UPDATE 10/05/2022: This article initially incorrectly stated that Guild’s partnership with Bitstamp was terminated two years early, rather than one.
David Beckham-backed British esports organisation Guild Esports has released its unaudited financial results for the six months ending March 31st 2023. The London Stock Exchange-listed company posted a loss before tax of £2.3m — down from £4.96m in the same period last year.
Revenues increased to £3.7m, from £1.1m in the same period last year, and gross profit rose by 256% to £2.5m, from £0.7m. Guild has cut its operating expenses significantly over the last 12 months.
Guild Esports’ sponsorship revenue has also greatly increased of late: in 2022, the organisation generated £3.2m from sponsorship, up from £1.2m in 2021, driven by partnerships with the likes of Sky and Bitstamp.
However, Guild’s Bitstamp deal was terminated in January, one year early. The organisation’s Razer partnership, which was supposed to be a two-year deal, is also in doubt: Razer’s branding was removed from Guild’s website and social-media profiles after just six months, though Guild told Esports Insider in February that Razer remains a partner. HyperX chose not to renew with the British organisation when its deal expired earlier this year.
Despite slightly improved financials, Guild Esports still has just £1.1m of net cash remaining. Its share price currently sits at 0.75p — down 90.63% from its debut price of 8p.
A look under the hood reveals more issues at the organisation. It will eventually need to raise another round of funding to resolve its cash problem, according to its own 2022 financial report. In fact, in that report Guild’s independent auditor stated that without more funding, it may not have the necessary funds to continue operations.
Guild’s audience reach is now limited as a result of letting go of many esports teams and content creators, which casts severe doubt over its ambitions to almost double its total owned audience size.
Nonetheless, in February this year, Guild launched ‘Guild Studios’, a new production and creative services division, welcoming existing partner Samsung as a client. Additionally, Guild recently signed a £700,000, three-year partnership with sportswear brand Hummel in April.
Guild Esports is co-owned by British ex-football star David Beckham. In September last year, Beckham renegotiated financial terms with the organisation; before, Beckham was owed a minimum of £15.25m over five years, in addition to 15% of merchandise and sponsorship revenue.
For the next two years, however, minimum fees have been removed, and Beckham will instead only get 20% of merchandise and sponsorship revenue.
