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The owner of Legoland and Alton Towers has appointed a top sports and entertainment industry boss as its new chief executive.

Scott M O’Neil will start his new role with Poole-based Merlin Entertainments, Europe’s largest visitor attraction operator, on Tuesday (November 15). He is taking over from outgoing chief executive Nick Varney who is retiring from the company after 23 years.

Mr O'Neil will be responsible for overseeing the business operations and global growth for Merlin Entertainments across its 147 attractions in 24 countries. The company's attractions include 10 Legoland resort parks and hotels; six theme parks including Alton Towers, Heide Park and Gardaland; the Sea Life aquariums; Madame Tussauds; Peppa Pig World of Play; the Lastminute.com London Eye; and Sydney Tower Eye.

Mr O’Neil was most recently chief executive of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE) - a portfolio of sports, entertainment and investment properties - where he oversaw more than $2bn (£1.7bn) growth in enterprise value, from $415m to $2.5bn.

Under his leadership, Mr O'Neil grew HBSE from a business that managed a single team - the Philadelphia 76ers National Basketball Association - into an award-winning live sports and entertainment group, according to Merlin. HBSE now spans multiple professional teams, real estate holdings, an esports platform, a Grammy museum, a top international arena, a venture fund, innovation lab and growing sports marketing company.

Mr O’Neil has also led some of the world's top athletic brands including New York Knicks, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Eagles.

“Scott has significant experience in the entertainment industry, a proven track-record of delivering business transformation, and the vision and ambition to lead Merlin through the next exciting stages of its global development," said Roland Hernandez, chair of Merlin Entertainments.

"The board has every confidence in him, and we look forward to working closely together over the coming years. I would like to reiterate the group's thanks to Nick for his outstanding leadership of Merlin Entertainments over the last 23 years. Merlin is one of the best leisure businesses in the world thanks to his leadership, passion, and talent and we wish him all the best in his retirement.”