Merlin Entertainments PLC (LON:MERL) has announced plans to open a third North American Legoland theme Park to be built in New York state in a US$350mln (around £265mln) investment.
The FTSE 100-listed group said the Park, dedicated to the children's toy bricks favourite, will be built in Goshen, Orange County, 60 miles northwest of New York City and serving a catchment area of 23mln people.
Merlin, which operates attractions such as Madame Tussauds waxworks museum and the London Eye, said the new Legoland was planned to open in 2020 and would welcome customers between April and November.
READ: Terror attacks deterring visitors to London warns Merlin Entertainments
It will be built along with a 250-room Legoland hotel, open all year and decorated with hundreds of Lego models made from its toy building blocks.
The New York site, which joins parks in California and Florida, will be Merlin’s ninth Legoland, and follows openings in Japan in April 2017 and Dubai in October 2016.
Merlin has already announced its intention to open a Legoland in South Korea and there are plans for further parks in China.
Largest investment in a single park to date
Nick Varney, Merlin’s chief executive, commented: "Legoland New York is the first new major theme park in the North East of the US for several decades, and is perfectly located for visitors from New York, Boston and Philadelphia and beyond.
"At $350 million it is our largest investment in a single park to date, and our third Legoland Park in North America, the world's largest market for theme parks and the Lego brand."
UBS cuts target, keeps ‘buy’
In late morning trading, Merlin shares were 0.5% higher at 370.1p, shrugging aside news of a price target downgrade by Swiss bank UBS, which moved to 450p to 460p in a note to clients following a slide by the stock last week after a disappointing trading update.
Reiterating a ‘buy’ rating on Merlin, UBS’s analysts said they believe current “headwinds will abate eventually, and we see growth opportunities in the longer term.”