The fund will invest in companies that own the intellectual property rights to video games, aiming to partner with developers to create successful games which deliver profits.
The predominant focus of the fund will be on games for mobile devices and tablets, although investments are also likely to be made in companies developing games for other technologies, such as console and PC.
PlayFund will be operated as an ‘evergreen’ fund, meaning investors will be able to commit capital at any time. The minimum investment is £20,000.
The EIS and seed EIS offerings are targeting a return of 250%, excluding the tax reliefs associated with EIS.
They will draw on the expertise and experiences of individuals which have held leading roles in video gaming companies.
They include head of origination Harvey Elliott, who is a former chairman of the BAFTA games committee and has held senior positions at Electronic Arts, Acclaim Entertainment and Marmalade Technologies, working on games such as the Harry Potter series.
He said: “The video games sector is one of the largest, fastest-growing and most commercially successful parts of the global entertainment industry. In 2011, consultancy firm PwC predicted that video games would be the fastest-growing form of media over the next few years, with estimated sales of $82bn in 2015. They were wrong – sales were reported to be more than $92bn.”
“PlayFund gives UK investors the chance to access the growth of this market through the highly tax-efficient EIS and Seed EIS structures, which provide 30% and 50% tax relief respectively, plus other tax benefits. The expertise that PlayFund draws upon means the investments made by the fund will have the greatest chance of success. That’s why we believe our target return of 250%, after three years, is highly realistic.”
