Highlights
- Hornby has sold Scalextric to Purbeck Capital Partners for £20 m after owning the brand since 1968 .
- The buyer is Mark Brown, former chief executive of US spirits company Sazerac.
- Hornby will continue to manage Scalextric as an agent whille supporting it through its existing infrastructure.
Scalextric was invented by Fred Francis and the very first set was manufactured in Hampshire in 1956. Hornby acquired the brand in 1968 and has owned it ever since.
The buyer, Purbeck Capital Partners, is run by Mark Brown, the former chief executive of Sazerac - the US-based spirits company behind brands including Southern Comfort.
This deal marks the first investment by Brown's family office, which he has named Scalextric Motorsports to house the business.
New owner's vision
Mark Brown, who grew up in the UK before moving to the US in 1980, expressed enthusiasm for the brand's future.
He noted that he was "energised by the opportunity to continue bringing competitive racing fun to families," while also expanding into new areas of motorsport and helping develop physical and hand-eye coordination skills at a time when families are trying to balance screen time against real-world activities.
Brown led Sazerac as chief executive from 1997 to 2023 before moving to the role of executive chair, bringing decades of brand-building expertise to his new venture.
Richard Brown, chief executive of Castelnau, told The Guardian the transaction was consistent with the company's strategic intention to ensure businesses are "owned and led by the best owners to deliver their full potential."
As part of the deal, Mark Brown will also take a role supporting Hornby's longer-term strategic transformation, helping create a series of "entrepreneurial, profitable brands operating sustainably and independently."
Hornby, which dates back to 1901 and produced its first model train set in 1920, delisted from London's junior stock market AIM in April last year after almost four decades as a public company, citing regulatory costs of maintaining its public listing.
Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley became a consultant to Hornby in 2024 after his Frasers Group took an 8.9 per cent stake in the business.
