Merlin releases info on Legoland Japan

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20111029a4.html

Danish construction toy maker Lego is planning to build its first Legoland theme park in Japan on the Kinjo Pier in Nagoya, city officials said Thursday.

 

Lego hopes to open its first park in Asia in 2015, the officials said.

 

Marlin Entertainment of Britain, which operates the Legoland parks, informed the Nagoya Municipal Government that the pier has been chosen as the final candidate location for the park in Japan.

 

The city office plans to negotiate for leasing some 10 hectares of land on the pier for the park, the officials said.

 

There are a total of five Legoland parks, in Denmark, Britain, the United States and Germany.

Japan sure does love putting major theme parks next to the ocean!

Interesting....I know Lego is rather big in Japan. I remember reading somewhere that the sets there are actually slightly altered to be less violent.

I wonder If this will effect what attractions they decide to install....

Just one more reason to go back to Japan!

That's pretty fast expansion into Asia. Malaysia next year with Japan and South Korea in the works.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nb20120615a6.html

Officials involved with the operation of Legoland theme parks have sought the support of Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura for a bid to open in 2016 the toy maker's first play land in Japan.

 

Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, chairman of Kirkbi A/S, the largest shareholder of Lego A/S, told a meeting Wednesday at City Hall that Lego hopes by "early August or autumn" to officially select Nagoya as the site.

 

"We'll cooperate in the construction," Kawamura said. The Lego officials later visited a 10-hectare candidate site near the port of Nagoya. City officials said Lego plans to fill the theme park with miniatures, built with its plastic blocks, of notable sites in Japan and elsewhere, as well as rides, shops and accommodations facilities.

I really feel like a Legoland park is a perfect fit for Japan. I found a photo of the site below - it looks like it already has a "stadium" type building. I'm guessing thats the area that this would be built.

I noticed that the date slipped from 2015 to 2016 and they still do not officially have a site yet.

As of the Merlin entertainments newsletter, Legoland will open in the Japanese City of Nagoya. Debuting in mid-2017, the £185 million investment will join the other legoland parks.

What do you think about this?

Is there a link to this?

If it's true, than this great for Japan

Is there a link to this?

 

If it's true, than this great for Japan

It's on a printed off newsletter. But I will send the pictures tomorrow.

Here is the official press release from Merlin.

Merlin Entertainments plc announces agreement

to open LEGOLAND Japan

- New LEGOLAND theme park to open in Nagoya, Japan in the second quarter of 2017

- Park to be opened under Merlin’s ‘operated and leased' model

Merlin Entertainments plc (Merlin) today announces it will open its first LEGOLAND park in Japan, which is the second biggest theme park market in the world1. The new park, to be located in the city of Nagoya, will cost c¥32 billion (c£185 million2) in total and adds to Merlin’s existing portfolio of six LEGOLAND parks in five countries.

 

The park will be opened under Merlin’s ‘operated and leased’ model, with the infrastructure of the park being funded by a third party. Merlin will directly invest c¥9.2 billion (c£53 million2) in the park over the next 3 years and lease the balance of the assets from a company owned by KIRKBI Invest A/S (which is a subsidiary of KIRKBI A/S (‘KIRKBI’) a privately held investment and holding company with a 75% ownership share in the LEGO Group and a 29.9% shareholding in Merlin). KIRKBI’s investment, which is separate to that of Merlin’s, will be funded through a combination of equity and external debt provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). Merlin’s investment is expected to deliver returns consistent with the Group’s stated pre-tax cash ROIC target of 20%.

 

Nick Varney, Merlin Entertainments Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“Today’s announcement is another major milestone in the development of the LEGOLAND brand. We are delighted to be working closely with the City of Nagoya and with KIRKBI on the project, both of whom appreciate the potential of the brand in the second biggest theme park market in the world.

