Merlin Entertainments

[Glitch]

12 minutes ago, Coaster said:

Merlin are objecting to the London Resort planning application;

 

https://escapismproject.co.uk/news/1623419409?s=04&fbclid=IwAR10_0Tg26gWSoUVxXpB3cw7_nU2mQ7g0jdJK-ou_zD7Za4MVoncCuUaxsE

 

My thoughts on this?

 

Merlin need to do one.  They have strangled the life out of the UK theme park industry for years; they own the monopoly yet have such low standards in their parks, with no real drive to improve anything.

 

The Merlin short-term model of "slap an IP on it" whilst neglecting rides and basic infrastructure has killed the offering at their parks and, if the London Resort was to happen, it would most likely come back to bite them. My view is that they feel threatened by the prospect of a company coming in and doing a really good job with a park, as it would shift the public perception of Merlin being "the expected standard" in the UK.

 

Merlin are a company that call themselves second only to Disney, yet copy-paste ideas across the world, copy Paultons with Peppa Pig world (albeit not in the UK, as they can't) and they can't even invest satisfactorily in their major parks in the UK. Thorpe hasn't seen solid investment since 2012 despite supposedly being the UK's "thrill capital".  London Resort would challenge Merlin, which they clearly don't want.

 

In my opinion, London Resort is exactly what the UK industry needs for it to thrive, some healthy competition which would force Merlin to act. Look at America, there's a rivalry between Cedar Fair and Six Flags, or the European parks which are all owned by different companies. It's much healthier and means that parks have to be at the top of their game to stay in competition.

 

The fact that Merlin are making a fuss over this this says everything about them as a company, second rate and not willing to adjust and improve their offering to compete.

Yeah, this is sad if true, all I can say is lets hope London resort take a trip to chessington.

[Mark9]

11 hours ago, Coaster said:

Merlin are objecting to the London Resort planning application;

 

https://escapismproject.co.uk/news/1623419409?s=04&fbclid=IwAR10_0Tg26gWSoUVxXpB3cw7_nU2mQ7g0jdJK-ou_zD7Za4MVoncCuUaxsE

 

My thoughts on this?

 

Merlin need to do one.  They have strangled the life out of the UK theme park industry for years; they own the monopoly yet have such low standards in their parks, with no real drive to improve anything.

 

The Merlin short-term model of "slap an IP on it" whilst neglecting rides and basic infrastructure has killed the offering at their parks and, if the London Resort was to happen, it would most likely come back to bite them. My view is that they feel threatened by the prospect of a company coming in and doing a really good job with a park, as it would shift the public perception of Merlin being "the expected standard" in the UK.

 

Merlin are a company that call themselves second only to Disney, yet copy-paste ideas across the world, copy Paultons with Peppa Pig world (albeit not in the UK, as they can't) and they can't even invest satisfactorily in their major parks in the UK. Thorpe hasn't seen solid investment since 2012 despite supposedly being the UK's "thrill capital".  London Resort would challenge Merlin, which they clearly don't want.

 

In my opinion, London Resort is exactly what the UK industry needs for it to thrive, some healthy competition which would force Merlin to act. Look at America, there's a rivalry between Cedar Fair and Six Flags, or the European parks which are all owned by different companies. It's much healthier and means that parks have to be at the top of their game to stay in competition.

 

The fact that Merlin are making a fuss over this this says everything about them as a company, second rate and not willing to adjust and improve their offering to compete.

 

I'm going to be picky about one thing here and that is Merlin have always said they want to be second to Disney in terms of visitor numbers not quality. Secondly, I don't think we can criticise Merlin for copy/pasting attractions when Disney add Avengers campuses to three of their resorts and Toy Story play lands all over the place.

 

Aside from that, full agreement. It just comes across as anti-competition. 

[Stuntman707]

In a way it does show how Merlin thinks The London Resort is now a credible threat and not just an investors wet dream.

Now it’s got Merlins official attention, I hope it does go ahead for the sake of competition. Merlin are going to have to start planning some new coasters if they’re want to draw people away from a brand new theme park. Small walkthrough attractions and rebrands aren’t going to cut it.

[JoshC.]

I get why people are annoyed with Merlin. But at the same time, isn't this what businesses do? If a supermarket has a monopoly on an area, and another supermarket comes and tries to set a branch up, wouldn't the original supermarket do whatever it could to stop that supermarket marching in on its territory?

You could argue as well that Merlin's reasoning is pretty fair, given they seem to arguing against an issue with how the application was submitted, as opposed to the application itself (as I understand it). Can see why they'd be miffed if they want a level playing field in that respect, even if it is a low move from them.

In some twisted way, this kind of is a positive thing, no? It shows that Merlin see the London Resort as a more credible and possible thing now. If they didn't think this would happen, then surely they wouldn't waste their time with this. I still am in the 'I'll believe it when I see it' camp, but yeah, it's a positive thing in some way.

Also, it's not exactly like Merlin are trying to steamroll a tiny family business and make them bankrupt, they're going against another huge company with a ton of money too.
Ultimately, it's a bit of a low blow move, but it's business.

[Matt 236]

Very disappointed in Merlin doing this.

 

Because they’ve just plagiarised Universal from when they opposed the Skyplex being built in Orlando. 

[d.m.k]

It's just business and the legal team making themselves look useful. I wouldn't say I'm disappointed because it was always likely to happen. 

 

If they start groundwork on The London Resort in 2022, I'll be interested to hear what comes out in terms of Merlin's plans for their resorts. 

 

I know The London Resort would draw in crowds from afar but I see Thorpe has the biggest threat - could be wrong. 

[Martin Doyle]

Try and stop a project that could serve as competition to the parks and continue to be lazy with said parks as opposed to embracing competition which could improve the quality of the industry in this country and actually making an effort.

 

Yep seems legit!!

 

M£rlin (emphasis on the pound sign) really are the absolute pits of the industry.

[Marc]

2 hours ago, Martin Doyle said:

Try and stop a project that could serve as competition to the parks and continue to be lazy with said parks as opposed to embracing competition which could improve the quality of the industry in this country and actually making an effort.

 

Yep seems legit!!

 

M£rlin (emphasis on the pound sign) really are the absolute pits of the industry.

They are literally a business - any business in a similar situation would do the same. Universal objected a new attraction on international drive and they are certainly not the pits of the industry.. 

[SteveJ]

This isnt a sabotage or a business decision, it's just a planning procedure, they want to be able to register as interested parties on a major planning development in their sector, because they are one. There's literally nothing negative about this, it's just trying to hold London Resort to account for the planning process.

This should have never hit the fan news, it's been totally misunderstood, mundane procedural stuff like this happens all the time in planning

[Glitch]

TBH I saw the London resort as being prime real estate for a Merlin Midway hub, if they wanted to expand on their central London offerings.

[JoshC.]

https://www.merlinentertainments.biz/newsroom/news-releases/2022/merlin-entertainments-nick-varney-chief-executive-officer-to-retire/

 

CEO of Merlin, Nick Varney, and CDO Mark Fisher, have announced that they intend to retire over the next 12 months.

 

Nick has been CEO of Merlin since it was formed in 1999, and Mark Fisher might not be a name everyone is familiar with, but he's played a significant role in Merlin as well. Both leaving the company at a similar time could lead to some pretty big changes.

[Glitch]

Does anyone else feel like Merlin has suddenly become very American. I’ve seen Scott has hired president of people and other similar roles. How long is it till HQ moves overseas too from Poole?

[Coaster]

Don't worry, I'm not back, just briefly returning to the forum to highlight what I feel is a very important talking point.

 

In a recent government report, Merlin Entertainments have been listed as a company who have not paid minimum wage.  The company failed to pay minimum to 1,100 employees, equating to £43,000.

 

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-500-companies-named-for-not-paying-minimum-wage

 

Ride Rater have published a further breakdown of all the available info:

 

https://riderater.co.uk/11561/merlin-entertainments-failed-to-pay-minimum-wage/

 

Flamingo Land are also named here for failing to pay 4 workers the minimum, following a previous report from Blackpool Pleasure Beach who had failed to pay 12 workers the minimum.

 

In 2018, the CEO of Merlin Entertainments took home a salary of £1,493,000.  In contrast, the £43,000 owed to 1,100 employees would have still left £1,450,000 for the CEO.  Staff rely on being paid at least the legal minimum to live off, to pay their bills.  It's shameful that this has been allowed to happen.

 

Source: https://www.erieri.com/executive/salary/nick-varney-8ydw

 

I feel that as enthusiasts/people with an interest in theme parks, we have to pay attention to this and demand better for the staff who make our hobby possible.

[Mark9]

Is anyone feeling particularly positive about the upcoming season? 

 

 

[Matt 236]

About as excited as ordering a burger kitchen meal. 

[Inferno]

😂 Dear oh dear.  It’s all a bit bleak isn’t it.

 

The fat cats across Merlin have been ringing the company out like a sponge for years, to the point that there’s now no sponge left - just tatters left on the ground by the top execs and CEOs who have since left for other roles, for huge salaries no doubt.

 

I do feel for all the staff involved in the redundancies; and those who will remain.

I’ve worked for a couple of big companies now who have had mass redundancies like this, which I have luckily survived down to pure luck, and on both occasions the remaining staff have been so downtrodden and overworked that really it was a case of “last one out turn off the lights”. 
 

