Model railway maker Hornby puts the brakes on non-UK orders due to Brexit uncertainty
Model railway maker Hornby will not accept international orders until next year due to Brexit uncertainty, it announced this afternoon.
Hornby said it has paused all non-UK orders until 4 January 2021.
Shares in the retailer, which also sells Scalextric racing kits, fell seven per cent following the announcement.
In a statement the company said: “Due to the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and what it will mean for our international customers, as of 15 December, we will pause all non-UK orders until 4 January 2021.
“We hope you can understand the difficult position we are in and remain patient with us until we can find a solution”.
The UK and European Union have so far been unable to agree what trade rules will apply when the transition period ends at the end of December.
Negotiations will continue this week, but businesses have urged for clarity.
If the two sides are unable to reach an agreement it is likely that tariffs will be placed on imported EU goods and exported British products.
Hornby boss Lyndon Davies told the BBC: “Within Europe people are already asking us: ‘If I buy something, are those tariffs already included in your pricing?’ Because we don’t know what’s going to happen, it’s just a very difficult position.”
Davies also said the firm was experiencing problems with products being shipped to the UK, due to bottlenecks at ports including Felixstowe and Southampton.