The founder of the Yorkshire-based video games company behind hits such as Worms is set for a £50m windfall from a stockmarket listing valuing the business at up to £230m.
Debbie Bestwick, 48, founded Team17 in 1990 and her stake will be worth approximately £100m when the company floats on Aim this month. Bestwick, who received an MBE in 2016 for services to the video games industry, intends to sell up to 50% of her shareholding in the flotation.
Bestwick has positioned the Wakefield-based business as a champion of independent games developers. In the “about us” section of Team17’s website it describes itself as “a games label created by independent developers for independent developers”. One of its games, The Escapists, has been developed by an ex-roofer from Derby.
“We firmly believe that an IPO will not only broaden the profile of the business globally but will enable Team17 to continue to capitalise on our position as a leading independent video games label for indie developers,” Bestwick said.
Team17 has appointed Chris Bell, the former chief executive of Ladbrokes, as its chairman to help guide its international expansion. The flotation is expected to value the business, which has published more than 70 games, at between £200m and £230m.
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