The Tussauds Group
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The Tussauds Group is a large visitor attraction business operating primarily in the United Kingdom, in addition to five other countries.
[edit] Attractions
- Madame Tussauds in six cities:
- London Planetarium
- London Eye
- Four popular theme parks:
- Warwick Castle
[edit] History
Between 1900 and 1977, Madame Tussauds was the main asset for the Tussauds group. This changed in 1978 when the business was acquired by S. Pearson and Son, now Pearson PLC. Chessington Zoo (which later became Chessington World of Adventures) was owned by Peason and became a Tussauds attraction. In the same year Warwick Castle was acquired.
Several small acquisitions were made before 1990, when Alton Towers was bought for £60 million.
In 1995 Port Aventura in Spain opened. Tussauds had a 40% stake and managed the theme park.
A few years later, in 1998, the Port Adventura stake was sold and management ceased. In the same year, Thorpe Park, in South East England was purchased. Finally, after being part of Pearson for twenty years, Charterhouse Development Capital acquired the group.
2000 saw the launch of the London Eye, managed by Tussauds.
The latest purchase occurred in 2001 when Heide Park in Germany was purchased by the group.
In 2005 the group was sold to Dubai International Capital for £800 million ($1.5 billion).
2006 saw Tussauds largest investment to date. A £12 million rollercoaster called Stealth at Thorpe Park