 

The park will make a significant contribution to the growth of the Merlin group from opening in the second quarter of 2017, as well as supporting our continued geographic diversification. Long term, we continue to believe that there is significant opportunity for the LEGOLAND brand, with the potential for up to 20 parks across the world and we remain committed to our target of opening a new park every two to three years.”

 

LEGOLAND Japan

The Japanese theme park market is the largest in Asia, with an estimated value of £4 billion1, and already boasts some of the world’s most successful theme parks. Given the high level of LEGO brand awareness and the specific ‘young family’ target demographic, LEGOLAND Japan is expected to be complementary to the existing parks in the region.

 

Nagoya is ideally located in the centre of Japan and is approximately two hours from Tokyo and one hour from Osaka, with independent market research suggesting a potential catchment area in excess of 20 million people1. The park will be located on a site close to the port, with excellent road and rail links. The initial development will focus on the theme park, with potential options available for further park expansion and the development of on-site, themed accommodation over future periods.

LEGOLAND Japan will be of similar scale to the recently opened LEGOLAND parks in Malaysia and Florida and is expected to employ up to 1,000 staff in a variety of roles.

 

Project funding and financial impact

The total initial investment in the park will be ¥32 billion (c£185 million2) with Merlin directly investing ¥9.2 billion (£53 million2), funded from cash reserves, into a wholly owned and controlled operating company. The balance of the assets, primarily the park infrastructure assets, will be funded and owned by a company owned by KIRKBI, through a combination of equity, and external debt provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Merlin will lease the park and associated assets from KIRKBI on arm’s length commercial terms, paying a turnover-based rent with a ¥879 million (c£5 million2) annual floor on a 50 year fully repairing and insuring lease.

Furthermore, the City of Nagoya has agreed to support the park with the development of the required local travel infrastructure, including a 5,000 space multi-storey car park and improved road connectivity to the park.

Merlin will consolidate the revenues of the park and anticipates generating a pre-tax cash ROIC consistent with its stated 20% target on its c¥9.2 billion (c£53 million2) investment, after payment of the rental charge.

The EBITDA margin is expected to be in the range of 15-20%, which is lower than the existing LEGOLAND operating group average due to the inclusion of the rental charge. The majority of the c¥9.2 billion (c£53 million2) capex is expected to be incurred over 2015-17, and pre-opening expenses of around c¥1.4 billion (c£8 million2) are also expected in this period. The park is expected to make a positive EBITDA contribution from the first full year of operation.

 

LEGOLAND Parks

Merlin currently operates six LEGOLAND parks in five countries, including the most recent new openings in Florida (2011) and Malaysia (2012), and plans to open a seventh in Dubai in 2016. The LEGOLAND Park Operating Group enjoyed 14.2% revenue growth in 2013 delivering over £350 million in revenue with an EBITDA margin of 36.0%. Merlin sees the roll out of new LEGOLAND parks as one of the key growth drivers of the business.

Merlin also operates LEGOLAND Discovery Centres, a smaller, indoor LEGOLAND experience, with an existing successful attraction in Tokyo.

-Craig

That's great news, especially since it seems like Japan closes parks and coasters much faster than they open them. And I'm always happy for another reason to go back to Japan.

I wonder what attractions there will be?

I wonder what attractions there will be?

Pretty much everything you typically see at a Legoland park. I doubt there would be more than one or two custom rides/attractions at opening.

I wonder what attractions there will be?

They need their own version of Polar X-Plorer thats for sure! That ride really surprised me with how much fun it was!

-Craig

Nice, it's good that have a firm date to shoot towards. Yet another reason to go to Japan!!

These have been around for a few years now but it shows the site off. Looks to be the same place.

This park is WAY more advanced than i thought it was.

Cool video here showing off the construction site compared to the concept art

^ This Legoland looks like what the folks in Japan wanted with their Tokyo Disneyland.

To be a lot like the original park, with a load of all the known and new attractions, plussed up.

I love Japan.

FYI - Today was the park's Grand Opening

Anyone been there? It looks really small.