A popular coastal theme park has reported a £2.7m pre-tax financial loss over the past year, prompting the closure of some smaller rides to make way for brand-new attractions.
Entering its 128th year, Blackpool Pleasure Beach has announced that many of its rides will be getting a “reimagining”, such as a makeover or upgrade to keep the rides fresh for its visitors, as well as a brand new pendulum attraction announcement slated to break records.
However, the park has reported this is coming off the back of a financial loss, citing the cost-of-living crisis and weather events as the reason.
In the park’s latest financial accounts, covering a year up to 24 March 2024, there was a loss before tax of £2.7m.
The report said that “trading in the current year has been extremely difficult due to many external factors beyond our control”.
It notes the ongoing cost of living crisis is “depressing non-essential spend”, as well as weather remaining a key factor in terms of overall turnover and attendance.
A statement in the report said: “The company has instigated a headcount review and a review of the assets on park.
“As a result, a number of rides will be closed for the forthcoming season.
“We are also looking at how we profile the opening and closing times of both individual rides and the park itself with a view to maximising efficiency (and therefore cost) whilst balancing it with achieving great customer satisfaction.”
Opening times for this year will actually be greater than in 2024, adding an extra 68 hours to its total operational hours across 2025. However, changes have been made in the implementation of staggered ride openings, a common industry practice, meaning some rides may open slightly later, usually by periods of 30 minutes.
In February, Pleasure Beach said that it had made the decision to close some of its smaller, less popular rides for the 2025 season.
These include the Eddie Stobart Convoy, Alpine Rallye, Thompson Carousel, Gallopers and Red Arrows Skyforce.
“The smaller rides were already being run on reduced opening times and our rider data showed that they have some of our lowest throughput, while Skyforce is 10 years old this year,” the park wrote.
“After a great deal of thought, it was clear to us that the right decision is to make changes which will allow us to reinvest into a bigger and better future.
“We announced last year that we are focused on our evolution,” it added.
“That means constantly moving forward, reviewing our offering, and reinvesting – all while holding onto the things that make us special, and we can’t wait to show you how some of that evolution will look.”
In the report, the company said it will continue to improve its visitor’s experience by investing in new attractions and other customer-focused improvements.
As part of this, Pleasure Beach has recently announced the launch of a brand new £8.72m ride, which will be the biggest of its kind in the UK.
The new giant swinging pendulum, double the size of other similar gyro swings, will be added to the park in 2026, spinning and spinning riders as they reach high points of up to 138 feet.
Other existing rides are also getting updates, such as its Ice Blast ride, which will be reintroduced as ‘Launch Pad’ this spring.
Additionally, new scenes from the latest Wallace & Gromit instalment, Vengeance Most Fowl, will be added to its Thrill-O-Matic ride.
It also announced that its River Caves ride, a family favourite since 1905, will be the next attraction to receive a refresh.
A spokesperson from Pleasure Beach Resort told The Independent: “It has been a challenging few years of trading across the entire industry, and we have undertaken the necessary actions to continue to offer the same amazing experiences to our guests.
They added that there are “currently no plans to close any further rides”.
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