The Future of PortAventura

[UniloveEU]

No worries. UK is of course part of Europe, but they have isolated themselves from the rest of Europe because they opted out of the European Union through infamous Brexit. UK is still a viable partner - but has been derived of many important advantages in trade, economics and travel they had before. UK lost a big chunk of its economic power. They lack (skilled) workers due to new border and immigration politics so that it got harder for EU workers to enter the UK. The whole economy and population are still fighting against its aftermath, the war and the pandemic had even amplified that current situation. Unemployment rates are currently rising, also affecting business in the UK (other European companies moved their HQs to the Netherlands etc.) - and of course the potential purchasing power of their British target groups. All these topics affect UK and of course also other countries due to travel restrictions compared to other EU countries or the pre-Brexit situation. This is just a glimpse of everything that belongs to the Brexit effects. It’s a complex topic. But you have to consider this initial situation when entering the UK (or European) market.

 

[UniloveEU]

And I will stress--I apologize for lashing out as I have but a part of me is kind of really trying to wrap ahead of the constant negativity when there can be positivity to potentialities. As contradictory as I might be, I do genuinely think PAW is going to find a really good buyer (SeaWorld is unironically the one that I think might be the best off here); and I think there is a wealth of potential to come with PAW if they can tackle things that don't just need that of a buyer to step in.

Just to emphasize - it’s not negativity. It’s a realistic picture of the current situation when starting business in the UK. You have to consider the economic situation as well. I work in a corporation with global impact, too. Those are the typical questions, challenges and problems you have to face. And if you won’t consider those topics and factors as a business analyst and advisor before entering new markets, I might say that you're not doing your job good enough. No country-shaming, no negativity - it’s the current political and economic situation without any emotion. I live in Europe - Brexit is still a topic, UK‘s problematic situation is still a recurring topic in the European political discussion. And this also hurts since I love London and travelled there a lot before Brexit. But I simply can‘t imagine how to do successful business in the UK in these times with those additional challenges. Maybe they get financial benefits from the UK, maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel and Universal will build up their tents in UK. But thinking about Universal building up a destination in UK in this initial situation makes me think: wow, you’re really up to a challenge, are you.

 

[TheUniC6]

Just to emphasize - it’s not negativity. It’s a realistic picture of the current situation when starting business in the UK. You have to consider the economic situation as well. I work in a corporation with global impact, too. Those are the typical questions, challenges and problems you have to face. And if you won’t consider those topics and factors as a business analyst and advisor before entering new markets, I might say that you're not doing your job good enough. No country-shaming, no negativity - it’s the current political and economic situation without any emotion. I live in Europe - Brexit is still a topic, UK‘s problematic situation is still a recurring topic in the European political discussion. And this also hurts since I love London and travelled there a lot before Brexit. But I simply can‘t imagine how to do successful business in the UK in these times with those additional challenges. Maybe they get financial benefits from the UK, maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel and Universal will build up their tents in UK. But thinking about Universal building up a destination in UK in this initial situation makes me think: wow, you’re really up to a challenge, are you.

I wonder if they are back up locations in the tin as well.

 

[Mad Dog]

„we are expanding the brand by introducing new concepts, bringing it to new platforms – both physical and virtual – and entering new markets.“ - so these are the overall business objectives (not specific ones) from an interview with Mark Woodbury. But I don’t get how you enter a new (European) market through a non-EU country. Even business-related / financially, I don’t think you do yourself a favor.

Once again, we're all looking at this through the narrow vision of the theme park division. Comcast is a huge corporation, and the parks, while highly profitable, are just a small part of the overall equation. When it comes to 'real corporate strategy', that's something they talk about behind closed doors. The public comments are just that, they're for the public consumption. The UK park move makes no great business sense to me...UNLESS, something more is involved. There may be behind the scenes deals & promises being made with Comcast, and the theme park could possibly just be the public face of what's going on. And governments often offer 'can't refuse' sweetener deals to attract businesses. UK economy is lagging a bit and there's opportunities for politicians and the money people to secure new investments in a troubling political environment. Right now corporate borrowing costs are too high, unless they're getting extra assistance to make a deal. .....Of course, that's if this rumor is true.

