Blue Star Capital’s (BLU ) investee company Guild Esports (GILD ) has signed a 10-year property lease to create its global esports Guild Academy and corporate headquarters in London.
Guild Esports, which is co-owned by David Beckham and is the first esport organisation to list on London’s stock exchange, said the Guild Academy and global HQ will be in Shoreditch.
The company explained that the 9,831 square feet facility will be located ‘at the heart of the capital city’s booming technology hub’ and will open in 2Q22. Guild said the physical space will complement its online training portal which is set up for esports stars and pro-players.
The premises will also accommodate its head office functions and act as a central hub for its global operations. In addition, the new premises will open a range of commercialisation, branding and sponsorship opportunities for Guild, including naming rights for the headquarters, for which discussions with potential sponsors are already in progress.
Modelled partly on the football academies set up by leading Premier League clubs, the Guild Academy will include esports training rooms, equipment, and gaming spaces, it told investors.
It said there will also be a specialist fitness training physio and psyche room ‘to support the mental and physical well-being of its top pro-players and the most talented budding stars.’
The HQ will host a dedicated content and editing suite, while streaming rooms are expected to help drive content production, audience growth and in reaching new millennial audiences.
There will also be a partner activation area and a Guild merchandise shop at high street level.
The premises are being leased from Truman Estates Ltd and comprises three floors including a large roof terrace which will be used for hosting Guild events and sponsor-led campaigns.
Kal Hourd, chief executive of Guild Esports, said: “The creation of an iconic location for our Guild Academy and headquarters in London’s hottest technology hub will serve as a beacon and inspiration to our global fanbase, content creators, sponsors and other stakeholders.
He added: “In addition to nurturing new talent and providing state of the art training grounds for our pro teams, we also expand upon brand recognition and unlock a range of commercialisation opportunities, which we look forward to realising in due course.”
David Beckham, co-owner of Guild, said: “I am really excited by the new global headquarters for Guild, which also sees the creation of a new home for the Guild Academy. This marks the next important stage in building Guild’s position as one of the world’s top esports organisations and it will be a focal point for our players, creators and our many global fans.”
On Tuesday, Guild signed a three-year global sponsorship deal for £4.5m as the exclusive cryptocurrency exchange partner to Bitstamp, the world’s longest-running crypto exchange.
To date, it is the largest sponsorship deal secured by Guild Esports and as a result, the company expects it to generate annual revenues of £1.5m over the three-year period.
As part of the agreement, and as advised by Guild Esports, Bitstamp will be given marketing rights and prominent exposure across the Guild’s team jersey and will also appear across social and digital content featuring the Company’s pro-players and content creators.
The Company explained within its statement today that Bitstamp’s logo and brand will also be integrated at its new flagship London headquarters which are expected to open in early 2022.
Guild said it intends to collaborate with Bitstamp over the next three years ‘on a number of projects aimed at enhancing the Company’s fanbase and Bitstamp customers’ experience.
Guild Esport’s investors include London-listed Blue Star Capital. To date, the investment company, which is focused on investing in new technologies, has invested around £0.706 million in Guild Esports, and holds around a 5.95% of the issued share capital of Guild.
Guild was admitted to the Official List and started trading on the standard segment of the London Stock Exchange in October 2020 to take advantage of the growing esports markets.
Blue Star says the esports market is experiencing significant growth. In 2020 it was estimated at c.495m viewers and is projected to reach around 646 million viewers by 2023. This is expected to result in revenues growing over the same period from $950m to $1.60bn.
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