Mike Ashley to act as advisor to Hornby

Retailer Mike Ashley is to act as an adviser to Hornby, it was confirmed on Wednesday, after the tycoon’s Frasers Group boosted its stake in the model specialist.

AIM-listed Hornby said Ashley had entered into a consultancy agreement through his wholly-owned business Mash Holdings.

It continued: "Mike will be available to support [chief executive] Olly Raeburn and the wider business, particularly in relation to systems, operations, logistics and, where relevant, broader matters of strategy.

"This approach is aligned to Frasers’ policy of partnering with strategic investments in order to add value for the respective shareholders of Hornby and Frasers."

Hornby added that no remuneration would be due to Mash for the consultancy services.

As at 1015 GMT, shares in Hornby had dipped 1% at 35.28p.

In February, Frasers - which owns Sports Direct, Game and House of Fraser, among others - announced it had acquired 11.1m shares in Hornby, taking its total holding to 15.2m or 8.9%.

At the time, Frasers’ chief financial officer Chris Wootton said: "Hornby’s portfolio of unique heritage brands are already part of Game’s product offer and we look forward to exploring opportunities to further leverage our scale in retail logistics and distribution."

Phoenix Asset Management Partners is Hornby’s biggest investor, with a 70% stake. Artemis Investment Management is the second largest, with 16.2%.