Cornwall’s Eden Project has reported an increased pre-tax loss for its latest financial year despite a surge in visitor numbers. The attraction saw over 604,000 visitors in the year to 31 March, 2024, up from just over 551,000 in the previous 12 months.
This led to a rise in turnover from £23.2m to £24.2m. However, the increase in visitors did not prevent the pre-tax loss from nearly doubling from £868,000 to £1.5m, as revealed by recently filed accounts at Companies House.
These figures come ahead of the anticipated opening of a new Eden Project site in Morecambe, Lancashire, between 2027 and 2028. Lancashire City Council granted planning permission for the £125m project at the end of January 2022.
The project, which was initially expected to open in 2024 but has faced several delays, is set to employ more than 400 people directly and support 1,500 jobs in the region. The Eden Project North will be situated on the former Bubbles leisure complex site near the Winter Gardens and Midland Hotel.
When the local authority approved the development, it was projected that the project would boost the local economy by £200m annually.
A statement approved by the board read: “During this financial year, we emerged from the aftershocks of Russia invading Ukraine and the knock on effect on global energy prices, to a period of receding inflation and lowering interest rates.”, as reported by City AM.
“However, consumer confidence is still negative, but significantly improved over its all time low in October 2022.
“All of these factors impacted the trading results of Eden Project Limited during 2023/24.
Eden Project added: “Given the challenging conditions from last year and ongoing macro-economic uncertainty, we will continue to diligently control our resources but invest back into our principal asset, the Eden Project site, where necessary.”
Like this story? Why not sign up here for free to get the latest business news straight to your inbox.