Merlin Entertainments, the theme park company, has said the horrific accident in Alton Towers in June in which two people lost a leg, coupled with wet weather, dampened the company’s sales growth over the summer months.
Like-for-like sales from Merlin’s resort theme parks division tumbled 11pc as visitor numbers plummeted following the Alton Towers accident.
However, the company, which also owns Thorpe Park and Chessington World of Adventures, still managed to report a 2.2pc increase in group revenues in the 36 weeks to September 5, while group like-for-like sales inched up 0.3pc.
Shares fell more than 1pc in early trading before levelling out at around 0.4pc down.