 

[UniloveEU]

Once again, we're all looking at this through the narrow vision of the theme park division. Comcast is a huge corporation, and the parks, while highly profitable, are just a small part of the overall equation. When it comes to 'real corporate strategy', that's something they talk about behind closed doors. The public comments are just that, they're for the public consumption. The UK park move makes no great business sense to me...UNLESS, something more is involved. There may be behind the scenes deals & promises being made with Comcast, and the theme park could possibly just be the public face of what's going on...Of course, that's if this rumor is true.

You’re right. But: The goals are usually derived from the overall corporate objectives. The specific department objectives such as for Universal destinations and experiences need to be in line with the overall goals. Otherwise, the strategies won’t work. Nobody's talking about the hard business objectives or KPIs externally - but the soft objectives they communicate (also for shareholders etc.) are always hints for at least the bigger overall direction.

 

[Mad Dog]

You’re right. But: The goals are usually derived from the overall corporate objectives. The specific department objectives such as for Universal destinations and experiences needs to be in line with the overall goals. Otherwise, the strategies won’t work. Nobody's talking about the hard business objectives or KPIs externally - but the soft objective they communicate (also for shareholders etc.) are always hints for at least the bigger overall direction.

Could be cable/internet/media connections to all of this. That would be the lucrative end....Just like with Beijing, the real aim was to maintain and extend the showing of Universal movies in China. That's where the money was, not in the minority partnership of the theme park. It's not always what it appears to be.

 

[soph]

I’m British, my family all lives there, I moved abroad.
The cost of living has increased everywhere but it has really increased in the UK and a lot of people are really struggling.
On of the factors of Brexit is that it has cut the numbers of people who would work low wage jobs in the uk, such as fruit pickers. This has exponentially increased the cost of food.

The other thing to mention here is going on vacation in the uk is EXPENSIVE. The cost of hotels is astronomical and the cost of gas is very high. The reality is that a week long all inclusive trip to Salou via a uk travel company works out to be cheaper than a week at Alton towers. Combine this with guaranteed sunshine in the summer (this years summer in the uk was not good).

Don‘t get me wrong I would love to see a new park in the UK, if nothing else it may get Merlin to start maintaining their parks better.

 

[UniloveEU]

I’m British, my family all lives there, I moved abroad.
The cost of living has increased everywhere but it has really increased in the UK and a lot of people are really struggling.
On of the factors of Brexit is that it has cut the numbers of people who would work low wage jobs in the uk, such as fruit pickers. This has exponentially increased the cost of food.

The other thing to mention here is going on vacation in the uk is EXPENSIVE. The cost of hotels is astronomical and the cost of gas is very high. The reality is that a week long all inclusive trip to Salou via a uk travel company works out to be cheaper than a week at Alton towers. Combine this with guaranteed sunshine in the summer (this years summer in the uk was not good).

Don‘t get me wrong I would love to see a new park in the UK, if nothing else it may get Merlin to start maintaining their parks better.

Thanks Soph! That's what I am talking about. And I really think it’s a shame that UK is struggling that hard Hope it will get better soon!

 

[Nico]

Just a reminder this is the PA thread.

I know the comparisons/connections are hard to distinguish in this larger conversation at times. If it becomes too prohibitive to the natural flow of conversation, we can consider a general Universal in Europe thread instead.

 

[Michael S]

Pivoting back to PA, I just wanna make some bullet points to keep a track record.

-Portaventura is gearing up for a potential sale
-Universal folks have been visiting the park (surveying, taking notes, etc.)
-It’s pretty obvious something major will happen with the resort
-News of whatever occurs will probably be public in the near future

Whatever happens, it is an exciting proposition. I’ve listened to countless interviews with John Wardley talking about his help in designing the original park and it really was a groundbreaking park for the region (and the industry outside of Disney & Universal) and is one I can’t wait to visit one day.

