Why is Nomura suddenly so jittery about buying the dome?
Nomura agreed to underwrite Dome Europe’s plans to revitalise the site to the tune of £400m. This investment was based on what now appears to be possibly misleading business projections for the dome given to potential buyers in July. A subsequent review of NMEC’s finances has indeed revealed “serious failings” in its “financial management”. There are now fears that an examination of the dome’s true financial position will reveal it to be a lame duck, and that Nomura and Dome Europe will walk away. How does the dome’s performance compare to other millennium project attractions? Scotland’s showcase millennium attraction, Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, which opened in July 1999, had exceeded its annual visitor target of 434,000 by May 2000. It cost £34m of which £15m came from the lottery. The Lowry Centre in Salford, which opened in April 2000, cost £106m, of which the lottery contributed £68.9m. It aimed to attract 77,000 visitors over 12 months. It attracted 70,000 in its first week and i
