GAME preparing for stock market floatation – report

Less than two years after it nearly vanished altogether, GAME could be ready to re-join the stock market.

Sky News reports that Game Retail will this week finalise plans for a 300m flotation by appointing HSBC, Canaccord Genuity and Liberum Securities to co-ordinate an initial public offering scheduled to take place later this year.

GAME earlier today revealed the extent of its Christmas success, with like-for-like sales up 90 per cent year-on-year for the six weeks ending January 4th.

Sky quotes a source close to GAME as stating: The chain really outperformed the market, which should provide a solid platform for it to go public."

It also estimates that 2013 profits reached over 30m – more than the 20m estimated by chief executive Martyn Gibbs last May.

"There was a significant risk when the business was pulled out of administration. I think we get caught up in the percentages of a business that was being saved," Gibbs previously said in response to criticism aimed at Game Retail owners OpCapita.

But it wasn’t a business that was guaranteed a future at that moment in time. So we are comfortable the business can work with those payments and continue to build the business.”