UK-based esports tournament organiser and media company, Gfinity, has entered into a new joint venture with mobile content company Mobile Streams.
That business announced it had raised £1.2m before expenses to create the joint venture with Gfinity, which will be focused on mobilegaming.com, a site both companies are looking to better monetise.
Funds were raised this week through a placing of 400m shares at a price of 0.3p each. And Mobile Streams said it had agreed to take £250,000 in Gfinity shares.
“The funds raised in this placing will enable us to take advantage of significant revenue generating opportunities and help us grow the business at a faster rate,” said Mobile Streams chief executive officer Mark Epstein.
“We are delighted to have been able to act so quickly to not only secure this opportunity but also add significant funds to the business which will help us take up further deals as they present themselves. We are now extremely well-funded, and the business is in the strongest position it has been in for years.”
In a separate raise, Gfinity has conditionally raised £2.7m through an issue of 216m new shares priced at 1.25p each.
“We are delighted to have been able to act so quickly to not only secure this opportunity but also add significant funds to the business which will help us take up further deals as they present themselves.”
Mark Epstein, Mobile Streams
The news comes as Gfinity posted a performance update, ahead of its six-month interim financial results which are expected to be announced later this month.
Gfinity said it expects to report an adjusted operating loss of £0.4m, a year-on-year improvement of 52%, “as the business continues on its path towards profitability”.
Revenue for the period is expected to be £3.3m – a rise of 8% year-on-year. This figure has been impacted by the decision to consolidate the V10 R League, Gfinity’s jointly owned digital motorsport property in conjunction with Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management, into a single season taking place in the latter part of the financial year.
Update: These figures are correct – Gfinity posted its half-year results on March 30th 2022.
Gfinity explained the raise, saying: “Following the delay in delivery of certain revenue streams, the directors believe it is in the best interests of the group to secure additional funding.
“The directors have therefore taken the decision to undertake a fundraise over the next few weeks in order to secure a minimum of £1m in new working capital.”
A few months ago, Gfinity announced a ‘significant reduction’ in year-on-year operating loss in its most recent financial results.
And the F1 Esports Series – produced by Gfinity – recently sets new viewer records.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
