Colin Armstrong
Group legal director and company secretary
Merlin Entertainments Group
In running Merlin Entertainments Group’s legal team single-handedly, Colin Armstrong supports the entire group on all legal matters while his company secretarial function provides strategic and operational advice. Merlin is now the second-largest visitor attraction operator after Disney. The company manages 60 sites across Europe and the US, including family favourites such as Alton Towers, Sea Life, Legoland, Madame Tussauds, The Dungeons, Heide Park in Germany and the London Eye.
Armstrong’s biggest deal to date was the acquisition of the Tussauds Group – owners of Madame Tussauds and the London Eye – for £1bn in 2007, the year he joined the company. Another noteworthy deal was the purchase of LEGOLAND Parks for £250m in 2005, after Merlin was taken over by US private equity house Blackstone for £110m in the same year. The group’s legal spend varies between £2m-7m depending on the M&A and corporate finance activity. Typically, around half is spent in the UK with the rest going overseas, while insurance costs add roughly £5m.
Armstrong frequently works with new firms and says he particularly enjoys working with Ashurst for corporate, finance and international advice; King & Wood Mallesons for support in Australia, Asia and China; Knights and TLT for their excellent commercial and operational support; and Fenwick Elliott for project law advice.
Law firms used: Ashurst, Fenwick Elliott, King & Wood Mallesons, Knights, TLT
2007-present: Group legal director and company secretary, Merlin Entertainments Group
2001-07: Group legal director, AutoLogic Holdings
2000-01: Company secretary and head of legal affairs, Northern Leisure
1997-99: Group company secretary and head of legal affairs, National Express Group