Mar 292010
Commenter Dave palme has his ear to the ground and informs us of the following development in the anticipated Blackpool Council/Leisure Parcs megadeal;
“…the council are signing the contracts to buy the Tower, Winter Gardens, etc tonight at 6.00pm.
“They have already rubber stamped the deal to have the tower ballroom roof fixed as it is leaking, at a cost of £3 million.
“Six large entertainment operators have expressed an interest in running the place, one being the Disney operation who decided it was not for them…”
In addition,
Merlin Entertainments are likely to take over.
GD Star Rating
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who are Merlin entertainments?
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http://www.merlinentertainments.biz/en/homepage.aspx
No idea
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Don’t take this as definite as it is a rumour going around with the managers and staff,so may turn out to be bull shit. Merlin Entertainment operate Alton Towers,the Waxworks amongst many other family entertainment venues, Google them, and it will give you a run down of there business
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Dave
Just Googled Merlin Entertainment. They appear to be ideal partners for Blackpool in this venture.
I sincerely hope that this goes ahead and that some more regeneration cash becomes available for Blackpool.
What I cannot understand is that Blackpool were willing to subsidise Leisure Parcs for something like 15 years with an annual payment of £1m to upgrade facilities and this was swallowed up without the required upgrade taking place. How much does a decent system of air conditioning cost? As far as I am aware the Winter Gardens still doesn’t have this!
This should have been part of a contract – legally binding. How is it that Leisure Parcs got away with this?!
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Well said, I will be glad to see the back of Trevor Hemmings, he has done the Tower and especially the Winter Gardens no favours. There is some smug deluded PNE fan who comes on the Gasjet gloating about how Hemmings is selling the Tower and WG to invest in PNE. TBH most people in Blackpool can’t stand the guy anyway so many of us (me included) will be glad to get shot of him.
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yes TH is a scum bag of the highest order but that subsidy beggars belief, 15 million for NOTHING,WASTED!
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Well as along as a proven private investor can manage these assets, fine.I dont want to see the council hold onto them though.The thought of idiots like Weaver running these assets scares me.
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http://ipad.io/Hvd
I have put this good news on my latest program, lots of other features, and issues you may want to write about.
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Hmm. Ipadio doesn’t want to play.
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If it is a reputable well known private company like Merlin then that’s good. Like you Harold I hate the thought of Weaver and Cavill having their hands on our crown jewels (not literally!!!!). Private investment is the way forward.
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absolutely TB 100%
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The only thing that worries me about Merlin is that they’re a relatively new company, set up four or five years ago in, I think, a private equity buyout involving part of the old First Leisure empire (the last bit may be cobblers). As such it’s grown quickly and has an impressive record, but private equity groups tend to want their cash back quick when their patience runs out…. but we’ll see.
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Merlin have been around a lot longer than that – over a decade, and only as the successor name to its predecessor, Vardon.
Merlin are very experienced and have a very solid track record.
The fact that they’ve got the backing of private equity has enabled them to sustain their growth and establish their reputation for quality.
That Merlin is taking over is the best outcome for a situation that otherwise shouldn’t have occurred. I would hope that their involvement with the operation of these attractions will at some point lead to them taking ownership of them. Perhaps if the venture is successful and the Tower et al can be sold on, then we might be allowed to keep the money, refocus the council on its primary role (serving local residents and businesses) and spend the money where it’s needed – street cleaning and maintenance, highways and social care, with perhaps some change left over to reduce council tax.
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