Merlin Entertainments Purchases Cypress Gardens

Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator, has purchased the Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Fla., to develop and open Legoland Florida, a family tourist center, on the site at the end of 2011. Merlin bought the site from property investment company Land South Group, which specializes in real estate investment across the southeastern United States and has purchased over 320,000 acres of timberland, commercial property, residential property, industrial land, and agricultural land.

The deal to buy the 145-acre site includes the freehold on the current theme park and waterpark, as well as an operating lease in perpetuity on the historic botanical gardens. Merlin is planning a significant multi-million dollar investment over several years, up to and beyond Legoland Florida’s opening. Merlin owns Legoland parks in California, Denmark, Germany, and England. Legoland Florida will be the biggest Merlin park to date.

The decision to open a Legoland park in Florida follows considerable research in the area by Merlin over a number of years. Cypress Gardens has long been a popular location for millions of visitors. Merlin believes its central Florida location, approximately 30 minutes from Orlando and also close to Tampa, is the perfect site for a leisure brand like Legoland, which is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs and boost the Florida economy through the use of local contractors for development.