A major figure in the global visitor economy has stepped forward to back a promising technology solution designed specifically to address the digital bottlenecks operators face.
Semantic Ltd, the digital agency behind the LOOP website platform, has announced a significant new investment from Sir Nick Varney, the former Chief Executive Officer of Merlin Entertainments. This partnership aims to support Semantic’s long-term commitment to the platform. It will enable continued product innovation, a stronger strategic focus, and expansion into adjacent markets. The company has already seen growing demand for LOOP across zoos, theme parks, museums, and heritage sectors.
The LOOP platform was created to address common frustrations across the visitor economy. Often, attraction websites are expensive to build, difficult to update, and quickly fall out of step with operational reality. LOOP offers an alternative to traditional bespoke websites by providing a solution that stays current and avoids the long-term costs associated with static, one-off builds. It allows attractions to launch high-performance, sector-specific websites in weeks rather than months.
An industry heavyweight
Varney brings over three decades of experience to Semantic. As the founding CEO of Merlin Entertainments, he transformed the group into the second-largest visitor attraction operator in the world. He led the management buyout of Vardon Attractions in 1999 to form Merlin Entertainments and was later knighted in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to the visitor economy.
His involvement brings additional operational experience, a proven track record of scaling international attractions businesses, and ongoing mentorship. This will help ensure LOOP continues to address the real commercial challenges that operators face.
Varney said: “I have known Neil Lewin and Semantic for some time and was particularly impressed by his vision in developing the LOOP platform. In Location Based Entertainment and indeed broader hospitality, a brand’s website is its most important asset after the physical venue or attraction. It is both the provider of information (and inspiration!) and the key route to market for converting customer interest into ticket sales or attendance. As such, in a competitive world, you need your website to be optimised and constantly updated.
“For all types and sizes of location-based businesses, LOOP offers the ability to have a “Premier League” website at an affordable monthly price. I am very much looking forward to working with Neil to develop the business further to the benefit of current and future clients.”
Continued growth
With this financial backing and operational guidance, Semantic plans to introduce LOOP to a broader range of hospitality and leisure operators. The platform is designed to scale as attractions grow and adapt as expectations and technology change. To assist with onboarding, Semantic handles the technical transition process, including SEO redirects, content migration, and analytics.
Lewin, Managing Director of Semantic, said: “Your website is your most important brand asset, it is the online showcase of your brand and the optimum route for converting demand into sales. Having someone of Nick’s calibre recognise the power of LOOP to transform what attractions can do online and how they do it is a testament to what our team has built and will continue to develop in the years ahead.”
