Crunch time for Game as rent deadline looms
GAME group has just a week to secure financial support as the stricken video games retailer teeters on the brink of administration.
The company, which has about 1,300 shops worldwide trading as Game and Gamestation, revealed last week it was holding talks with potential backers as it attempts to raise more than £100m it needs to pay lenders, suppliers and its rent bill due on 25 March.
OpCapita, the private equity firm that bought electricals chain Comet, late last week put forward a rescue deal to acquire Game’s debt from its six lenders, led by Royal Bank of Scotland, and pay suppliers’ outstanding £40m bills in full.
A spokesperson for RBS said the bank was continuing to engage with all parties. However, talks appeared to have cooled this weekend after insiders suggested discussions were not progressing quickly enough considering the short time frame.
The banks are understood to have given OpCapita the go-ahead to hold discussions with suppliers over the potential rescue deal.
Game’s woes came to a head this month after several major games makers including Electronic Arts, Capcom and Nintendo refused to supply Game with its new releases.
Just weeks after renegotiating its covenants with its lenders, Game told investors last week it was “uncertain” whether any of the solutions being discussed with suppliers and lenders would be successful and warned that equity in the firm could be left worthless.
Game’s share price have fallen to 95 per cent in the past year to just 3p.