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Aug. 23, 2010
Merlin confirms £18.5m (apx.USD $28.4m) LEGOLAND® Hotel deal
LEGOLAND® owner Merlin Entertainments has confirmed it has agreed a deal for an
£18.5m hotel to be developed at the Windsor theme park, as revealed by Property
Week.
Merlin has agreed a sale-and-leaseback deal with property investment fund
Aprirose for land next to the theme park.
Aprirose is a company that advises private investors. It is though that the
investors in the hotel are four Asian businessmen, based in east Africa, with a
history of investing in UK property.
The 150-bed themed hotel, being built on a 2.7 acre site, is scheduled to open
in Easter 2012. Merlin has been granted a 35-year lease on the site. The lease
is renewable for another 35 years.
Nick Mackenzie, property and development director at Merlin, said: “The
benefits of a sale and leaseback over other forms of financing for the new
LEGOLAND Windsor hotel are potentially very significant. This is a very common
arrangement in the leisure sector and a win win situation.
“It allows Merlin to continue our day to day business and investment plans
exactly as before, without increasing our debt burden; freeing up operational
cash to support other plans, and demonstrating a better return on capital.”
Merlin is developing a series of hotels at its LEGOLAND theme parks. Last year,
it won planning consent for a 254-room hotel at its LEGOLAND in Carlsbad,
California. There is one existing LEGOLAND Hotel, at the original LEGOLAND in
Billund, Denmark.
The hotel is part of a £30m investment in the theme park. Merlin said the deal
does not affect its freehold ownership of LEGOLAND Windsor.
-end of report-
Note: The LEGO Group still owns a 30% voting share of LEGOLAND. Merlin owns the
other 70%. Merlin parent company is Blackstone Group.
MerlinEntertainments.biz
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