Olympic chief to raise funds for £2bn Kent theme park
A London 2012 director who helped raise cash for the Games has been given the job of getting a £2bn British rival to Disneyland off the ground in Kent.
Chris Townsend was commercial director at London 2012 organiser Locog.
He now has the same role at London Resort Company Holdings who want to build a £2bn theme park in Kent for Paramount Pictures.
Townsend will start talks with City investors this week to raise funding for the project on an 872-acre site on the Swanscombe peninsula near Ebbsfleet which is scheduled to open in 2018.
He told the Standard: “Post-Olympics it’s probably going to be the country’s biggest and most exciting regeneration project. The UK doesn’t have a destination on this scale and the closest to us is Eurodisney in Paris.
“There’s real support at a local level and a lot of interest from potential investors. I’m confident that this stands a very good chance of happening but it is a tough market.
“The UK needs big regeneration projects to kick-start the economy and this will be a substantial tourism destination not just for the UK but for Europeans.”
He said most funding would be in place next year, triggering a planning application.
Development vehicle London Resort Company Holdings has been set up by Brookfield Multiplex, Development Securities and current land owner Lafarge.