BA has confirmed that the owner of the BA London Eye, the London Eye Company, has reappointed one of the original financers of the attraction, Sumitomo Mitsui, to help advise on refinancing options.
The London Eye Company, which is equally controlled by architects, David Marks and Julia Barfield and The Tussauds Group, was recently at the centre of an argument over refinancing.
The argument began when Marks and Barfield wrote to the CEOs of Tussauds and BA, which is also a part-owner, stating their regret over the failure to refinance the London Eye Company.
Marks claimed that future plans to develop the London Eye were consequently at risk due to this refinancing failure.
He said: “Tussauds is blocking the Eye’s refinancing. At every turn, they have sought to gain overall control of the company we created. We will not allow that to happen, but Tussauds is now threatening the long term financial future of the Eye.”
Now that the Japanese lender has been reappointed to advise on debt restructuring, it is hoped that the argument can to be resolved.