Agreement with David Beckham renegotiated

RNS Number : 7098A

Guild Esports PLC

27 September 2022

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014, as retained as part of the law of England and Wales. Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Press release

27 September 2022

Guild Esports PLC

("Guild Esports" or "the Company")

Agreement with David Beckham renegotiated

Grant of Warrants

Guild Esports (LSE: GILD), a global team organisation and lifestyle brand, is pleased to announce that it has renegotiated the terms of a five-year agreement with Footwork Productions Ltd. ("Footwork") that will reduce the Company's total minimum payment obligations by £7.5m over the next two years.

The original agreement enabled the Company to procure David Beckham's services as a brand ambassador in return for 15% of all merchandising and sponsorship revenues, with total minimum guaranteed fees of £15.25m payable in cash instalments over the five-year lifetime of the deal. The first two annual payments have already been satisfied by the Company and the third annual payment for 2022 amounting to £3m will be payable in line with the terms of the original agreement. Further annual payments of £3.5m and £4m were also due in respect of the fourth and final year of the contract, as disclosed in the Company's prospectus.

As part of the updated agreement, the minimum fee due to Footwork for the fourth and fifth years has been renegotiated. Instead of the remaining guaranteed minimums, Footwork will receive 20% of Guild Esports merchandising and sponsorship revenue, a move that will significantly reduce the Company's cash requirements and align the fees to its business performance and continued success. Mr Beckham will continue to perform ambassadorial services for the Company.

Grant of Warrants

As part of the renegotiation of the influencer agreement, Guild has granted 25,930,868 warrants (the 'Warrants') over ordinary shares of par value £0.01 in the Company ('Ordinary Shares') to Footwork . The Warrants have an exercise price of 2.7p and an exercise period limit of five years, vesting immediately.

For further information please contact:

Guild Esports
Kal Hourd Chief Executive Neil Thapar Investor Relations	via Tancredi [phone] [phone]
Tennyson Securities
Corporate Broker Peter Krens	[phone]
Zeus Capital
Corporate Broker Benjamin Robertson	[phone]
Tancredi Intelligent Communication Media Relations
Salamander Davoudi Helen Humphrey Charlie Hobbs [e-mail]	[phone] [phone] [phone]

About Guild Esports:

Guild Esports PLC is a global fan-focused team organisation and lifestyle brand that fields professional players in gaming competitions under the Guild banner. Our in-house training academy aims to attract and nurture the best esports talent, and our goal is to provide the ultimate entertainment experience alongside a distinctive lifestyle brand authentic to the esports community worldwide. Guild is led by an experienced management team of esports veterans and co-owned by David Beckham. The Company is headquartered in the UK and its shares are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (ticker: GILD) and on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States (ticker: GULDF). Please visit www.guildesports.com for more information.

 

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