Noddy quits Toytown for the City

NODDY and his chums will soon be standing on their own two feet in the big City. Chorion, the company which owns the rights to Noddy and other books by Enid Blyton, is on track to demerge the business from its Tiger Tiger bars division.

Chorion chairman John Conlan has been grooming Noddy and his pals for the market with deals aimed at extracting extra income from intellectual property rights. A film is being considered and a licensing deal in China has been reached which should be worth £1.4m over three years.

Separately, it has launched a fortnightly part work featuring Agatha Christie bestsellers. Managing director Nick James said: 'We expect over 25,000 customers to subscribe to the whole 40 issues.'

The nightclub business has reported like-for-like sales up 4.4% underpinning demerger plans for the group.