How Harry Potter holds key to Universal's UK theme park success: Experts cast doubt over £5bn project, due to create 20,000 jobs

Daily Mail​

08-05-2025

With the world looking a more dangerous place than it has been for decades, it may seem like a bad moment to announce the opening of a £5billion theme park dedicated to fun and fantasy.
Perhaps it looks frivolous – but that has not dampened the appetite of US media giant Universal, which is embarking on a huge project to turn a 475-acre site near Bedford into the UK's biggest theme park.
Nor did it deter Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves from touting it as a major vote of confidence in the UK economy and an example of future partnership between the UK and the US.
Days after Universal's announcement, Disney unveiled a plan for a park and resort in the United Arab Emirates – its first for 15 years – ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump next week.
Perhaps there will be more demand for the escapism of theme parks as the world grows darker. And the UK entertainment industry could do with a fillip, after being thrown into disarray by Trump's threatened film tariffs.
But it will be a while before shareholders in Comcast – the US giant that owns Universal – or the rest of us find out whether Labour's boasts of thousands of new jobs and a £50billion boost to economic growth are warranted.
And will the Universal park have a key magic ingredient: Harry Potter?
A critical dimension to its success is intellectual property. The resort, set to be built on the former Kempston Hardwick brickworks, will rely on a treasure trove of intellectual property, from Lord Of The Rings to James Bond, Paddington and Jurassic World.
But Universal does not have the rights to the Harry Potter intellectual property. This is controlled by JK Rowling's Wizarding World, a trademark jointly held by the author of the books and Warner Bros Entertainment.
Sir Nick Varney, who retired as chief executive of Merlin Entertainments in 2022, spent 25 years in theme parks and believes the boy wizard is critical.
He says Universal parks including Orlando and Osaka were largely flatlining until the launch of Harry Potter attractions, and adds: 'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was a game-changer that overturned Disney's dominance.
'Harry Potter is probably the most powerful intellectual property on the planet with regard to theme parks.
'Way more powerful than Star Wars and anything Disney have. 'I'd be absolutely amazed if there wasn't a deal to be done on the Bedford site at some point because Universal is so much stronger with it.'
Universal says that it is still too early in the process to know the possible attractions and experiences that will be featured.
The park is not expected to open until 2031, and will need planning approvals. The scale is huge: it will include a 500-room hotel, shopping and dining.
Universal says it will have a 'transformative impact', and be a 'major contributor to the creative arts and tourism industries'.
The claim is that it will generate almost £50billion of economic benefit and create around 20,000 jobs during construction.
At opening, it will become one of the biggest employers in the region, with 80 per cent of staff coming from Bedford and the wider county, Luton and Milton Keynes.
Behind the hype, the process can be convoluted. Varney, 62, believes reaching a target of 8.5m visitors would be challenging.
'You have to get an awful lot of visitors over a sustained period spending a significant amount per head to get a return on capital,' he says. 'Over and over again, theme park people have got that fundamental equation wrong.'
The current non-executive chairman of Bath Rugby adds: 'Too many operators believe their own publicity, fall short, get their break-even point wrong to a degree where they're either losing money or not making the money they need to service the debt and give them a return on capital.
'There aren't very many examples of brand new out-of-the-box theme parks that have made the shareholders money. And that includes Universal, Disney and, in the past, Legoland.'
One property industry analyst pinpointed hotel bedrooms as a potential problem for Universal, pointing out that it is raising the prospect of more than 8m visitors in year one and more to follow, yet it has only announced plans for a single 500-room hotel.
Varney said: 'In the big resorts, you'd expect 30 per cent of people to stay overnight, but unless Universal starts building more hotels the best it will be able to offer is a local Travelodge or a Mrs Miggins' guesthouse.
'Bedford is not the centre of the universe for hotels.'
By the time the scheme was announced, much of the planning and community legwork had been done and more than a year of feasibility work completed.
The launch was hailed as an important moment, although a cynic might say it was little more than an opportunity for politicians including the Chancellor and Prime Minister to pitch up in pristine high-vis jackets.
Andrew Sangster, a hospitality industry investment expert, was among the more positive observers.
He says: 'The scale, with jobs and £50billion of investment, shows that the future of our economy lies with the service sector, and, in particular, with the experience economy.'
He adds: 'While the Scunthorpe steelworks is making all the headlines, it represents less than 10 per cent of the number of jobs, and rather than creating value in our economy, it absorbs taxpayer cash. It is currently losing £700,000 a day.'
Universal Destinations & Experiences is part of Comcast Corporation, the global media and technology company that owns NBCUniversal and Sky in the UK.
It has five theme parks and resorts around the world, with Universal Horror Unleashed set to open in Las Vegas in August, and the Universal Kids Resort in Frisco, Texas, coming on stream next year.
Let's hope the latest addition to its portfolio is a roaring success. Now, more than ever – following Trump's threatened film tariffs – the UK creative industries need a boost.