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== Summary<ref>Source: Yahoo Finance.</ref> ==
== What type of investment is Gfinity and is it a suitable investment for me? ==


Gfinity plc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and delivers esports offerings to publishers, sports rights holders, and brands and media companies in the United Kingdom, North America, and internationally. The company delivers esports related technology and services for third parties, as well as provides broadcast and production services. It owns and operates gamer-centric websites, including gfinityesports.com, realsport101.com, stealthoptional.com, racinggames.gg, epicstream.com, mtgrocks.com, siege.gg, and stockinformer. In addition, the company offers IT development and tournament services, as well as event operator services; and engages in the online media activities. Gfinity plc was incorporated in 2012 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.
Gfinity plc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and delivers esports offerings to publishers, sports rights holders, and brands and media companies in the United Kingdom, North America, and internationally. The company delivers esports related technology and services for third parties, as well as provides broadcast and production services. It owns and operates gamer-centric websites, including gfinityesports.com, realsport101.com, stealthoptional.com, racinggames.gg, epicstream.com, mtgrocks.com, siege.gg, and stockinformer. In addition, the company offers IT development and tournament services, as well as event operator services; and engages in the online media activities. Gfinity plc was incorporated in 2012 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.
== What is Gfinity and what makes it unique? ==
=== How did the idea of the company come about? ===
The idea of Supply@ME Capital plc came to Alessandro Zamboni, the now founder of the company, when he developed a strong desire to maximise the profits of his business. Researching into how to do that, he realised that one of the best ways is to finance more efficiently the business' working capital, in particular inventory. He also realised that there are many companies that feel the same way as him, with profit maximisation one of the fundamental assumptions of economic theory. In his quest to maximise the profits of his business and others, Supply@ME Capital plc was born.
=== What's the mission of the company? ===
The mission of Supply@ME Capital plc is to help companies maximise their profits.
=== What's the company's main offering(s)? ===
=== Who’s the target audience of the company’s flagship/first product? ===
The audience is companies that have a relatively high amount of inventory (i.e. inventory-intensive companies), such as manufacturing companies. Examples of the companies include the international steel, energy, minerals and materials conglomerate JSW Group, the electrical and mechanical workshop equipment supplier Clarke International and the Italian supermarket company Esselunga.
=== What's a major problem that the target audience experience? ===
The problem is a lack of profits.
=== What's a key solution to the problem? ===
The solution is Supply@ME, a web application that enables inventory-intensive businesses to finance their inventory. What makes the inventory finance platform unique is that it records the inventory finance transactions on a blockchain. Evidence suggests that a blockchain-enabled inventory finance platform will result in inventory-intensive companies financing their inventory much more efficiently, ultimately leading the companies to improve/maximise their profits.
== Which are the main competitors of the product? ==
A key way to determine an offering’s closest competitors is by looking at other offerings that are targeting the same or similar target audience (i.e. ccc) and providing or aiming to provide the same core benefit (i.e. ccc), and then ranking the offerings in terms of the total amount of time spent using and/or money spent purchasing the offerings. With that said, we view that the closest competitors of the Gfinity plc's offerings are ccc, cccand ccc. A detailed comparison between Gfinity plc and its main competitors are shown in the table below.
== What is the main way that the company expects to make money? ==
ccc
== What’s the size of the company target market? ==
=== Total Addressable Market ===
Here, the total addressable market (TAM) is defined as the global ccc market, and based on a number of assumptions, it is estimated that the size of the market as of today (3rd December 2022), in terms of revenue, is $ccc billion.
=== Serviceable Available Market ===
The serviceable available market (SAM) is defined as the global ccc market, and based on a number of assumptions, it is estimated that the size of the market as of today (3rd December 2022), in terms of revenue, is $ccc billion.
=== Serviceable Obtainable Market ===
Here, the serviceable obtainable market (SOM) is defined as the United Kingdom ccc market, and based on a number of assumptions, it is estimated that the size of the market as of today (3rd December 2022), in terms of revenue, is $ccc billion.
== Who are the key members of the team? ==
=== Board of directors ===
==== Neville Upton, Chairman ====
After graduating at the London school of Economics, Neville joined Coopers & Lybrand where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Neville’s formative years were at Euromoney where he gained experience in finance, M&A and various commercial projects. After a brief spell at The Decisions Group as Finance and Operations Director, in 1998 he established a call centre business, The Listening Company, which specialised in multichannel communication applications and high quality customer service solutions. The business was sold in 2011 to Serco for a sum in excess of £60 million, at which time it had a turnover of £82 million and employed 4,000 people. Neville co-founded Gfinity in 2012 and assumed the role of Chairman in March 2020.
==== John Clarke, Chief Executive Officer ====
John is an experienced business executive having worked in and with leading global companies for the last 25 years. Prior to joining Gfinity, John worked for HEINEKEN N.V. where he was Head of Global Communications and, most recently, a senior commercial director within Lagunitas Brewing Company, a 100% owned subsidiary of HEINEKEN N.V. Previously he held senior leadership, corporate affairs and marketing positions within The American Express Company and Burson-Marsteller Public Relations. John was appointed to the board in September 2018, originally as a non-executive director. In May 2019 he was appointed as the Chief Commerical and Brand Officer, in which role he oversaw a rapid expansion of the Gfinity and RealSport communities. John was appointed Chief Executive in March 2020.
==== Jonathan Hall, Chief Financial and Operations Officer ====
