The Tussauds Group was a visitor attractions company based in London, United Kingdom. Its portfolio of attractions included the Madame Tussauds waxworks, Heide Park Resort in Germany, The London Eye, Warwick Castle, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, and Chessington World of Adventures.
The company was purchased by The Blackstone Group and merged with Merlin Entertainments in 2007.
History
The 1700s
The physician, Philippe Curtius began to create organs and biological structures from wax. After creating organs, Curtius went on to recreate notable people in society out of the medium too. Curtius put these models on display to the public in Berne, Switzerland where they caught the attention of the French royal family. In 1765, the royal family invited Curtius to display his exhibits in Paris. When moving to Paris, Curtius bought with him a housekeeper and her daughter, Marie Grosholtz, who Curtius then took on as an apprentice of his work.
Under Curtius’ teaching, Marie became renowned for her modelling, completing portraits of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. This led to Marie being invited to the royal court at Versailles where she was employed as a teacher. In 1795, Marie married François Tussaud with whom she had two sons. After the French Revolution in 1789, Marie continued her modelling and made death masks of her deceased ex-employers. Upon the death of Curtius in 1794, Marie inherited his estate, including his properties and his workshop. The site was managed by Tussauds and soon became one of the United Kingdom's most popular attractions.
In November 2005, the company bought British Airways’ stake in the London Eye for £95 million. The other shareholder, Marks Barfield, also offered to buy British Airways' stake but the latter chose the Tussauds group as they felt that their offer was more beneficial for the company's shareholders. In February 2006, the group began negotiations to buy the final 33% of the attraction from Marks Barfield for up to £80 million.
In 2005, the Tussauds group was sold to Dubai International Capital, a branch of the government that deals with investment, for £800 million ($1.5 billion). Dubai International Capital then held 20% of Merlin Entertainment. The Tussauds Group as a separate entity ceased to exist. About the merger, the chief executive of Merlin Entertainment, Nick Varney, said that the combination of the two groups, as well as their audiences, would place the new company in the global market. He also believed that both groups expertise in the management business would benefit the company too. Peter Phillipson, the chief executive of the Tussauds group added that the new group would be able to help the developments of Tussauds theme parks and attractions as well as increase the number of Madame Tussauds around the world. Although the attraction sites are owned by Prestbury, they continue to be operated by Merlin based on a renewable 35-year lease.