OpCapita | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:28:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png OpCapita | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Ex-IGN director is now at GAME https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/ex-ign-director-is-now-at-game/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/ex-ign-director-is-now-at-game/#respond Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:19:23 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=137802 Ian Chambers, previously IGN's international director, has joined GAME, where he will take on the role of chief digital officer beginning at the end of July. This means he'll be managing the online side of the business, as well as covering business developments and digital marketing. “I am delighted with the appointment of Ian into …

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Ian Chambers, previously IGN's international director, has joined GAME, where he will take on the role of chief digital officer beginning at the end of July. This means he'll be managing the online side of the business, as well as covering business developments and digital marketing.

“I am delighted with the appointment of Ian into this new role,” said GAME boss Martyn Gibbs (via MCV). “We have made excellent progress over the last 12 months with our strategy to build the UK’s most valuable community of gamers and Ian will lead the next stage of our development as digital becomes the headline under which the rest of our business aligns.”

game
GAME, like Comet before it and HMV after it, was in a tough spot last year

GAME has also hired on other new management staff recently, including a new insight director, CFO and human resources director. A bit of new blood is probably just the thing the company needs in order to turn itself around and avoid a fate similar to that of other OpCapita purchase Comet, which went out of business late last year.

Ian Chambers said of the move: “Having worked in the games industry for more than a decade, this is an incredible opportunity for me, as I’ve long admired the GAME brand.  GAME has made great strides into digital in the last 12 months and I’m looking forward to taking the business further.  I will leave behind an experienced management team at IGN who continue the company’s aggressive growth curve in all corners of the globe.”

KitGuru Says: Somehow I'm comforted by this. Do you guys think an ex-IGN head will make a good GAME marketer?

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GAME had to pay OpCapita monitoring fees and interest https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/game-had-to-pay-opcapita-monitoring-fees-and-interest/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/game-had-to-pay-opcapita-monitoring-fees-and-interest/#respond Wed, 08 May 2013 10:52:31 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=134072 Highstreet video game retailer GAME was in deep trouble last year. It was circling the drain and it looked like the long-standing chain would come to an end. However, OpCapita, the owners of twice defunct Comet, swooped in and saved the day. However, in the latest accounting reports from the firm, it turns out it's …

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Highstreet video game retailer GAME was in deep trouble last year. It was circling the drain and it looked like the long-standing chain would come to an end. However, OpCapita, the owners of twice defunct Comet, swooped in and saved the day. However, in the latest accounting reports from the firm, it turns out it's paying interest and monitoring fees to OpCapita's parent company, further contributing to the firm's latest losses.

There's a bit of a stink surrounding this, because it's seen as something OpCapita and its parent company Capitex Holdings may have done with Comet, a company it bought for £1 and ‘helped' stay afloat for just over a year, before it went bankrupt again. OpCapita ultimately took home around £50 million from the deal, despite not following through with keeping Comet alive.

Perhaps the same thing will happen with GAME. The video game retailer currently owes Capitex Holdings £103 million according to the Telegraph. It's also paying over 7.5 per cent more interest on the debt, than a standard Barclays loan. So far, GAME has paid back £2.6 million, plus the aforementioned “monitoring fees,” of £636,000.

game
How long will these outlets survive under OpCapita? Source: Georgraphy.ie

GAME went through a big restructuring last year, dumping the Gamestation brand and closing unprofitable locations. Having further restored its relationship with publishers, GAME is now apparently set to have quite a solid 2013, with the financial reports suggesting: “the outlook for the business is positive with a strong line-up of AAA releases and the launch of the new Wii U available to support a healthy Christmas trading period.”“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.”

KitGuru Says:  The question now remains though, is it OpCapita and Capitex Holdings plan to make GAME profitable once again, or to make as much money as possible before getting out – like it seemed to do with Comet. 
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Comet closing for good tomorrow with 50 per cent sale https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/comet-closing-for-good-tomorrow-with-50-per-cent-sale/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/comet-closing-for-good-tomorrow-with-50-per-cent-sale/#comments Mon, 17 Dec 2012 20:00:20 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=119266 Comet, one of Britain's more iconic electronics stores, is set to shut up shop for good from tomorrow, with the 50 per cent – off everything bar high end electronics – sale that ran over the weekend continuing throughout the day. Like HMV's financial troubles that we reported on earlier today, Comet has been in …

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Comet, one of Britain's more iconic electronics stores, is set to shut up shop for good from tomorrow, with the 50 per cent – off everything bar high end electronics – sale that ran over the weekend continuing throughout the day.

Like HMV's financial troubles that we reported on earlier today, Comet has been in business a long long time, beginning in 1933. While this doesn't mean much to the majority of shoppers out there, it shows just what a heritage is being lost by the ending of such a business.

Comet
Sleep well sweet prince

Perhaps less sad and more irritating, is that the owners of the company that purchased Comet back at the end of 2011 for just £2, OpCapita – the firm that also bought out the beleaguered GAME – will still be netting tens of millions of pounds from its investment, despite Comet's collapse. Despite this, creditors of the company won't receive anything and neither will the government, including £50 million in unpaid taxes.

The statement from the company reads (via ManagementToday): “We are sorry for all the Comet employees who have served the business and customers with great loyalty and have lost their jobs at such a difficult time. OpCapita installed a new management team led by John Clare, who did their utmost to revive the loss-making Comet business, but a combination of adverse factors, including the withdrawal of credit insurance and the consequent reluctance of suppliers to supply the business on normal terms meant it became impossible for the business to carry on trading.”

If you're planning to check out the sale, make sure you confirm your local Comet is still open, as many have closed already. The full list of still open stores is here.

KitGuru Says: While with the lack of high street electronic retail business – unless you're an Apple user – the loss of Comet is somewhat understandable, it's still a shame. However, the question now remains, will OpCapita end up doing the same with GAME?

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