Merlin declined in to a dreadful company a few years ago. I sincerely hope it can be turned around, and the existing established parks will be shown a bit more respect, rather than continue to be seen as cash cows that should be squeezed to distraction to extract every last penny.

 

The problem they’ve got of course, is that so many of their assets need massive investment just to simply tread water…

 

One thing I am feeling positive about however is Universal.  It’s about time we heard some good news.

[Mark9]

I'm not sure what Merlin can do at this point to be honest. They've attempted relatively good rollercoasters in Mandrill, Hyperia and Nemesis Reborn, they've tried to do entertainment on a better scale then ever which has now all been cut and last years opening hours felt like a push in a better direction (particularly Thorpe). So far we've only really seen the losses at Towers for 2025 but it's looking anonymous at Chessington and Thorpe too. We are bound to see a lot more staggered ride opening hours. Don't be surprised if Rumba and Tidal Wave open mid season for example. 

 

The global report highlighted the issues with the Uk tourism industry

 

Quote

United Kingdom reports tepid growth Some of the smallest growth percentages this year came from the U.K. There are a few reasons for this. Overall tourism to the U.K. remains below pre-pandemic levels, with Brexit providing both actual and perceived barriers to entry. Additionally, the government ended the VAT Retail Export Scheme, which reportedly has deterred 2 million tourists and cost over £10.6 billion in sales. The change has also impacted the

museum, hospitality and entertainment markets.

 

If you've been to Efteling, Europa Park, Port Aventura (just to name a few) over the last two years, the parks feel alive and vibrant with excited guests and entertainment. In comparison the UK parks have just got long waits because there's less rides and entertainment, short opening hours and terrible food. It's an awful rut to be in and it can't be changed quickly. 

 

[Inferno]

12 hours ago, Mark9 said:

The global report highlighted the issues with the Uk tourism industry

That’s interesting - is this a Merlin report?

 

Fair points about the impact of brexit and the VAT scheme - but really I think (unless of course the international tourism that the London midway attractions for example lap up has taken a really really crippling hit) it would be a bit of a cheek to suggest that either of these could be more of a factor than the fact that they are simply charging too much now for too little.

Merlin themselves have said that the “in park spending per guest” that that used to rely extremely heavily on has dried up. They’ve shot themselves in the foot with this by totally out pricing themselves and wildly over-estimating their worth. Even if guests do spend in the food outlets for example on their visit, many will be (quite literally) left with a bad taste in their mouth and think twice about buying food from them again in the future.

 

Not to mention the fact that many returning guests, especially to most of the parks, will experience a reduced offering compared with previous years.

 

I’m not suggesting that dropping prices and sacking Aramark will fix everything - but I do think they have got a bit big for their boots.  Merlin are charging more than Disney for food in many places, Disney being a true destination that people save for and are ready to spend money at. Merlin’s parks are not, and never have been, proper ‘destinations’ like that, and I think things like their restaurants (as one example) should be at least ‘good’, so that people actually want to go and spend their money in there after already paying or tickets etc.

 

I also strongly suspect that tourism has changed - I don’t think the likes of Madame Tussaud’s or Shrek’s Adventure have the same appeal now as they perhaps used to - they have become slightly tacky. Perhaps social media etc has changed people’s views on city travel? The queues outside them all don’t seem anywhere near what they where when I was a kid 

[Benin]

Quick example of one of my lunches at Efteling (from the cafeteria by Vogel Rok) over my Christmas visit. Can't recall the price unfortunately but it's a definite stark difference in quality to what's on offer at Towers in particular. Woodcutters would never.

 

The entry cost is so dependent on BOGOFs, MAPs and booking online finding value in it, however if you charge north of £50 for a standard day ticket people expect that quality regardless. Fortunately as my visits to Towers mainly center around CBeebies these days I've avoided much of the poor availability overall, but it's incredibly telling on the faces of other visitors that it's leaving sour tastes in the mouths. Especially when on a number of times both X-Sector and Dark Forest end up with nothing to actually do.

 

The years of poor investment are coming back to roost. On top of people tightening purse strings because we're still in a cost of living crisis that seems to only be on the way of getting worse.

[Project LC]

It sure is looking bleak at Merlin.

 

Decades of underinvestment has lead to a build up of issues that now require large capital investment to resolve. Their approach to this unfortunately has been massively let down by poor strategic decisions. 

 

Nemesis reborn was never going to get its return. To the general public its just the same ride with a new name. Thats not going to encourage new people in. 

 

Hyperia was marketed terribly. Which is a historic recurring issue across the parks. They always poorly communicate what they are selling. Exaggerated CGI models and a never ending list of strange worlds firsts combined with no call to action in the adverts will always fall flat. They need to use actual ride footage from drones and on ride footage. Combine that with word of mouth from a good ride and I think their return on investment would be vastly improved.

