Big Bus Tours welcomes newest partner, FTSE100 company Merlin Entertainments plc.

Big Bus Tours, the largest global operator of premium open-top sightseeing tours, announces that Merlin Entertainments plc is making a strategic investment in Big Bus Tours to become a minority shareholder. This investment is made alongside a global commercial agreement which will see both businesses sell each other's products.

Big Bus Tours and Merlin will work closely together to help each other's businesses grow, as both appeal to similar customers: a Big Bus tour is one of the first activities that tourists do when visiting a new city, while Merlin has outstanding attractions that are visited by tourists from around the world. Together, Big Bus Tours and Merlin will cross-sell these experiences to each other's customers, as well as develop new products, bundles and city passes that offer even better experiences and value. This is a global agreement, extending to many of the top cities around the world in which both Big Bus and Merlin are already present – including London, New York and Hong Kong – and that will enable further rapid global expansion for both businesses.

Pat Waterman, CEO of Big Bus Tours, comments: “I am delighted to announce our partnership with Merlin Entertainments. This investment is a natural progression from a long standing relationship in London which has extended to other cities in which we operate. The significant overlap in geographic footprint and creation of memorable customer experiences enables opportunities to cross-sell and promote tickets for both companies. Together, we will also be able to offer compelling new products to further delight our customers.”

The partnership will help make Big Bus Tours' range of distribution channels more comprehensive and balanced. Waterman adds “Big Bus has been increasing its support across a number of sales channels and this agreement will only support those further”.

This news marks the first anniversary since Big Bus Tours was purchased by Exponent Private Equity; during this time the company has been involved in three major acquisitions and expanded their portfolio to include Chicago and Rome.

For more information visit www.bigbustours.com 

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Notes to editor:
Big Bus Tours is the largest operator of open-top sightseeing tours in the world, providing sightseeing tours in 17 cities across three continents. It was formed by the merger of two established sightseeing tour businesses: the Big Bus Company Ltd (based in London) and Les Cars Rouges (based in Paris). The two businesses, each with over 20 years of successful tour experience, decided to combine their expertise, creating Big Bus Tours in May 2011. Big Bus Tours' sightseeing formula has been designed to provide a flexible approach to city discovery. Each open-top bus tour provides a hop-on, hop-off facility at a variety of interesting locations and, wherever possible, Big Bus Tours looks to enhance the
visitor sightseeing experience by providing complementary experiences. The Big Bus Tours app can be downloaded at www.bigbustours.com/app

Notes to Editor:
Merlin Entertainments plc
Merlin Entertainments plc is a global leader in location based, family entertainment. Europe's Number 1 and the world's second-largest visitor attraction operator, Merlin now operates over 100 attractions, 12 hotels and 4 holiday villages in 23 countries and across 4 continents. The company aims to deliver memorable experiences to its more than 60 million visitors worldwide, through its iconic global and local brands, and the commitment and passion of its circa 27,000 employees.

Media information:
Contact: Polly Beech
Email: polly@blackdiamond.co.uk 
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7845 6359