Guild Esports is up for sale – three reasons why it was inevitable

In what feels like an inevitable moment, the esports company, Guild Esports, is now up for sale. Despite having the cachet of being co-owned by David Beckham, that’s seemingly not been enough to keep the company in profit, with losses mounting up to £2 million when the last company statements were filed in March 2024.

First established in September 2019 as The Lords eSports PLC, the company had various competitive teams in games like Fortnite, Street Fighter V, and more. It also helped with brand campaigns and set up The Lobby in partnership with Sky Broadband. This is a way of connecting women in gaming to participate in esports events, with a prize pool of £50,000.

But since being sold to DCB Sports for £2.1 million in August last year, there was hope that Guild Esports could rethink its approach and be in the black. But that’s not to be, with Guild Esports now looking for a buyer. As it awaits interested parties, we’re laying out three reasons why it feels like it was always heading this way.

Guild Esports has been suffering for a few years, despite a huge £250,000 investment into the company by David Beckham. With partnerships involving Sky, Secretlab, Subway, and more, you would likely have seen some of these campaigns involving Guild, but when you scratch the surface, it looks more inevitable. For instance, one player involved in the company posted that they are still owed money by Guild, despite repeated attempts to reach out.

Its mounting losses, last reported to be around £2 million leading up to March 2024, can’t have helped either, which led its teams to pull out of many games, like Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone. Since the DCB Sports sale in August last year, it seems like their confidence has been shaken, hence why the company is now up for sale.

Since its launch in 2019 and its renaming to Guild Esports, the company seemed to carry a message of style, instead of substance, to the esports industry. Much fanfare was made when David Beckham invested in the company and became a co-owner, giving the impression that the industry was a hotbed that could bring instant returns to everyone involved. However, with other companies and competitive teams focusing on building credibility and helping the community, Guild Esports gave the impression of being a lifestyle brand rather than an esports organisation. Combined with consistent losses and missing payments to players, its respect was at an all-time low in the industry, proving that a high-profile celebrity doesn’t bring guaranteed success.

To say that Guild Esports’ listing on the London Stock Exchange, barely a year since its debut, was premature is an understatement. Most organisations and teams start small in esports, slowly building on their reputations and involvement with events worldwide before they decide to make the next-level jump. But Guild Esports thought it could attract investors near-instantly, perhaps due to the investment made by David Beckham. But this brought regulatory pressure, scrutiny, and an impression in the esports industry that Guild was only in it for the money, not to nurture future talent. It’s why the company’s losses and subsequent sale felt like a foregone conclusion.

In addition to being listed on the London Stock Exchange, Guild Esports also spread itself too thin by acquiring stakes in companies like Ginx TV, as well as partnering up with several brands, perhaps due to David Beckham’s influence. From Sky Broadband to Subway, it seemed like Guild was trying to do everything it could to be visible within the esports industry to increase revenue. Instead, focus was split into too many areas, which resulted in its teams exiting certain competitions, such as those for Apex Legends and Call of Duty. With so many partnerships and campaigns, it seemed like its house of cards would wobble and crash at any time, and earlier this year, it did.

Although it’s a shame that a UK-based esports company is up for sale, the signs had been there for several years with Guild Esports. With its listing on the London Stock Exchange so early in its lifetime, it tried to grow too big, too soon, and the growing pains were too much to bear.

It’s also a showcase of why a celebrity endorsement, even one as big as David Beckham, cannot save a business when its foundations are brittle. With millions in losses and missed payments to players, Guild Esports already has a poor reputation, and perhaps its sale to someone could steer it in the right direction in the near future.