PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Despite battling its way out of administration last year, Game Retail was forced to pay out the large sum to new owners OpCapita, despite posting a loss.
The Telegraph initially reported that GAME had to cough up £3.2m in interest and "monitoring" fees to new owners OpCapita, despite recording a loss of £18.2m across the four month period following the brand’s slip into administration.
However, a GAME representative has since contacted PCR’s sister title, MCV, to clarify the information.
The representative confirmed that GAME actually paid just £2.6m to direct owners Capitex holdings Limited, which is owned by multiple investors. The payments were necessary to cover the restructuring fees required to save The GAME Group in addition to the costs incurred by the merger of the GAME and Gamestation brands and a selection of monitoring fees.
The Telegraph’s report also highlights that GAME currently owes owners OpCapita £103m and as a result, is paying an "interest rate of 7.5 per cent above the base rate of Barclays".
Despite the debts, GAME head Martyn Gibbs remains optimistic for the brand, maintaining that Game Retail is expected to record a profit of £20m over the year ending July 31st 2013.
“In 2013, there is much anticipation around the release of Grand Theft Auto V and the company looks forward to further new hardware releases from Microsoft and Sony in coming years,” added Gibbs.
