Merlin Entertainments, the leisure group that owns Madame Tussauds and Legoland Parks, was set to close the sale of its London shares early. This was due to the high demand of the shares, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Merlin's float order books would be closed on November 8 for both the public and institutional investors. These two groups would have until November 7 to put in their share orders, the source said on Sunday. Merlin, a private-equity backed company, is presently valued at GBP3.3 billion or USD5.3 million.

Last month, Merlin said it planned to take GBP200 million from the sale of its shares and use it to pay off some of its debts. Each of its share was priced at 280 to 330 pence. The owners of Merlin Entertainments, which included Kirkbi A/S and the private equity firms Blackstone Group and CVC, also plan to sell some of their holdings via the public listing.