Appointment of Marketing Head

Hornby PLC
17 August 2004


                    HORNBY APPOINTS GROUP MARKETING DIRECTOR

Hornby Plc, ('Hornby') the models and collectibles Group, has today announced
that it has appointed Simon Jeffery as Group Marketing Director of its principle
trading subsidiary Hornby Hobbies Limited.

Simon, 40, has a wealth of experience in the entertainment and hobby products
industry and has most recently initiated and overseen the development of many
commercially successful interactive games in the United States.

He started his career at Electronic Arts, where he worked for 6 years in a
variety of sales and marketing roles. He then moved to Virgin Interactive
Entertainment as European Marketing Manager and was promoted to Vice President
Marketing, firstly in Europe, and then in the United States. He subsequently
joined LucasArts, the interactive division of Lucasfilm, in California, as
Director of International. In January 2000 he was appointed President and Chief
Operating Officer, charged with leading the corporate and creative growth of the
company to take full advantage of the potential markets in videogaming and
online entertainment, with particular emphasis on invigoration of the Star Wars
gaming franchise.

At Hornby, Simon will be focusing on the development and distribution of new
product. He will also be a key member of the team that implements the Group's
expansion into overseas markets.

Frank Martin, Chief Executive commented,

' I am delighted to welcome Simon to Hornby. He has a wealth of experience at
the forefront of the hobby products and inter-active gaming sector. As a growing
international business, we have ambitious plans to develop the scale and depth
of our operations significantly. We have made no secret of the fact that we are
planning to continue our organic growth and simultaneously, we are looking at
new markets by targeting suitable acquisition opportunities. As part of this
process, the senior team is growing and we are evaluating constantly new
opportunities to expand our product range and develop new revenue streams. We
are building a core base of enthusiastic hobbyists, which we have the potential
to service with new and exciting product.

' We have achieved considerable success with a number of our recent new product
lines, including the Hornby Virtual Railway CD-ROM and the Live Steam range of
locomotives. We have also developed Scalextric Sport World, which will be our
first foray into linking Scalextric hobbyists to each other over the Internet by
on-line gaming. This holds massive potential for us to develop the Scalextric
community worldwide and thus reinforce commitment to the hobby of Scalextric
racing.

' It is vital that we continue to innovate to extend the range and depth of our
product pipeline. Simon will be instrumental in working with us to drive this
programme forward.'

                                     -ends-
Date: 17 August 2004
For further information contact:

Hornby Plc                                    City Profile Group
Frank Martin, Chief Executive                 Simon Courtenay
John Stansfield, Finance Director             020-7448-3244
01843-233500
Web: www.hornby.com or:
www.scalextric.com



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