Madame Tussauds London site sold to Taiwanese Fubon Life Insurance for £332m

The site of popular tourist attraction Madame Tussauds in Marylebone, central London, has been sold to Taiwanese life insurance company Fubon Life Insurance for £332.5m ($512m, €469m).

The property, formally owned by Secure Income REIT PLC, was valued at £309.3m in December 2014. The site was once the London Planetarium but after closing in 2006, it was folded into the neighbouring Madame Tussauds museum. It remains one of the most popular spots for tourists in London.

"While we have a strong tie to this internationally iconic building, from a management perspective we realise that having such a large single property exposure unbalances the spread of assets in our portfolio," Secure Income REIT chairman Martin More said in a statement.

Madame Tussauds, the wax sculpture museum that shows lifelike statues of celebrities, politicians and historical figures in its exhibition, was opened in London in 1884.

The museum is part of Merlin Attractions Operations Limited which operates Thorpe Park, Legoland UK, London Dungeon and many more tourist brands.

Merlin Attractions' main agent, Merlin Entertainment, reported a 35% jump in pre-tax profit after its first year as a listed company in February 2015.