German esports venue Play Bay has announced it’s closed its first round of funding led by Munich-based family investments office Solutions Holding.
The funds will be used to open a new flagship venue in Frankfurt and expand Play Bay’s market leadership. Financial details were not disclosed.
Play Bay was founded by Patrick Bauer and Laurens Ahlring, officially opening its doors to local German players in 2021 with a facility based in Hamburg. It is a full-service esports and gaming venue that offers bootcamp classes and content creation opportunities, as well as a space for events and tournaments to be held.
Some of Play Bay’s clients include the likes of German esports organisations Mouz (formerly known as mousesports) and LootBoy Esports, as well as, British esports organisation TT9 Esports.
Play Bay’s investor, Solutions Holding, is a family office based in Munich. It holds shares in companies from various sectors, with its main focus being on the hospitality and sports industries. According to a release, investments are selected and made in accordance with the company’s principles of solutions, partnership, innovative spirit and vision for the future.
Laurens Ahlring, Founder and CEO of Play Bay, commented on the investment: “We are extremely happy that we found an investor who understands the needs of professional esports athletes. Given their background in the hospitality and sports industries, we are able to offer best-in-class esports experience to our customers.”
A wide array of high-profile major tournaments are held in Germany, with the country seen as a go-to destination when it comes to European esports. The country is home to the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) and VCT EMEA League. It has also played host to numerous stops in CS:GO’s ESL One event series, among others.