Jon qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen followed by a period of six years specialising in organisation and business process design with PA Consulting, a leading London based management consultancy firm. He subsequently spent five years as a Finance Director of Saracens Ltd and the wider Premier Team Holdings Group, before joining Gfinity in August 2014 where he led the process of the Company’s admission to AIM. As Chief Financial and Operations Officer Jon has responsibility for all aspects of finance and accounting, including financial planning, reporting and accessing capital to fund growth. He also retains responsibility for all company operations including event delivery, technology, HR and legal matters.
==== Leonard Rinaldi, Independent Non-executive Director ====
Len Rinaldi retired in April 2019 after 12 years as the General Manager, Western Europe, Apple, Inc., where he led sales / general management across Western Europe. Previously, as Apple’s CFO EMEIA 2007 – 2012, he oversaw revenue hyper growth from $7bn to $40bn. Len also sat on the boards of Apple India (revenues $800m) as it entered the market, and Apple France (revenues $4bn). His early career was spent in finance and business development/sales roles at AT&T and Alcatel Lucent, and has lived in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, USA, Paris, and London. Len holds an MBA in Finance from FDU. In addition he has Executive Leadership Certifications from Wharton School of Business and the University of Notre Dame.
==== Hugo Drayton, Independent Non-executive Director ====
Hugo has spent the past 30 years in publishing and media, as a pioneer in digital media, including planning and launching the UK’s first online newspaper – Electronic Telegraph, in 1994. He led Inskin Media, as CEO, for 10 years until 2020, growing it from start-up to a global, brand advertising business. Previously, he spent 10 years at The Telegraph Group, latterly as Group Managing Director. Hugo led Advertising.com, Europe, for 2 years, and was launch CEO of behavioural marketing company, Phorm. Hugo is a non-executive director on the board of FTSE250 Future plc, and is an investor/advisor to several media and ad-tech businesses. He serves as a Trustee of the Felix Byam Shaw (Felix Project) and British Skin Foundation charities. His early career was spent overseas, in Europe and South America, with Coats Viyella, and launching automated telephony services across Europe with Reed Telemedia.
== What are the key risks of investing in the company? ==
As with any investment, investing in Gfinity plc carries a level of risk. The key risks can be found below. Overall, based on the Gfinity plc's adjusted beta (i.e. 0.81), the degree of risk associated with an investment in Gfinity plc is 'medium'.
=== Strategic risks ===
==== COVID-19 risk ====
The COVID-19 pandemic drove an unparalleled level of uncertainty within the global economy. This has resulted in many organisations holding back from making long term spending commitments. It has also seen a movement away from spend on live, in- person events. The potential for further outbreaks and related lockdown measures also has implications for financial markets, which could have implications both for Gfinity’s share price and the availability of future capital.
==== Economic and political uncertainty ====
The United Kingdom’s exit from European Union has created a level of economic and political uncertainty, which provides risks at both a strategic and operational level for Gfinity. At a strategic level, the uncertainty could create challenges with regards to capital availability and the desire of global publishers, rights holders and brands to deliver programmes in the UK.
==== Intellectual property risk ====
Esports involves the use of intellectual property, typically owned by the publishers of the respective game titles. Gfinity must consider the risk of changes in strategy of the intellectual property owners, resulting in certain games not being available for use by Gfinity in its esports properties, or fees being required for the use of intellectual property, which may present a challenge to Gfinity’s business model.
==== Perception of video gaming ====
Some people view video gaming negatively, as something that promotes an unhealthy lifestyle and lack of social interaction. There is a risk that this perception will provide a barrier to entry to commercial partners and broadcasters, presenting a risk to Gfinity’s business model.
==== Competition risk ====
There are currently very few companies globally that can deliver full end to end esports solutions and Gfinity has established a first mover advantage. As the market develops, however, there is a risk of new entrants coming into the market, or game publishers looking to bring the capability in house.
==== Speed of revenue growth ====
Gfinity operates in a pioneering sector. Directors believe, supported by market research, that the value of that sector is significantly below the level it should reach, given the size and level of engagement of the audience and the attractiveness of that demographic to broadcasters and commercial partners. Nonetheless, that growth may not be linear and that may present a risk to the speed of revenue growth.
=== Operational risks ===
==== COVID-19 risk ====
Alongside the strategic risks, the COVID-19 outbreak has presented multiple operational risks to the business, including:
* Key staff availability; in the event that multiple people needed to be absent at a single point in time
* Facility availability; ensuring we remain able to generate competitive gaming content for our own programmes and for clients without breaching government regulations
* Maintaining efficient and effective ways of working, including ensuring that staff are able to do their jobs even if they can’t come to the office
* Maintaining appropriate communication, so the company’s activities remain focused and aligned.
==== Liquidity risk ====
Gfinity is currently a loss-making company and as such, must ensure that it has sufficient capital available to deliver on its strategy
==== Access to key skills ====
Esports is a new sector and as such, the number of people with deep experience in developing and delivering esports solutions is limited. Without access to this expertise, Gfinity would not be able to provide the depth of solutions to its client base or build its own Gfinity “tribe”.
==== Data security risk ====
Gfinity has built a large community of esports fans playing, watching and socialising through its own platform and those of CEVO and RealSport. Increasing levels of data protection regulation, including GDPR legislation, and ongoing cyber security risks, make it imperative that any data gathered through these platforms is collected, handled and protected in accordance with all relevant regulations. Any failure to do so would significantly erode trust, both among the esports community and prospective commercial partners.


