Hornby offloads toy car brand Scalextric for £20m
Hornby, the model railway firm advised by Mike Ashley, has agreed to sell toy car racing brand Scalextric for £20m.
Castelnau, Hornby’s parent company, announced on Friday it will sell the toy brand to Purbeck Capital Partners.
Hornby, which also sells toy planes and cars under the Airfix and Corgi brands, has owned Scalextric since 1968.
Purbeck is owned by Mark Brown, the US businessman who previously owned spirits giant Sazerac, the US firm behind brands including Southern Comfort, Fireball and BuzzBallz.
Hornby was founded in 1901 and produced the first ever model train set in 1920.
The firm said proceeds from the sale would be used to pay down debt and invest in its other brands.
Hornby announced plans to go private early last year, citing regulatory burdens, limited liquidity and the high cost of maintaining a public quotation.
Shares in the toy firm had slumped 50 per cent in the 12 months prior, and the company formally delisted from London’s junior stock market,
Ashley advising struggling toy firm
Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley joined Hornby as a consultant in 2024 when his retail giant Frasers Group took an 8.9 per cent stake in the company.
The firm has overhauled its structure since Ashley joined, including the sale of subsidiary LCD Enterprises, job cuts and the relocation of its logistics hub to the Midlands.
Brown said he will also take a role in supporting Hornby to return its brands to profitability.
Scalextric was invented by Fred Francis and first sold at a toy fair in Harrogate in 1957, before production was moved to its Margate factory.
Brown said: “We are both honoured and thrilled to be acquiring such an iconic British motorsport brand, which has been bringing family and friends together for motor racing competition, excitement, and fun at home for nearly 70 years, spanning four generations.
“As we look to a long-term future, with Scalextric as a now family-owned company, we are energised by the opportunity to continue bringing competitive racing fun to families, while expanding into new areas of motorsport and helping to build physical and hand-eye coordination skills, particularly at a time when families are trying to balance time spent online versus real world activities.”