Madam Tussaud's to invest pounds 30m

MADAME TUSSAUD'S will invest pounds 30m in its overseas operations over the next two years, the venture capital group which won the auction for the world-famous waxworks said yesterday. Charterhouse Development Capital, which is buying Tussaud's for pounds 352m from media group Pearson, run by Marjorie Scardino, said the cash would primarily be spent on opening waxworks in New York and Las Vegas.

Charterhouse won the bidding war with two other venture capital groups and two US trade buyers. The acquisition, which is the group's first major deal for two years, will initially be funded 50 per cent with equity and 50 per cent with debt, although Charterhouse hopes to refinance some of the equity when the bond markets stabilise. It is planning to float the group in four to five years' time.