Merlin Entertainments, Europe's leading and the world's second-largest visitor attraction operator, made substantial progress in 2012, beating its financial targets for the 13th year in a row.


For the 52 weeks to December 29, 2012, revenue for the group, which owns the Madam Tussauds, Sea Life and Legoland brands, totalled £1.1bn ($1.7bn), up 15.2 per cent on the £933m ($1.4bn) posted in 2011.

Group-wide visitor numbers rose 16.1 per cent to 54 million, and operating profit for Merlin was up 16.5 per cent to £258m ($391m).

Commenting on the results, chief executive Nick Varney said: "We have continued to add to our world class global portfolio of attractions, which is balanced by geography, product and demographics.

"The successful roll-out of Midway attractions continues, with a particular focus on cluster locations, as does our ongoing investment in the development of the existing estate."

Varney continued: "Our success was achieved in spite of the fact that 2012 was one of the most challenging years we have experienced since founding Merlin in 1999, with the unprecedented combination of three negative factors creating an extremely tough trading environment for many of our European attractions."

On the back of the record trading results, Merlin is purportedly eying a stock market flotation. According to reports, the group expects to make a decision towards the end of its third quarter, with a potential listing – forecast to value it at more than £3bn ($4.5bn) – in New York and London.