An animal charity has sold off its last remaining zoos to a leisure company and will transfer 180 employees after battling “a series of crippling challenges”.
Paignton and Newquay zoos in Devon will no longer be run by charity Wild Planet Trust (WPT) after it announced the sale of both locations to Dutch company Libéma.
Libéma, which already owns and runs four zoos, will take over the sites on 2 January next year, with all 180 zoo employees set to transfer.
Following the zoo sales, WPT said it would focus on animal welfare, conservation and hospitality, including collaboration with Libéma on some future projects.
WPT said it would continue lease land at Slapton Ley, Devon, for the Field Studies Council and Living Coasts, the site of a former zoo in Torquay, for habitat restoration company ARC Marine.
Financial challenges
WPT would not reveal how much it received for the zoos but a spokesperson confirmed that the charity was still repaying a £1m government loan taken out during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In April last year, WPT trustees announced cost-cutting measures and redundancies to help pay it off.
This came after a “series of crippling challenges” where operational costs for both zoos amounted to £1m a month, according to the trust.
WPT posted an operating deficit in the last recorded financial year dated 31 October 2023, with a total expenditure of £14.2m compared to a total gross income of £11.6m.
The animal charity employed 318 people in 2022-23, with staff costs that year amounting to £7.24m.
A WPT spokesperson said this week there were “no employees currently for the trust”.
The charity’s total expenditure has steadily increased since 2020-21, when it was about £10.7m, while its total income has declined from £12.1m that year.
New ownership
Sarah Barr, WPT chair, said: “When we began seeking investment, our top priority was finding a new owner who would continue to operate the zoos and protect their legacy.
“We are confident that, under Libéma’s stewardship, the zoos will go from strength to strength whilst the trust concentrates on its vital conservation work.”
Libéma, a company with 20 businesses and 1,500 employees, will take over Paignton Zoo, which was established in 1923.
Newquay Zoo is Cornwall’s biggest and was given its permanent Trenance Gardens home in 1969. Collectively, the zoos bring in about 400,000 guests yearly, according to the trust.
