Universal commits to £5 billion theme park north of London

LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Comcast NBCUniversal will invest more than £5 billion in building its first European theme park in Bedfordshire, north of London, supported by £1.3 billion of government money to upgrade road and rail links and other infrastructure.

The resort, which was first announced in April 2025, will be named "Universal United Kingdom Resort", the U.S. media giant said on Wednesday.

It will employ nearly 20,000 during construction and create a further 8,000 jobs when it opens in 2031, it added.

Universal Studios has five resorts and parks in the U.S. states of California and Florida as well as in Singapore, Japan and China, offering rides and attractions based on Jurassic Park, Harry Potter and other movie franchises.

The company has said the UK park will feature "several themed lands" and aims to attract 8.5 million visitors in its first year.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy joined Comcast chairman Brian Roberts in Downing Street to unveil the name and logo for the resort, with Nandy calling the investment a "huge vote of confidence" in Britain.

Roberts said Comcast had a "long and proud history" in Britain through pay-TV business Sky, which is in talks to buy ITV's broadcasting unit, and NBCUniversal and it looked forward to creating "a spectacular destination".

Comcast bought a 500-acre former brickworks in Bedfordshire, about 55 miles north of London, in 2023 for the park, and it was granted planning permission in December 2025.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Muvija M)