Hornby said it has posted higher sales and profit margins over the Christmas period, keeping trading on track for the rest of the year.

The model train manufacturer said sales and margins were ahead of the same period last year as the company's turnaround gathers steam.

It provided the trading update as it also increased the maximum threshold for an existing loan from its largest shareholder.

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Hornby said investor Phoenix Fund UK agreed to increase the maximum in its credit facility from £3 million to £9 million, while leaving the terms unchanged. The loan is repayable by 2021.

The London-listed business said it will use the funds to "capitalise on the positive momentum in the business and increase investment in technology and products for the coming year".

Hornby is also exploring opportunities to "optimise" its balance sheet for further future investment and growth, it added.

In November, the company narrowed its annual losses for the year to September 2019, while revenues increased by 15% to £15.9 million.

Hornby had trimmed its pre-tax losses to £2.5 million for the year, down from a £3.2 million loss the previous year.

Shares in the company jumped 6.8% to 40.6p on Monday afternoon.

Online trading platform Plus500 said it expects its annual profits to slump by more than 60% for 2019, despite an improvement in performance over the second half of the year.

The company lost more than a third of its value in 2019 amid regulatory pressure.

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Plus500, alongside rivals such as CMC Markets and IG Group, has seen client numbers decline as UK and EU regulators look to protect amateur traders from higher-risk financial products.

It said it is confident of the group's prospects for 2020 following improvement during the previous full year.

Chief executive Asaf Elimelech said the firm finished 2019 in "good financial and operational shape" while the industry faces a "more certain regulatory outlook".

Shares in the company were up 0.7% to 859.3p.

B&Q owner Kingfisher Group has bolstered its leadership team with the appointment of Jean-Jacques Van Oosten as its new chief customer and digital officer.

Mr Van Oosten was most recently chief digital director at Danish toy giant Lego and has previously worked for German supermarket REWE, Tesco and Travis Perkins.

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He returns to Kingfisher after leaving the company in 2008 and will join the executive team at the firm's head office in Paddington, west London, with immediate effect.

Thierry Garnier, who was appointed chief executive of Kingfisher in June, said Mr Van Oosten is an "experienced digital leader with a track record of driving change in international companies".

Shares in the company were down 0.8% at 217.2p.