== References and notes ==  
== References and notes ==  
[[Category:Thesis]]
[[Category:Thesis]]
__INDEX__
__INDEX__

Revision as of 15:37, 3 December 2022

What type of investment is Gfinity and is it a suitable investment for me?

Gfinity plc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and delivers esports offerings to publishers, sports rights holders, and brands and media companies in the United Kingdom, North America, and internationally. The company delivers esports related technology and services for third parties, as well as provides broadcast and production services. It owns and operates gamer-centric websites, including gfinityesports.com, realsport101.com, stealthoptional.com, racinggames.gg, epicstream.com, mtgrocks.com, siege.gg, and stockinformer. In addition, the company offers IT development and tournament services, as well as event operator services; and engages in the online media activities. Gfinity plc was incorporated in 2012 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

What is Gfinity and what makes it unique?

How did the idea of the company come about?

The idea of Supply@ME Capital plc came to Alessandro Zamboni, the now founder of the company, when he developed a strong desire to maximise the profits of his business. Researching into how to do that, he realised that one of the best ways is to finance more efficiently the business' working capital, in particular inventory. He also realised that there are many companies that feel the same way as him, with profit maximisation one of the fundamental assumptions of economic theory. In his quest to maximise the profits of his business and others, Supply@ME Capital plc was born.

What's the mission of the company?

The mission of Supply@ME Capital plc is to help companies maximise their profits.

What's the company's main offering(s)?

Who’s the target audience of the company’s flagship/first product?

The audience is companies that have a relatively high amount of inventory (i.e. inventory-intensive companies), such as manufacturing companies. Examples of the companies include the international steel, energy, minerals and materials conglomerate JSW Group, the electrical and mechanical workshop equipment supplier Clarke International and the Italian supermarket company Esselunga.

