Merlin Entertainments has reported operating losses of £58 million for the year 2025.
The company also revealed that global attendance fell by 2.3 million in the same period, in which earnings-per-guest increased by 9%.
Revenue from each guest is widely seen as a result of increased car parking and food prices at Merlin’s attractions, among other aspects of what the company describes as “in-attraction spend”.
Merlin has not reported its pre-tax losses in the same manner as last year, but it did reveal a further £262 million “impairment” to the accounting value of the Madame Tussauds operation.
Madame Tussauds was previously devalued by £163 million in 2024.
At that time, pre-tax losses were reported as being £492 million, while the like-for-like operating loss compared to yesterday’s figures was £132 million in 2024, suggesting Merlin has slowed its decline in 2025.
‘Transitional year’
Last October, the Moody’s agency lowered Merlin’s credit rating to Caa1, a speculative investment grade known as a “junk” rating.
Merlin attempted to offload many of its Sea Life attractions, but no deals could be agreed.
It also sold off its Lego & Legoland Discovery Centres for £200 million last year.
Chief executive Fiona Eastwood said: “2025 was a transitional year for Merlin, during which we took decisive action to stabilise the business and strengthen its financial and operational foundations.”
She added that the “external environment” remained “challenging”.
“Our direction is clear,” she added. “We remain focused on delivering strong sustainable earnings, robust cash flow, and disciplined capital deployment.”
Eastwood said that Merlin now had a “leaner cost base” and “clearer operating model”, following the offload of several of its brands and attractions.