Drayton Manor: Profit continues to slide as wet summer hits theme park
Profit at Drayton Manor has fallen for a fourth year in a row since the theme park was rescued out of administration as wet weather continued to suppress sales.
The Staffordshire-based attraction has reported a pre-tax profit of £1.2m for the year to 30 September, 2024, down from the £2m it posted for the prior 12 months.
The latest figure comes after Drayton Manor achieved a pre-tax profit of £3.5m and £5.6m in the two years after being rescued.
Drayton Manor had been run by three generations of the Bryan family since opening in 1950 before collapsing into administration in 2020.
The theme park was sold to Looping Group which runs the likes of West Midland Safari Park and Pleasurewood Hills in the UK and other attractions across Europe.
In the three years before entering administration, Drayton Manor racked up a pre-tax loss of more than £7m.
According to newly-filed accounts with Companies House, Drayton Manor’s turnover also dipped from £29.3m to £28.1m during its latest financial year.
Its turnover had stood at £30.7m in the year to 30 September, 2022.
Drayton Manor is set to face even more competition for visitors in the coming years after Merlin Entertainments, the giant that operates the likes of Alton Towers, revealed plans to open a Minecraft theme park in the UK.
Last year, plans were also detailed by Universal for a new UK theme park which could provide a £50bn boost to the economy and be open 365 days a year.
A statement signed off by the board said: “Challenges such as very high energy prices from the prior year lessened but our customers were still feeling the effect of the high cost of living.
“The weather continued to be another challenge to the business with summer 2024 being the coolest since 2015 and any heatwaves were short lived. The summer was largely overcast, wet and cool.”
Despite its falling profit, Drayton Manor issued a dividend of £1.2m to its owner.
From its theme park, Drayton Manor’s turnover fell from £23m to £22.3m in the year while its hotel and events sales also declined from 6.2m to £5.8m.
During the year the average number of people employed by the park rose from 486 to 535.