What's a major problem that the target audience experience?

The problem is a lack of profits.

What's a key solution to the problem?

The solution is Supply@ME, a web application that enables inventory-intensive businesses to finance their inventory. What makes the inventory finance platform unique is that it records the inventory finance transactions on a blockchain. Evidence suggests that a blockchain-enabled inventory finance platform will result in inventory-intensive companies financing their inventory much more efficiently, ultimately leading the companies to improve/maximise their profits.

Which are the main competitors of the product?

A key way to determine an offering’s closest competitors is by looking at other offerings that are targeting the same or similar target audience (i.e. ccc) and providing or aiming to provide the same core benefit (i.e. ccc), and then ranking the offerings in terms of the total amount of time spent using and/or money spent purchasing the offerings. With that said, we view that the closest competitors of the Gfinity plc's offerings are ccc, cccand ccc. A detailed comparison between Gfinity plc and its main competitors are shown in the table below.

What is the main way that the company expects to make money?

ccc

What’s the size of the company target market?

Total Addressable Market

Here, the total addressable market (TAM) is defined as the global ccc market, and based on a number of assumptions, it is estimated that the size of the market as of today (3rd December 2022), in terms of revenue, is $ccc billion.

Serviceable Available Market

The serviceable available market (SAM) is defined as the global ccc market, and based on a number of assumptions, it is estimated that the size of the market as of today (3rd December 2022), in terms of revenue, is $ccc billion.

Serviceable Obtainable Market

Here, the serviceable obtainable market (SOM) is defined as the United Kingdom ccc market, and based on a number of assumptions, it is estimated that the size of the market as of today (3rd December 2022), in terms of revenue, is $ccc billion.

Who are the key members of the team?

Board of directors

Neville Upton, Chairman

After graduating at the London school of Economics, Neville joined Coopers & Lybrand where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Neville’s formative years were at Euromoney where he gained experience in finance, M&A and various commercial projects. After a brief spell at The Decisions Group as Finance and Operations Director, in 1998 he established a call centre business, The Listening Company, which specialised in multichannel communication applications and high quality customer service solutions. The business was sold in 2011 to Serco for a sum in excess of £60 million, at which time it had a turnover of £82 million and employed 4,000 people. Neville co-founded Gfinity in 2012 and assumed the role of Chairman in March 2020.

John Clarke, Chief Executive Officer

John is an experienced business executive having worked in and with leading global companies for the last 25 years. Prior to joining Gfinity, John worked for HEINEKEN N.V. where he was Head of Global Communications and, most recently, a senior commercial director within Lagunitas Brewing Company, a 100% owned subsidiary of HEINEKEN N.V. Previously he held senior leadership, corporate affairs and marketing positions within The American Express Company and Burson-Marsteller Public Relations. John was appointed to the board in September 2018, originally as a non-executive director. In May 2019 he was appointed as the Chief Commerical and Brand Officer, in which role he oversaw a rapid expansion of the Gfinity and RealSport communities. John was appointed Chief Executive in March 2020.

Jonathan Hall, Chief Financial and Operations Officer

Jon qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Andersen followed by a period of six years specialising in organisation and business process design with PA Consulting, a leading London based management consultancy firm. He subsequently spent five years as a Finance Director of Saracens Ltd and the wider Premier Team Holdings Group, before joining Gfinity in August 2014 where he led the process of the Company’s admission to AIM. As Chief Financial and Operations Officer Jon has responsibility for all aspects of finance and accounting, including financial planning, reporting and accessing capital to fund growth. He also retains responsibility for all company operations including event delivery, technology, HR and legal matters.

Leonard Rinaldi, Independent Non-executive Director

Len Rinaldi retired in April 2019 after 12 years as the General Manager, Western Europe, Apple, Inc., where he led sales / general management across Western Europe. Previously, as Apple’s CFO EMEIA 2007 – 2012, he oversaw revenue hyper growth from $7bn to $40bn. Len also sat on the boards of Apple India (revenues $800m) as it entered the market, and Apple France (revenues $4bn). His early career was spent in finance and business development/sales roles at AT&T and Alcatel Lucent, and has lived in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, USA, Paris, and London. Len holds an MBA in Finance from FDU. In addition he has Executive Leadership Certifications from Wharton School of Business and the University of Notre Dame.

