Hornby Hobbies has agreed the sale of its Scalextric brand for £20m.
The Margate-based scale model firm has sold the brand and all assets to Scalextric Motorsports, established by Mark Brown, President and CEO of Purbeck Capital Partners, to be the holding company of the Scalextric business in the future.
As part of the transaction, Mark has agreed to an ongoing role helping Hornby with its wider strategic transformation.
Some £8.5 million of the total is payable up front, with the remaining £11.5m deferred and payable out of free-cash flow. Completion of the sale is expected in early March.
The proceeds of the sale will be used by Hornby to pay down debt and invest in its other individual brands.
Scalextric operations will continue to be supported with Hornby managing the business as agent.
Olly Raeburn, CEO of Hornby Hobbies, said: “This is a hugely exciting development for the Scalextric brand, which builds on encouraging progress over the last couple of years.
“Mark’s leadership will bring enormous experience, energy and enthusiasm to the business and we look forward to supporting the execution of his vision and strategy.
“We have enjoyed working with him to get this transaction over the line and are now focused on converting all of the positive discussions into reality and growth for Scalextric.”
Mark Brown added :“We are 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.”
Richard Brown, CEO of Hornby investor Castelnau Group, said: “Scalextric has made significant progress in recent years, and we are truly excited for its next phase.
“Mark has an outstanding track record of building global brands and has a clear and exciting vision for its future. We look forward to working closely with him going forward on the wider transformation at Hornby.”
