Leap Gaming agrees £250k loan with FastForward Innovations

Business News

FastForward Innovations the AIM listed closed end investment fund with a focus on disruptive high growth technology has announced details of a loan to support Leap Gaming.

FFWD currently holds 43.4 per cent. (on a diluted basis) of the issued share capital of Leap Gaming.

Leap Gaming is a B2B developer of high-end 3D gaming applications whose games are offered by leading online and retail gaming operators worldwide. 

During the first five months of 2020, Leap Gaming made significant progress advancing its business plan with substantial growth delivered including 123% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in gross gaming revenues (Jan-May 2020 v Jan-May 2019).  Additionally, it has seen a 95% y-o-y increase in revenues (Jan-May 2020 v Jan-May 2019), with more than 30 new customers signed and/or partnerships agreed. Notably, it has also signed deals with ATP 1000 and NASCAR and expanded its footprint to new territories such as Latin America.

To support Leap Gaming’s continued growth, all its shareholders, including FastForward, have advanced to Leap Gaming (pro rata to their respective interests) a €250,000 loan maturing 31 December 2021.

The Loan accrues interest at 1.02% per month and will be used to fund Leap Gaming working capital. The expectation of Leap Gaming management is that this bridging loan will see the company through to profitability. The Loan replaces a much larger fundraise by Leap Gaming originally planned for Q3 2020 and is reflective of the materially improved performance of Leap Gaming in the first five months of 2020.

Ed McDermott, Chief Executive Officer of FastForward, said, ” As Leap nears profitability it’s an exciting time for FFWD, I believe this could lead to potential liquidity opportunities in a very reasonable timeframe. With the support of FastFoward and its other shareholders including IMG, Leap Gaming has rapidly developed new products, created new partnerships and expanded its global reach to build market share; this has seen a 95% year-on-year increase in revenues in the first five months of 2020. 

We are therefore delighted that the business continues to be ahead of schedule and that in providing this modest bridging loan we, together with the other shareholders, have given them additional funding as the company moves towards profitability. We look forward to continuing to support Yariv and his team during the next exciting growth phase.”

Yariv Lissauer, CEO of Leap Gaming, said “Leap Gaming started 2020 strongly with the completion of its own RGS (Remote Gaming Server), accelerated pace of game title releases, new distribution deals and deepening relationships with incumbent partners.

Our strategy of further evolving virtual sports through embedding officialisation into the products had started to manifest itself with the partnerships deals we recently announced with ATP (for the creation of Virtual Tennis ATP 1000 Tour, first version of which is already live); NASCAR; and Carnoustie.  Gaming revenues and company revenues have materially increased and the expectation of management, and our shareholders, is that the relatively modest amount of €250,000 is needed as a working capital to fund Leap Gaming’s growing development and operational activities through to profitability.” 

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