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(Alliance News) - Former England football captain David Beckham's Guild Esports PLC is planning to list on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, the company said Wednesday.
Guild is a UK-based owner and developer of esports teams, which counts Beckham amongst its founding shareholders.
"The move comes as esports benefits from a rapidly growing fan base worldwide with some tournaments attracting a bigger audience than the Wimbledon tennis championships, Tour de France and the US Open," Guild added.
The company said it plans to create its own esports team to compete in major esports tournaments and a player training and scouting infrastructure, modelled on similar models seen from Premier League football teams.
Guild initially plans to set up and field dedicated teams to compete in four online games: Fortnite; CS:Go; Rocket League and FIFA. The company hopes to have up to 20 esports players by the end of 2021 across its chosen game formats.
Guild currently has one FIFA player and three Rocket League players.
Guild continued: "The esports market appears poised for further significant growth and so the company provides shareholders with a unique opportunity to own a franchise that intends to create revenue through tournament winnings, digital marketing opportunities, sponsorship, membership, merchandise and promotional tours/events."
The proceeds from the listing will go towards recruiting new players, investing in the "Guild brand" and "expand the company's activities".
Executive Chair Carleton Curtis said: "The growing global popularity of esports has enabled several existing franchises to monetise their activities through sponsorship, retail, merchandising, apparel & product licensing, new media & mobile, broadcasting and tournaments.
"Guild will be the first esports franchise to join the London stock market, which will provide us with the cache, credibility and capital to fulfil our ambition to become one of the world's top ten esports franchises within three years."
Prior to Guild Esports, Curtis served as vice president, Programming at Activision Blizzard Inc since 2017 and was responsible for the global strategy and vision of the Overwatch League, Call Of Duty League, and Major League Gaming. Prior to joining Activision, he led the esports division at Red Bull as program director.
Zeus Capital and Mirabaud Securities are acting as joint brokers and book runners for the company.
AIM-listed investment firm Blue Star Capital PLC Blue Star holds an 11.7% stake in Guild.
Blue Star Chief Executive Tony Fabrizi said: "Guild has made exceptional progress since its launch last year and the planned listing represents an important step in its ambition of becoming one of the world's top ten esports franchises within three years."
By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com
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