Exclusive financial analysis has revealed that SnowDome Ltd has banked staggering profits exceeding £6 million in the three years following the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy at its Tamworth facility.
A Family's Agony and Corporate Profits
Louis Watkiss from Sutton Coldfield died on 24 September 2021 while attending a tobogganing birthday party. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation concluded that SnowDome Ltd was at fault for the incident, finding the company had "failed to ensure the safety of its customers, including Louis, while they were undertaking tobogganing at the venue."
This revelation comes just days after Louis's parents, Natalie and her husband, spoke of their devastation after being denied a full inquest into their son's death. At a pre-inquest hearing on 7 November, Coroner Fiona Gingell rejected the family's request for a formal inquest to be held in open court.
The Financial Picture After Tragedy
Our examination of SnowDome Ltd's accounts reveals the company's substantial financial performance in the period following the fatal accident:
- Year ended 30 September 2024: £2,028,759 pre-tax profit
- Year ended 30 September 2023: £2,573,536 pre-tax profit
- Year ended 30 September 2022: £1,998,567 pre-tax profit
This brings the total pre-tax profit for the three years since Louis's death to over £6.6 million.
A Family's Ongoing Pain
Louis's mother, Natalie, expressed the family's exhaustion and grief following the coroner's decision. "We are still in shock and we haven't had chance to grieve because the whole system has taken that away from us," she told BirminghamLive.
"We haven't been able to remember Louis for who he was because we just remember him in the system. I think as a family, not just us but our wider family, it's completely and utterly just ripped us apart."
Louis's father described their ongoing suffering: "Every minute, every hour, every day is just pure pain. That's sometimes put on hold, but now we are terrified of what's going to follow. Because with nothing left to fight for at the minute, it's going to hit us hard."
Regulatory Action and Consequences
The HSE investigation found that Louis was descending the main ski slope on a toboggan when it collided with a staff member conducting a slope walk. The employee fell backwards onto Louis, who sustained fatal head injuries.
The investigation identified multiple failures by SnowDome Limited, including:
- No suitable risk assessment for tobogganing activities
- Failure to consider all persons likely to be on the slope
- No safe system of work to manage collision risks
- Inadequate information, instruction, training and supervision
In February of this year, SnowDome Ltd pleaded guilty at Telford Magistrates' Court to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. The company was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,534.
SnowDome Ltd was contacted for comment regarding these revelations.
