Game’s 14 Irish stores to close with loss of 125 jobs

Gaming specialist Game officially went into administration yesterday, leading to the loss of 125 jobs in 14 stores here.

Administrators PriceWaterhouseCoopers said 277 stores across Britain and Ireland will close this week with the loss of 2,104 jobs. The remaining 333 stores in the two jurisdictions, which employ 2,814 staff, will continue to trade while attempts are made to find a buyer for the remainder of the business.

The 14 Irish stores are among those to be closed. All Irish-based staff who lose their jobs from Friday will have to apply to the state for statutory redundancy. Some are considering a sit-in in pursuit of their entitlements.

Game has eight stores in Dublin and two in Cork, as well as stores in Limerick, Galway, Monaghan and Athlone.

Last week, Game announced its intention to go into administration, saying “stakeholders and other parties have not made sufficient progress in the time available to offer a realistic prospect for a solvent solution for the business”.

Yesterday it confirmed it had completed its discussions with lenders and third parties without resolution and was therefore appointing PWC to act as administrators for the group.

“This decision is taken after careful consideration and ceaseless interrogation of every possible alternative,” it said. “The board would like to thank the teams of Game and Gamestation colleagues around the world for their exemplary dedication, passion and professionalism.”

Game had a very poor Christmas and was later forced to ask suppliers for more generous trading terms. Many of those suppliers stopped sending it new releases, leaving fans disappointed and adding to the group’s trading woes.

Mike Jervis of PWC said the group had faced serious “cashflow and profit issues” over the recent past, adding it also had suffered from high fixed costs, an ambitious international roll-out and fluctuating working capital requirements.

It is understood a number of parties have expressed an interest in buying a slimmed-down version of the business, including a group led by Royal Bank of Scotland. American rival Gamestop may also bid for at least a part of the business.