UK-based esports and gaming company Gfinity has shared an update via the London Stock Exchange regarding its leadership and finances.
Key highlights of the release include the departure of its CEO John Clarke and the company’s plans to raise at least £1.5m in the following months to restructure the company and improve profitability. The company shared that it will close the Gfinity Arena in London, and that it has £400,000 in cash reserves available.
Gfinity is one of the largest esports and gaming companies in the UK and has a number of different business verticals, including media, production, esports solutions and its newest product, competitive platform Athlos. Athlos Game Technologies, as it is officially called, has made good progress in its beta and Gfinity announced that scaling of the platform is one of the main reasons for the announced raise.
The company did not share any details about its search for a new CEO, or the reasoning behind Clarke’s departure. Clarke joined Gfinity in 2018 as a Brand Officer and was appointed CEO in 2020.
Apart from Clarke’s departure, Gfinity’s current non-Executive Chairman Neville Upton will take on the role of Executive Chairman, and current Chief Financial and Operating Officer Jonathan Hall will work on the Esports Solutions business.
The company is also attempting to overhaul its properties to reduce losses and be on a path to profitability by the end of 2023. This means that Gfinity plans to be less reliant on esports services and operations, instead improving its resilience towards market shifts.
According to Gfinity, the company now operates on three pillars: first is the community of hard-to-reach gamers (Gfinity Digital Media), second is the Athlos technology department, and third are its other esports solutions.
With regards to Gfinity’s esports solutions, which focused on a variety of titles such as sim-racing and football titles, the company noted that the division saw a total of £2.5m in its H1 2023 fiscal year revenue.
However, due to the challenging nature of the service business, Gfinity has embarked on a partnership with an unnamed US company to jointly deliver solutions from now on. This means that the Gfinity Arena in Fulham, London will close its doors, but another venue in the United States will be used for production and live events.
Gfinity’s Board shared the following via a statement: ” Directors announce their intentions to raise a minimum sum of £1.5m, via an equity placing and subscription.
“Based on the current business plan, this sum will allow the business the headroom to complete the proposed corporate restructuring, secure the planned external investment into Athlos over the next few months and take the business through to break-even point. “