Hugo Drayton, Independent Non-executive Director

Hugo has spent the past 30 years in publishing and media, as a pioneer in digital media, including planning and launching the UK’s first online newspaper – Electronic Telegraph, in 1994. He led Inskin Media, as CEO, for 10 years until 2020, growing it from start-up to a global, brand advertising business. Previously, he spent 10 years at The Telegraph Group, latterly as Group Managing Director. Hugo led Advertising.com, Europe, for 2 years, and was launch CEO of behavioural marketing company, Phorm. Hugo is a non-executive director on the board of FTSE250 Future plc, and is an investor/advisor to several media and ad-tech businesses. He serves as a Trustee of the Felix Byam Shaw (Felix Project) and British Skin Foundation charities. His early career was spent overseas, in Europe and South America, with Coats Viyella, and launching automated telephony services across Europe with Reed Telemedia.

What are the key risks of investing in the company?

As with any investment, investing in Gfinity plc carries a level of risk. The key risks can be found below. Overall, based on the Gfinity plc's adjusted beta (i.e. 0.81), the degree of risk associated with an investment in Gfinity plc is 'medium'.

Strategic risks

COVID-19 risk

The COVID-19 pandemic drove an unparalleled level of uncertainty within the global economy. This has resulted in many organisations holding back from making long term spending commitments. It has also seen a movement away from spend on live, in- person events. The potential for further outbreaks and related lockdown measures also has implications for financial markets, which could have implications both for Gfinity’s share price and the availability of future capital.

Economic and political uncertainty

The United Kingdom’s exit from European Union has created a level of economic and political uncertainty, which provides risks at both a strategic and operational level for Gfinity. At a strategic level, the uncertainty could create challenges with regards to capital availability and the desire of global publishers, rights holders and brands to deliver programmes in the UK.

Intellectual property risk

Esports involves the use of intellectual property, typically owned by the publishers of the respective game titles. Gfinity must consider the risk of changes in strategy of the intellectual property owners, resulting in certain games not being available for use by Gfinity in its esports properties, or fees being required for the use of intellectual property, which may present a challenge to Gfinity’s business model.

Perception of video gaming

Some people view video gaming negatively, as something that promotes an unhealthy lifestyle and lack of social interaction. There is a risk that this perception will provide a barrier to entry to commercial partners and broadcasters, presenting a risk to Gfinity’s business model.

Competition risk

There are currently very few companies globally that can deliver full end to end esports solutions and Gfinity has established a first mover advantage. As the market develops, however, there is a risk of new entrants coming into the market, or game publishers looking to bring the capability in house.

Speed of revenue growth

Gfinity operates in a pioneering sector. Directors believe, supported by market research, that the value of that sector is significantly below the level it should reach, given the size and level of engagement of the audience and the attractiveness of that demographic to broadcasters and commercial partners. Nonetheless, that growth may not be linear and that may present a risk to the speed of revenue growth.

Operational risks

COVID-19 risk

Alongside the strategic risks, the COVID-19 outbreak has presented multiple operational risks to the business, including:

  • Key staff availability; in the event that multiple people needed to be absent at a single point in time
  • Facility availability; ensuring we remain able to generate competitive gaming content for our own programmes and for clients without breaching government regulations
  • Maintaining efficient and effective ways of working, including ensuring that staff are able to do their jobs even if they can’t come to the office
  • Maintaining appropriate communication, so the company’s activities remain focused and aligned.

Liquidity risk

Gfinity is currently a loss-making company and as such, must ensure that it has sufficient capital available to deliver on its strategy

Access to key skills

Esports is a new sector and as such, the number of people with deep experience in developing and delivering esports solutions is limited. Without access to this expertise, Gfinity would not be able to provide the depth of solutions to its client base or build its own Gfinity “tribe”.

Data security risk

Gfinity has built a large community of esports fans playing, watching and socialising through its own platform and those of CEVO and RealSport. Increasing levels of data protection regulation, including GDPR legislation, and ongoing cyber security risks, make it imperative that any data gathered through these platforms is collected, handled and protected in accordance with all relevant regulations. Any failure to do so would significantly erode trust, both among the esports community and prospective commercial partners.

References and notes