Hornby steers sale of near 70-year-old toy brand Scalextric for £20m

A toy firm will bag £20 million after striking a deal to sell the almost 70-year-old slot car racing brand Scalextric.

Hornby has agreed to the sale of the business and its intellectual property to family-owned investment vehicle Purbeck Capital Partners.

The company is led by Mark Brown, the former boss of Sazerac, the US spirits giant behind brands including Southern Comfort, Fireball and BuzzBallz.

Mr Brown has set up holding company Scalextric Motorsports to house the brand as part of the deal, which is the first one for Purbeck.

The £20 million price tag, which involves upfront and deferred payments, will be used by Hornby to pay down debts and invest in its other brands.

Mr Brown has also agreed to take on a role supporting Hornby with its own strategic transformation plans, with the aim of having a string of profitable brands operating independently.

Margate-based Hornby, which is backed by Frasers founder and billionaire Mike Ashley, makes model railways and owns other toy brands including model aircraft brand Airfix.

Scalextric was invented by Fred Francis and first introduced at a toy fair in Harrogate in 1957, with production later moved to the Margate factory.

Purbeck’s Mr 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.”