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The Financial Situation

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Themepark-newbie

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Hi all, long time Drayton fan, first time poster. I am doing a bit of research for a college project and came across the latest Drayton Manor accounts.

I'm no financial expert, but it does make pretty grim reading! They owe huge amounts of money and the interest they are currently paying is extortionate. It seems they took a 'repayment holiday' which means the interest is only racking up.

With the pending enquiry results and parking charges introduced... Is this a worrying time for Drayton?
 
Welcome to Drayton Talk!

You're right, they're not looking the best. Personally I don't think its a worrying time for the park whatsoever, they took out loans for the Hotel as far as I am aware, and for a while that did not make a profit, it has now "broken even" and as such is now beginning to become a profitable venture. I also think the addition of the £2 car parking charge will make a big difference on the financial situation of the park as they have guaranteed additional income. The park could also potentially be looking at compensation from Maurer-Söhne following the rumoured removal of G-Force, a concept coaster, either way they should make money from either selling this on or scrapping it.

I think these factors, as well as the expected rise in gate numbers for the 2019 Season as it is another year on from the Splash Canyon incident, will help improve the financial situation to a point whereby they can pay back some of those loans and perhaps look at investing in the park, and then pay back further with the profits this will hopefully bring. Personally I think it's all about getting that next investment in at a time where guest figures will improve and it being a good time to make repayments on those loans. I think in the next year or so we will start to see an upward change in the park!

As I say, I'm no financial expert but this is how I see it.
 
Thanks for your reply. All makes sense to me. It is just whether BREXIT might scare some of the banks into recalling their loans quicker. I guess it also means that developments will be slower as their income is taken up in repayments or they struggle to get more loans? Who knows. I'm just fingers crossed for a great season for them!
 
Themepark-newbie said:
Thanks for your reply. All makes sense to me. It is just whether BREXIT might scare some of the banks into recalling their loans quicker. I guess it also means that developments will be slower as their income is taken up in repayments or they struggle to get more loans? Who knows. I'm just fingers crossed for a great season for them!
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Oh the dreaded! It will likely mean they are more cautious in making developments as it has to work for them otherwise there could be financial repercussions, which is likely why they have invested in the safer Thomas Land attractions which are cheaper and almost guaranteed to make a profit in the past few years, actual Theme Park investment is far more risky.

I'm hoping, and I'm sure they will, have a great 2019 season that helps resolve their current financial situation, which I don't see as anything to worry about anyway.
 
I think the best way Drayton could make better new non Thomas rides will be to follow what Alton Towers did with the Smiler incident. Install (as much as we don’t like it) more IP (Thomas) rides, to attract visitors and make a profit. James and the Red Balloon cost £250,000 and is well themed for what it is, so 2 more Zamperla rides could help loads for a small price. As for where they could go it could go on the left of the entrance sign, as I do remeber in 2015 plans were put up around the area for a new experience or ride. Like Towers, Drayton should continue with their unofficial TLC. I love it how they’ve made the park look fresh/ new to new guests with adding barley any rides over the last few years. Then they should add a new coaster. They don’t need to spend £16million like Towers did for Wicker Man, a cheap Zamperla/ Vekoma/ S&S coaster for £4 million could work well for them.
 
They could remove that pointless bandstand which is only used for theming and put a new Thomas flat ride there. Behind that construction gate is benches so but sure if it’s used as another staff area as I always see Staff handing in pieces of paper at the end of the day.
 
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Themeparksandy1981 said:
They could remove that pointless bandstand which is only used for theming and put a new Thomas flat ride there. Behind that construction gate is benches so but sure if it’s used as another staff area as I always see Staff handing in pieces of paper at the end of the day.
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That area behind the gate by the Thomas Land expansion shop used to be where Terence and Blue Mountain originally used to be. It's used as a storage area and the original operator cabin for Blue Mountain is still there
 
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I heard that the Pirate building was planned to be stripped and turned into a large Thomas themed soft play. This would allow more activity on wet day and evening play for hotel guests. Not sure how true / viable it is though!
 
