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Hornby: Year of change for Mike Ashley-backed brand as majority owner tightens grip

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Hornby is headquartered in Kent and hired Mike Ashley as a consultant earlier this year.
Hornby is headquartered in Kent and hired Mike Ashley as a consultant earlier this year.

The investment giant which owns the vast majority of shares in Hornby, the model firm currently working with billionaire Mike Ashley on its turnaround plan, has significantly upped its stake in the train-maker.

Phoenix Asset Management Partners has increased its holdings in the Kent-headquartered company from 71.6 per cent to 81.3 per cent, according to a new filing with the London Stock Exchange.

The move leaves Artemis Investment Management as Hornby’s second largest single shareholder at 9.7 per cent, closely followed by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group on 9.2 per cent.

It was later confirmed that Phoenix Asset Management Partners had also increased its stake in Frasers Group to 5.1 per cent.

Shares in Hornby are currently trading at 22.5p having started the year at 16p each.

Hornby’s share price hit a 2024 high of 38.5p in March and again in April before falling back.

The initial spike came after it was revealed that Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, which owns the likes of Sports Direct and House of Fraser, had significantly upped its stake in Hornby.

Year of change for Hornby after Mike Ashley got on board

In March, it was announced that Mike Ashley was to work with Hornby CEO Olly Raeburn “in relation to systems, operations, logistics and, where relevant, broader matters of strategy”.

In a trading update issued in September, the company revealed that its sales and gross profit increased by 10 per cent in the period from 1 April to 31 August, 2024, compared to the same time in 2023.

However, the company did say that the increase was “slightly behind internal forecasts due to timing issues driven by shipping delays”.

Last month, the business revealed plans to sell-off of a loss-making part of its business and the departure of its former chairman.

Later in November, the firm warned that more job cuts are on the way after making a “signifiant headcount reduction” as part of its turnaround plan being aided by Mike Ashley.

Hornby said the job losses have helped to save around £1m of annualised central costs in the six months to 30 September, 2024, while a further £500,000 of savings are expected in 2025.

Hornby can trace its roots back to 1901 in Liverpool when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy.