£300 million theme park, Port Aventura in Spain. Tussauds was in charge of the development as they were the primary shareholder. The new development quickly bought in 2.7 million new visitors annually. The 40% stake was sold in 1998 as the company looked to increase its portfolio in the United Kingdom. Tussauds’ management of Port Aventura ceased with the sale of the property. The money from the sale allowed the company to purchase Thorpe Park, in south-east England. In 1998, the group looked to open a Tussauds site in Las Vegas, with plans to open the exhibition in the Venetian Hotel and Casino complex. The Las Vegas site eventually opened in 1999 to large success, which led the company to look for another exhibition location in the United States. In 2000, the company opened a site in New York on 42nd Street. In 1999, after being part of Pearson for twenty years, Charterhouse Development Capital acquired the group. The new company bought in new management and sought to increase profits whilst continuing the company's growth. The 2000s In 2000, the London Eye launched, in which Tussauds had a 33% stake, along with British Airways and Marks Barfield. The site was managed by Tussauds and soon became one of the United Kingdom's most popular attractions. Tussauds continued to look for acquisitions in Europe and in 2002 opted to buy Heide Park in Soltau, Germany. The park was among the country's largest, and helped to make Tussauds one of the most popular attraction groups. In the same year, the company shut down the Rock Circus exhibition in the London Pavilion because of falling visitor figures. Charterhouse Development Capital allowed the company to invest £300 million into its attractions which helped increase profits by £185 million as of 2002. The Tussauds group launched a new £100 million investment plan which led to the development of a new £40 million themed hotel, at Alton Towers. The themed hotel, Splash Landings, opened in 2003. Tussauds and Charterhouse Development Capital then looked to increase its stake in the London Eye, hoping to buy out British Airways. In 2004, one of the shareholders of the London Eye, Marks Barfield, accused the Tussauds group of purposefully opposing a refinancing offer in order to gain full control of the wheel. The attraction made a trading profit, but the company had 25% interest payments on a debt that arose from