 

I don't follow Chessington closely enough to comment on the world of Jumanji. 

 

But it comes as no surprise to me that todays news is that Merlin is looking to sell off a few of the sealife aquariums so they can "focus on investment in its biggest international sites".

 

Years ago Merlin decided to focus on midway over the parks. A heavily saturated market where their USP is far weaker. Its also an area where repeat visits are far lower. They focused on the wrong side of the business for growth. Fortunately their new private equity owners are cutting the dead weight and focusing the business towards a product thats intrinsically difficult to compete with. I just hope they can turn it around before the years of underinvestment becomes unsalvageable. 

 

[MattyB]

8 hours ago, Benin said:

Quick example of one of my lunches at Efteling (from the cafeteria by Vogel Rok) over my Christmas visit. Can't recall the price unfortunately but it's a definite stark difference in quality to what's on offer at Towers in particular. Woodcutters would never.

 

The entry cost is so dependent on BOGOFs, MAPs and booking online finding value in it, however if you charge north of £50 for a standard day ticket people expect that quality regardless. Fortunately as my visits to Towers mainly center around CBeebies these days I've avoided much of the poor availability overall, but it's incredibly telling on the faces of other visitors that it's leaving sour tastes in the mouths. Especially when on a number of times both X-Sector and Dark Forest end up with nothing to actually do.

 

The years of poor investment are coming back to roost. On top of people tightening purse strings because we're still in a cost of living crisis that seems to only be on the way of getting worse.

So when I visited Efteling end of last year we ate at the same restaurant.  Think it was around 15 Euros for a hot meal, plus drink.

[JoshC.]

It's certainly hard to be optimistic about the future.

 

Another wave of redundancies has been made apparent. But really, there have been ongoing redundancies since mid-last year across the companies, and the parks knew it was a matter of time before it hit them. But the bigger issue is that this has happened again. I can think of 2-3 instances over the last decade where there has been a notable wave of redundancies. Is it that the company goes through peaks and troughs and they simply haven't found the balance yet? Or are they cutting staff more and more and more?

 

The company's direction has certainly changed though. 10 years ago, it was all about "catching the mouse" and how they were the second-largest visitor attraction company in the world. It was all about expansion. The idea of being the most-visited is not on the table any more. They have had to acknowledge locations which were failures and close them down. The company aren't creating any new Gateway (fka Midway) brand concepts. There's been talk of selling some SeaLife centres. They are very much consolidating the business and going through a huge re-focus.

 

On the note of SeaLifes, it very much seems like the company want to move away from animals. There have been rumours and plans of removing large chunks of the zoo at Chessington. They have focused away from SeaLife in recent years, and are looking to sell more. The current Merlin don't see a monetary / business value in aquaria, so want to move on. That's something that will take time.

 

At the same time, I do wonder if there's cause for...hope, for lack of a better word. Shrinking the business to focus on key assets gives hope that rather than opening an upteenth aquarium or Madame Tussauds, they can put money into parks. Chessington is arguably seeing its most consistent period of investment ever. There's many ifs and buts, but we can cling onto some hope.

 

Of course, there's lots to be worried about. Towers is a shell of itself. Heide Park is stagnant. Thorpe feels stop-start. Redundancies are never good. A chop and change at the top again, although Fiona Eastwood is now the permanent CEO. So who knows what will happen next.

 

Then of course, there's the matter of Universal GB, which could impact our parks. I remain in the camp right now that Universal won't impact the Merlin parks nearly as much as people think, and if anything, the competitiveness and extra eyes of the country as a theme park country will actually help our parks. But I do completely understand people's concerns, and Merlin do have to be smart about it.

[Benin]

The rate of expansion they were doing at the time was never going to be sustainable.

 

Legolands and Midways everywhere. But was all short term mindset at the end of the day.

 

The issue with the removal of attractions is then devaluing the Annual Pass. Which is basically their entire business these days. So those would likely also have to go down in price as well.

[JoshC.]

13 minutes ago, Benin said:

The issue with the removal of attractions is then devaluing the Annual Pass. Which is basically their entire business these days. So those would likely also have to go down in price as well.

 

I genuinely wonder how many people would care if a couple of Sea Lifes and a Dungeon were to disappear off the MAP. Some people, yes. But I reckon they could get away with removing a few attractions off it, keeping the price the same and it would be a tint proportion of people who would really care.

[Benin]

I'd be a bit peeved about Sea-Life, but I live within decent driving of 2 and they're good attractions for little one currently.

 

Plus planning on London based nonsense later this year so always good to have some additional freebies.