17 Apr 2014
Speculation soars around IPO of Merlin landlord Nick Leslau
BY Jak Phillips
Property investor Nick Leslau – whose company Prestbury Investments own a large chunk of Merlin Entertainments' real estate portfolio – is set to make a return to the London stock exchange with an IPO likely to be worth £1.5bn, according to press reports.
Leslau, whose Merlin assets include Thorpe Park, Alton Towers and London’s Madame Tussauds, is being backed by veteran entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter and LLoyd’s Bank.
He acquired the high-profile Merlin attractions in 2007 through a £622m (US$1.05bn, €756m) sale and lease-back deal.
The Merlin portfolio has increased in value since 2007, most recently in November 2013, when the company did its IPO, at which point it was valued at around US$5bn.
Since then, over US$2bn has been added to the value, taking it to a current point around US$7bn.
This uplift is reflected in the value of the assets Prestbury holds and this in turn will increase the value of Prestbury itself, as the ripples from Merlin's successes spread out to benefit its business partners.
It's thought that Prestbury will continue to manage the floated portfolio of 21 properties, which have a combined value of £1.5bn, although Leslau is yet to comment.
Leslau has a significant pedigree in the leisure industry, due to his involvement with the Trocadero in London, shareholding in Saracens Rugby Club and other ventures.
He attracted headlines in 2008, when he gave away £400,000 to the people of Possil, Glasgow, during an appearance on the UK’s Channel 4 TV series The Secret Millionaire.
Read more about Merlin Entertainments in the latest edition of Attractions Management magazine here: http://bit.ly/1kENZus
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