Merlin Entertainment set to be valued at £3.3bn

Merlin Entertainments, the theme-park operator behind the London Eye, Alton Towers, Madame Tussauds and Legoland, will be valued at up to £3.3bn when it lists on the London Stock Exchange next month.

The private equity-owned company has set the price range of its flotation at 280p to 330p per share, giving it a market capitalisation of between £2.9bn and £3.3bn – although Merlin is only floating about a fifth of the business.

Between 85 per cent and 90 per cent of the floated shares will be allocated to institutional investors, Merlin said, with the rest going to small investors who can buy into the float with a minimum £1,000 investment. That's a third more than the minimum spend on Royal Mail stock.