Legoland theme park to be sold

THE popular Legoland theme park in Windsor is to be sold off following a slump in profits. A planned sale of the site follows the company's record $328m (£175m) net loss.

Lego intends to offload the Windsor Legoland by July along with theme parks in California, Germany and Denmark.

The Windsor family park opened in 1996. It was the first outside Denmark, where the toy giant was founded in 1932. In recent years it was the most popular paid-for attraction in the South-East, with 1.3m visitors annually.

Legoland launched its 10th season last month with five new attractions to persuade families to part with £22 per child.

But overall, the Lego brand has fallen out of favour. The toymaker is struggling to sell its building bricks as children turn to electronic gadgets such as MP3 players and mobile phones, as well as computers and games consoles.

Lego's 2004 loss was more than double the previous year's. The sale of the parks is seen as vital to putting the family-owned company on a more substantial footing, as it is saddled with almost £140m of debt.

Britain's Tussauds Group and Merlin Entertainment are thought to be likely bidders, along with European operators such as Parques Reunidos and Star Parks.

Lego has tried to diversify into computer games, baby products and camping goods, but is still suffering from a decline in the toy market. A spokesman said: 'The most serious threat is that children are losing interest in traditional toys at a younger age.'

But the company said the park would continue to offer Legoland activities. Managing director Mads Ryder said: 'What will not change is the Lego experience.'

Who's going up and down in the toy market?

Winners

Robosapiens: remotecontrolled robot

Nintendo: Japanese company raised profit forecast following launch of latest hand-held game

Monopoly: still popular and set to be updated with modern landmarks such as London Eye

Hornby: worldwide success for its Live Steam train and new Scalextric MotoGP motorbikes

Losers

Lego: latest figures continue trend as Lego suffers from competition

Barbie: girls are growing out of the famous doll and new arrivals Bratz are on the up

Action Man: sales suffering from competition with Spider-Man and Scooby Doo

Boohbah: soft toys, a spin-off from the TV series, which failed to prove a hit

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