‘Successful’ year for Longleat Safari Park and Cheddar Gorge despite ‘inopportune’ bad weather
The owner of Longleat Safari and Adventure Park and Cheddar Gorge has hailed a “very successful” 2023 despite being hit by bad weather at “the most inopportune times”.
The group, which is owned by the eighth Marquess of Bath, achieved a turnover of £32.8m for 2023, up from £30.2m, while its pre-tax profits increased from £2m to £2.8m over the same period.
It added that Cheddar Gorge”performed strongly” throughout the year while Longleat’s year-round business model “proved that a difficult August can be offset by a good December”.
During the year the average number of people employed by the group increased from 447 to 536, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House.
Longleat and Cheddar Gorge owner eyes further investment
Executive chairman Ceawlin Thynn, the eighth Marquess of Bath, said: “2023 proved to be another successful year at both Longleat and Cheddar, demonstrating the ongoing appeal of our attractions.
“We remain committed to long-term investment at both attractions and have invested substantially in our African Painted Dogs enclosure at Longleat and Yeo’s Journey at Cheddar, which is an immersive augmented reality experience in Cox’s save; both exhibits opened during Easter 2024.
“We intend to announce further investment in due course.”
Longleat Safari and Adventure Park in Wiltshire was opened in 1966 and is located in the grounds of a stately home which is the seat of the Marquess of Bath.
The attraction was the world’s first drive-through safari park outside of Africa and has been the focus of BBC documentary series Animal Park since 2000.
Cheddar Gorge is located in Somerset and is the location of where Britain’s oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, estimated to be 9,000 years old, was found in 1903.
The current Marquess of Bath took over the running of Longleat Enterprises in 2009 and succeeded his father to the title in 2020.