Merlin shares dive 20% as terrorism threat drives visitors away

'Experienced difficult trading'

Laura Dew
clock • 2 min read

Shares in theme park giant Merlin Entertainments are down more than 20% this morning after the firm announced the threat of terrorism was impacting its business with the London attacks earlier this year marking an "inflection point" in UK theme park trading.

In a trading update this morning, the firm, which owns Thorpe Park and the Legoland theme parks, said it had seen "difficult trading" following terror attacks in the UK such as the Westminster Bridge attack. Simultaneously, it was impacted by the hurricanes in the US and costs pressures surrounding UK employment legislation. As a result of the news, shares fell 19.7% to trade at 361.8p this morning, while the overall FTSE 100 was flat at 7,529.4 points.  Sentiment towards UK equities dives to 18-month low Nick Varney, chief executive of Merlin Entertainment, said: "After strong ...

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