Amusement park company Wonderla Holidays has chalked out plans to go asset-light for building future parks and is in talks with state governments such as Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and Gujarat for leasing out lands for setting up the company’s future projects.
The company is looking to spend Rs 220 crore as capex for FY24 which will go into the on- going Odisha amusement park project, the proposed Chennai park and also for expansion in the existing parks. Wonderla is also gearing up to begin construction work at its proposed Rs 500- crore amusement park in Chennai, after the Tamil Nadu government granted waiver of local body tax (LBT) of 10% for a period of 10 years.
Arun K Chittilappilly, MD, Wonderla, told FE the advantage of leasing out government properties is that the company would not require shelling out huge amounts for buying out lands for the amusement parks which will completely change the investment profile.
The company has started construction work on its upcoming Odisha project in April 2023 and will be completing the project in by 2025. It is a `150 crore project on 50-acre property and is the first project under the asset-light or public-private partnership (PPP) model.
“Now, lot of governments have agreed to do similar projects for us, because they want the investments to come in and we are looking at doing more similar project in other states after Odisha. We are talking to governments such as Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and Gujarat,” he said.
He said that the company is still working on the modalities of the future asset-light projects in these states. “ For example, the Goa project will be something different, and in Punjab, the project will be slightly bigger, where the proximity with Chandigarh and Mohali, will be a plus factor. We have been assured single-window clearance and faster approvals by the state governments, most probably 90 years’ lease, depending on the policies of local governments,” he said.
On the Chennai project, he said now that the company has got the LBT waiver, it will begin the construction work as early as possible. “ The Tamil Nadu government has given us a two-year time from June 2023 to complete the project. Accordingly we would like to open the Chennai park by 2025 June.”
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) with TN government was signed in 2017 and the land acquistion was completed in 2018. The company had committed `500 crore investment on the project at the time of inking the MoU. The company has been granted LBT waiver for a period of 10 years from the date of commencement of commercial operation subject to the condition that the commercial operation shall be commenced within a period of two years from June 2, 2023.
The company has spent Rs 110 crore so far on acquisition of land to the extent of 65 acres, near Thiruporur village near Chennai. “ The Rs 500 crore investment will be split over across two years of capex plan of the company. For FY24, the company has a capex plan of Rs 220 crore, out of which Rs 150 crore will be spent on both Odisha and Chennai projects while `70 crore would be spent in existing projects,” Arun said.
Wonderla currently owns and operates three amusement parks in Kochi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and a resort at Bengaluru named Wonderla Resort. Many of its rides are custom made and imported from reputed international suppliers, making them unique in India. Wonderla parks have beenvisited by over 3.9 crores visitors since 2000 making them the most visited amusement parks in India.
The company clocked a revenue of Rs 429 crore in FY23 which grew by 58%, y-o-y and its operating leverage led to record 49% Ebitda margin with Ebitda at Rs 211 crore, also doubling over the base of FY20. It surpassed the milestone of 33 lakh footfalls in FY23.