They'll need to level out the building because you have the steel trough, where the scenes rest on and as well the station area.

Themepark-newbie said:
I heard that the Pirate building was planned to be stripped and turned into a large Thomas themed soft play. This would allow more activity on wet day and evening play for hotel guests. Not sure how true / viable it is though!
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Themepark-newbie said:
I heard that the Pirate building was planned to be stripped and turned into a large Thomas themed soft play. This would allow more activity on wet day and evening play for hotel guests. Not sure how true / viable it is though!
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There was most certainly some action reported from the Pirate Adventure building! I think it was you, Themeparksandy1981, that shared the updates. Fencing around the Maintenance Section has been replaced, Peg Leg Polly was also lit up with the screen folded back, there was also some movement in the queueline with the doors being reported open.

As much as I don't like the idea of Pirate Adventure being removed to make a Thomas themed soft play area, it does make sense. Thomas Land is open over Christmas and February where the weather isn't so nice, so maybe having some indoor capacity and potentially moving some existing rides in there could look great and be a great pull for the park, they must lose money on the days it rains and families decide not to come!

Given the financial situation of the park I can't see them making a big investment this year or next, I feel that they'll wait for visitor numbers to recover, pay off some of the debts that they currently have now that the Hotel is beginning to make them money, and then will invest when they are in a more secure financial situation. But whatever the next investment is, it needs to bring the crowds in to fund an even better investment next time - onwards and upwards!
 
Dan said:
There was most certainly some action reported from the Pirate Adventure building! I think it was you, Themeparksandy1981, that shared the updates. Fencing around the Maintenance Section has been replaced, Peg Leg Polly was also lit up with the screen folded back, there was also some movement in the queueline with the doors being reported open.

As much as I don't like the idea of Pirate Adventure being removed to make a Thomas themed soft play area, it does make sense. Thomas Land is open over Christmas and February where the weather isn't so nice, so maybe having some indoor capacity and potentially moving some existing rides in there could look great and be a great pull for the park, they must lose money on the days it rains and families decide not to come!

Given the financial situation of the park I can't see them making a big investment this year or next, I feel that they'll wait for visitor numbers to recover, pay off some of the debts that they currently have now that the Hotel is beginning to make them money, and then will invest when they are in a more secure financial situation. But whatever the next investment is, it needs to bring the crowds in to fund an even better investment next time - onwards and upwards!
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There was a lot of movement going on around pirate adventure last year. We visit regularly 40+ times this year and last time at Christmas they appeared to have some sort of motorised lifter behind the fence where the boats were being stored.
 
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remlap said:
There was a lot of movement going on around pirate adventure last year. We visit regularly 40+ times this year and last time at Christmas they appeared to have some sort of motorised lifter behind the fence where the boats were being stored.
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They were only moving the Pirate Adventure and Excalibur boats around to make more open storage space. Nothing is happening with Pirate Adventure itself
 
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Themepark-newbie said:
I heard that the Pirate building was planned to be stripped and turned into a large Thomas themed soft play. This would allow more activity on wet day and evening play for hotel guests. Not sure how true / viable it is though!
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Reading back through old threads, is this what is now Emily's Soft Play?

EDIT: I looked on the DM website and it apparently opened in 2008? I'm sure it did, but why would there be plans to make another one? Here's the DM page: https://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/attraction-details/emilys-adventure-play
 
It is nice to see Drayton Manor seemingly making a decent profit once again.

The concerns raised about the dire state of the park's finances were well founded. The park was in a REALLY bad situation. So much so as we all know, they were left with no situation but to sell. They only sold the assets though. Not the land I believe. But even so, they picked up everything on the land for a really, really cheap price.

Just goes to show what a couple of seasons and some changes under the hood can do in a short period of time.
 
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