Blue Star Capital (BLU) portfolio company Guild Esports (GILD) - a leading esports operator and lifestyle brand – has announced the expansion of its sponsorship deal with Samsung. 

As well as exercising its option to extend its existing deal as Guild’s Official Display Partner for another year, Samsung signed a new sponsorship deal appointing Guild as its Official TV Partner for the UK and Ireland. 

The two deals are worth a combined six figures, of which three quarters will be paid in cash and the rest to be received in the form of products, including Samsung Neo QLED TVs for Guild's Academy.

Guild’s chief executive Kal Hourd commented: “This is a resounding validation of Guild's reach and value proposition by a world-class consumer brand, and we look forward to collaborating with them even more closely to deliver to our young and engaged esports audience.”

View from Vox

Guild recently signed a milestone one-year global sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola, bringing total signed sponsorship revenue to £8.56m. 

The company also said it was in advanced stages of negotiation with around 30 tier-1 brands, helped along by the success of its eSports teams, which have been winning trophies in major tournaments this year.

In the same update, Guild reporting a tripling of revenue to £1.1m, reflecting the growth in sponsorship income. That drove a 6-fold increase in gross profit to £710,000, although pre-tax losses widened by 15% as the company made long-term investments in teams and content creation amongst other things, which are expected to drive future growth. 

Guild said that ongoing improvements to the efficiency of operations were expected to lead to a 20% decrease in costs. Net cash for Guild stood at a comfortable £6.1m on 31 March 2022, and its shares also commenced trading on the US OTCQB Venture Market.

According to Newzoo, there are now more than 2.7 billion gamers globally, with gaming overtaking social media as the largest consumption of screen time in most developed markets. By 2023, Newzoo predicts the gaming market will be worth $200.8 billion a year, with the number of players worldwide surpassing the three-billion mark. 

With its revenues multiplying, a growing pipeline of sponsorship deals, and a strong cash position, Guild and its parent Blue Star are in a strong position to benefit from this growth.

Follow News & Updates from Guild Esports  and Blue Star Capital BLU