Group spends £12m on golf game as profits accelerate

Team17 chief executive Debbie Bestwick

Video games group Team17 has got into the swing of things already in 2021 with a £12m acquistion of Golf With Your Friends (GWYF).

It had a very strong 2020 and its share price more than doubled over the year, sending its market value above £1bn.

The business, which also has operations in Nottingham and Manchester, was boosted by lockdowns which drove growth in the video games market.

It has today revealed that its 2020 results will be ahead of expectations. Revenues will be up by around £20m on the previous year to more than £80m, while its operating profits will also increase by more than one-third.

Debbie Bestwick, chief executive of Team17 Group, said: “2020 is definitely a year we will not forget in a hurry and also provides insights into the challenges we can expect as a workforce in 2021.

“Whilst the board and I are very pleased with the financial results we are even more pleased with the resilience and dedication shown by our Teamsters and Label partners to deliver, launch and sell the complex games we made in 2020.”

Bestwick added that “we should not underestimate the support and passion for the games we create”, and she will be looking for big things from multiplayer golf video game GWYF.

Since partnering together in 2019, Team17 has helped to more than double the number of GWYF owners to 5.5m, and it attributed the rise to increased production values, new platforms, IP cross-over and positioning as a higher value proposition.

“GWYF is the type of IP we believe is right for ownership, it is successful and proven but still at the start of its journey,” said Bestwick.

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