Guild Esports raises £ 1 million, eyes expansion in MENA region
31 October 2023
As you are most likely well aware, Guild Esports is one of the biggest names in esports in the UK and it has been for some years now. What’s more, ever since David Beckham became a co-owner and helped the London-based outfit raise £ 20 million back in 2020, Guild has grown into a well-reputed name all over the esports world. Now, that global footprint might just grow even larger after Guild recently announced that it has signed a subscription agreement with an unnamed investor to raise up to £ 1 million. The idea is to use that money to increase Guild’s presence and brand awareness in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region over the coming years.
Huge market
It’s not hard to see why Guild Esports decided to raise a million pounds in order to support their push into the MENA region. According to various estimates, the Middle East and Northern Africa region will boast around 90 million gamers by 2026. That’s comfortably more than twice the size of the well-developed gamers market in the United Kingdom, for example. We already mentioned that the investing party has remained unnamed so far, but we do know that it concerns an international esports, content creation and media brand. This only supports Guild’s objective of growing in the MENA region.
The £ 1 million investment will be received by Guild is three parts. There will be two unconditional payments of £ 250.000 plus a third payment of £ 500.000. This third payment is dependent on certain conditions though, including the finalization of a broader commercial agreement between Guild and the unnamed investor.
“The third tranche of the subscription is for £500,000 and is conditional on the negotiation and entry into a wider commercial agreement between the brand and Guild”, explains Jasmine Skee, CEO at Guild Esports, “There is immense international appetite for esports, particularly in the MENA region which is rapidly emerging as an esports hub," said CEO Jasmine Skee. The investment is crucial to furthering our vision of becoming the leading international esports and gaming-focused media brand, and Guild looks forward to deepening ties with a complementary business”.
Guild on the up
Up until now, 2023 is shaping up to be a pretty productive year for Guild, at least in terms of its off-screen and commercial activities. The latest money that was raised is not the first piece of positive commercial news to come out of the company’s London headquarters. Earlier this year, for example, Guild started a collaboration with Korean electronics giant Samsung to build Guild Studios. Under that name, the UK esports organization wants to take the next step in connecting brands and media owners with esports and gaming.
“Creating new revenue streams and generating value for investors are the company's key objectives for 2023”, said Skee at the time, “Guild Studios enables us to monetize our vast in-house expertise in esports by supporting brand owners and sponsors with innovative campaigns, branded content and advertising to a range of companies looking to grow their engagement”.