David Beckham-backed Guild Esports put up for sale on insolvency marketplace

An esports company backed by David Beckham has been put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace, City PM can reveal.

Guild Esports, which owns a multi-story gaming venue in Shoreditch, is seeking offers from prospective buyers with a bid deadline of Friday.

Founded in 2018, the company employed esports teams which competed in popular gaming tournaments such as Fortnite and FC25. It also had partnerships with Sky Broadband and Subway.

The firm became the first British esports company to be publicly traded after floating on the London Stock Exchange in 2020, with Beckham among its biggest shareholders. But Guild saw its stock crater more than 90 per cent from its peak after posting consecutive years of losses.

Its last trading update showed losses contract to £1.8m for the six months to end March 2024, after a string of cost-cutting measures, while revenue fell more than 40 per cent to £2.1m “reflecting a challenging macroeconomic environment.”

The company was sold in August last year in a £2.1m deal to DCB Sports, a California-based investment firm which also holds stakes in Venezia FC and Monaco Women’s football team.

DCB managing partner Gary LaDrido said at the time: “Esports is the perfect combination of sports, gaming and entertainment. We’ve long followed esports and with Guild we have found the perfect opportunity for us to enter the sector for the first time.”

But only a year after the deal was sealed, DCB appears to have soured on the esports sector and has put Guild back on the market.

DCB Sports did not respond to a request for comment.