The end of Game appears to be in sight as the beleaguered video game retailer’s shares were suspended from trading on the LSE, with company directors admitting the company “had no equity value left”.
The first quarter of the year has been an increasingly rough ride for GAME; the group recorded £18m in losses in January, earlier this month suppliers refused to supply the group with new products, and on Monday shares fell by 76 percent to below 1p – as of 2.39pm on Tuesday, shares are closed.
Game is said to be trying to raise £180m this week in order to stay afloat, as the very real threat of administration looms on the immediate horizon. Currently, the group must pay debts of more than £10m in VAT, £40m to its suppliers, £21m in rent by the 25th and £12m in wages by the end of March. A spokesman for the group has said that discussions were ongoing with a potential third party investor, but the company admits that a new backer would have to pay £100m to Game’s banks upfront.
The company, which operates 1,300 stores worldwide and employs 10,000 staff, reached a share price high of almost 300p in 2008, but has seen its business corroded by the burgeoning of online retailers such as Amazon, online-only suppliers such as Steam, and low price competition from high street supermarkets such as ASDA and Tesco in recent years.