I’ve heard stuff about how the park is run today (while uncorroborated) makes me hope that whoever buys it really makes an effort to bring back that sparkling image of years past. Be it Universal, or another operator.

 

[Nico]

Does anyone subscribe to this news site? I saw this on Twitter, but I can’t get to the bulk of the article without an account. Not sure what is being said.

PortAventura estudia segregar sus inmuebles para sacarlos a la venta por 400 millones

Investindustrial y KKR, los dos propietarios de PortAventura, están barajando segregar los activos inmobiliarios del famoso complejo turístico de la Costa Dorada para venderlos y,

www.expansion.com

 

[Mad Dog]

All things being equal on the business end, which they probably unfortunately aren't, I'd personally think the better theme park site to get good attendance would be to buy and improve PA over building a new UK park. Climate (sun) and the ease of travel within a Brexit nation would be my primary reasons. But, as I've said before, I'm guessing there's a lot more going on behind the scenes that will result in PA coming in second in the horse race. But then again, maybe Universal will surprise and buy both horses. ....Bottom line, this is an interesting and fun discussion.

 

[erider]

I know it's not the right thread, but I just wonder why Universal is not reconsidering the Krefeld, Germany location. They where pretty far along with those plans as I recall, and it's pretty centrally located in Europe.

 

[UniloveEU]

I know it's not the right thread, but I just wonder why Universal is not reconsidering the Krefeld, Germany location. They where pretty far along with those plans as I recall, and it's pretty centrally located in Europe.

Developing new theme parks in Germany is not really easy. On the one hand, there is local politics, which views many things skeptically. On the other hand, there are many other opponents such as residents who want to prevent major projects in their immediate neighborhood. Europa-Park and Phantasialand have been facing this headwind for years. The basic mood here is less "Yay, a new theme park!" and much more "Oh God, stay away with your noise, pollution and dirt“.

 

[mediaservi]

Does anyone subscribe to this news site? I saw this on Twitter, but I can’t get to the bulk of the article without an account. Not sure what is being said.

PortAventura estudia segregar sus inmuebles para sacarlos a la venta por 400 millones

Investindustrial y KKR, los dos propietarios de PortAventura, están barajando segregar los activos inmobiliarios del famoso complejo turístico de la Costa Dorada para venderlos y,

www.expansion.com

View attachment 20145

PortAventura estudia poner sus inmuebles a la venta

El parque temático propiedad de Investindustrial y KKR está teniendo en cuenta la posibilidad de segregar sus activos inmobiliarios de su complejo en la Costa Daurada y venderlos.

www.ejeprime.com

 

[Viator]

Does anyone subscribe to this news site? I saw this on Twitter, but I can’t get to the bulk of the article without an account. Not sure what is being said.

PortAventura estudia segregar sus inmuebles para sacarlos a la venta por 400 millones

Investindustrial y KKR, los dos propietarios de PortAventura, están barajando segregar los activos inmobiliarios del famoso complejo turístico de la Costa Dorada para venderlos y,

www.expansion.com

View attachment 20145

@Ryan brought this up on the TPS Discord and inclined to agree; but getting California's Great America vibes here.

Especially considering potentially this:

 

[Ryan]

Yeah, uh Comcast is not particularly interested in just doing a real estate sale. This is pretty grim.

 

[Alicia]

@Ryan brought this up on the TPS Discord and inclined to agree; but getting California's Great America vibes here.

Especially considering potentially this:

I presume this would be a quick way to pay down the company’s debt, using the money from the land acquisition. Later they could theoretically still sell the parks and hotels and without the attached debt, but now unfortunately without ownership of the land it sits upon, which is not the best long term investment for an operator.

 

[Nico]

@Ryan brought this up on the TPS Discord and inclined to agree; but getting California's Great America vibes here.

Especially considering potentially this:

That’s what I thought it said too. The article does mention they are still open to a full purchase with that 1 billion price tag. My main take away is they are open to all options.

Thank you @mediaservi !

 

[Ryan]

Would Universal really want to spend a billion dollars on a park that they have to completely makeover in their image or wouldn't it be more cost-effective to spend that money towards something new?