By Najat Kantouar

Comcast NBCUniversal has pledged to invest over 5 billion pounds ($6.71 billion) in the U.K.'s Bedfordshire region to develop Universal's first theme park in Europe, a move expected to boost the country's economy.

The U.K. Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the investment would be followed by an additional 1 billion pounds in capital investment over the first 10 years of operation, after an estimated five-year construction period.

The development is expected to create around 20,000 jobs during construction and a further 8,000 jobs when the resort opens in 2031, it said. Meanwhile, Universal estimates the project will generate nearly 50 billion pounds in economic benefit for the U.K. by 2055.

To support the development, the U.K. government has committed to invest 1.3 billion pounds on regional and local community infrastructure, it said. This includes a grant of 400 million pounds from the exceptional Regional Growth Fund and 438 million pounds from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for new community infrastructure to maximize the benefits of the development and support growth across the region, it added.

These grants will be released only after Universal has completed the community infrastructure and officially opened the theme park and resort, it said.

Write to Najat Kantouar at najat.kantouar@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 04, 2026 02:06 ET (06:06 GMT)

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