Hornby

It has been this way for over a century, since 1901 when Frank Hornby applied for his first patent for "Improvements in Toy or Educational Devices for Children and Young People", which later became Meccano. Hornby became independent again in 1980 and over the years purchased many brands that are still under the Hornby Hobbies umbrella today.

Hornby's own words, unedited, quoted from uk.hornby.com.