helped by a strong period before the attacks and currency tailwinds, which meant a 7.7% rise over the period.
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Group LFL sales were up 0.3% as Legoland performed well. Overall sales rose by 12.4% as Legoland Japan and five new Midway attractions came on stream.
Shares tumbled 16.4% to 376p.