THE parent company behind the York Dungeon visitor attraction has reported rising revenues in its first year as a public-traded company.
Merlin Entertainments welcomed more than 60 million visitors across its portfolio of attractions over 2014, with turnover rising to £1.25 billion from £1.19 billion in the previous year, and pre-tax profits soaring from £186 million to £249 million.
The company attributed the success to the launch of the LEGO Movie early in 2014, and a warmer than usual autumn in the UK.
In addition to York Dungeon, the leisure operator's attractions include Alton Towers, Warwick Castle, Madame Tussauds, Blackpool Tower and LEGOLAND.
The numbers of visitors attending its attractions rose by 3 million to 62.8 million.
Nick Varney, Merlin Entertainments chief executive, said: "The stand-out performance came from the LEGOLAND Parks Operating Group with like for like revenue growth at over 13 per cent.
"However, the year hasn't been without its challenges and the strong overall group result is a function of the diversified portfolio which our strategy has successfully created."
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