Madame Tussauds entity ceased to exist. On 17 July 2007, as part of the financing for the Tussauds deal, Merlin sold the freehold of Madame Tussauds to private investor Nick Leslau and his investment firm Prestbury under a sale and leaseback agreement. Although the attraction sites are owned by Prestbury, they are operated by Merlin based on a renewable 35-year lease. Madame Tussaud's wax museum became a major tourist attraction in London, incorporating (until 2010) the London Planetarium in its west wing and a large animated dark ride, "The Spirit of London", opened in 1993. Today's wax figures at Tussauds include historical
Marylebone station capital to the cities of Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester. Marylebone was the last of London's main line termini to be built, and is one of the smallest, having opened with half the number of platforms originally planned. It has limited connections to the Underground as it was built after the main Tube lines in the area. Marylebone station suffered from a lack of traffic and after the GCML closed in 1966, it declined in use. By the 1980s, it was threatened with closure, but was reprieved because of commuter traffic on the London to Aylesbury Line (a remaining part of