(Bloomberg) --
Merlin Entertainments Chief Executive Officer Nick Varney will retire after more than two decades running the operator of theme parks and visitor attractions including Legoland and Madame Tussauds.
The board will find a successor during Varney's 12-month notice period to ensure an orderly handover, the U.K. company said in a statement dated April 29. Chief Development Officer Mark Fisher has also decided to retire over the same time period, it said.
Merlin Entertainments was formed in 1999 following the 47 million-pound ($59 million) management buyout of Vardon Entertainments led by Varney, who became CEO of the rebranded group. The company has expanded to operating 140 attractions, 23 hotels and six holiday villages around the world. Many sites closed during the pandemic and at one point Merlin furloughed 80% of global staff and implemented a hiring freeze.
In 2016, the company was fined 5 million pounds by a U.K. court over a roller-coaster crash at a theme park that caused two people to lose limbs. Five people were seriously injured in the accident at Alton Towers in England.
The Danish family behind the Lego empire agreed to buy Merlin in 2019 for about 4.8 billion pounds in a joint offer with private equity firm Blackstone Group LP and Canadian pension fund CPPIB.
Read More: Billionaire Lego Fund Surges on Toymaker, Portfolio Gains
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