Hornby sales boosted following success of Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton, the British Formula 1 driver, has helped toy maker Hornby, boost sales of Scalextric by 37% in the last 6 months.

Hornby, which bought Airfix for £2.6 million last year, posted an increase in half-year pre-tax profits from £1.4 million to £2.7 million.

Frank Martin, Hornby’s Chief executive, said Lewis Hamilton’s achievements this season generated a lot of interest in the car racing game.

In addition, Hornby expects the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team F1 Scalextric set, costing £100-£250, will be a big seller this Christmas.

Hornby benefited from a 70% increase in sales in Europe to £6.04 million as acquisitions in Italy and Spain started to perform.

Mr Martin concluded that it was only in this half that the cumulative effect of moving manufacturing to China, re-engineering the products and reintroducing them with more authenticity came through.

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