British competitive gaming culture brand EXCEL ESPORTS has announced that it has secured €20M (£17M) in new equity capital. This financing round was led by investment firm JRJ Group, which first acquired a majority shareholding in 2018 alongside TOMS Capital LLC, the family office of Noam Gottesman. Amongst the new investors joining them are IPGL Ltd, the family office of Michael Spencer; the family office of Alan Howard; and the international private equity firm TNF Investments.

This investment builds on EXCEL’s recent success which has seen revenues more than triple in 2020 following their first year in the League of Legends European Championship. With the capital raised EXCEL will continue to grow its talent lineup as well as expand into more esports titles. EXCEL currently has competitive rosters in three major game titles. In League of Legends, the team was one of ten founding partners of the LEC, and their academy team BTXL was the first British team to make it to the European Masters Final. Earlier in the year EXCEL also announced its expansion into VALORANT and the team will soon reveal new Fortnite talent. Attracting and developing the best talent that the industry has to offer is central to EXCEL’s competitive ambitions.

EXCEL will further bolster its infrastructure, launching its operations into new territories and developing their digital platform XL.gg to become an innovative destination for the community. In the UK, EXCEL will open its new headquarters in Shoreditch, London this Summer which will become a central hub to its business operations and will be used for talent streams, content production and community, partner and media events. It will also be home to its growing workforce, with key hires across its commercial, creative, content, marketing and operations departments. The HQ serves as an exciting addition to EXCEL’s London (Twickenham Stadium) and Berlin-based player training facilities.

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As a continuation of its Power of Better vision, which was launched during its brand update in November 2020, EXCEL will launch a selection of impactful brand campaigns and activities. EXCEL will also develop bold commercial propositions for their partners in UK and international markets. In the last six months alone EXCEL has attracted partners such as Chupa Chups, Sony Mobile and AndaSeat.

Wouter Sleijffers, CEO of EXCEL, comments: “Together with our investors, I’m truly excited to be entering the next chapter, building on EXCEL’s legacy and realising our shared vision for the future of esports and gaming. In a very short space of time, EXCEL has cemented itself at the top of British esports attracting significant support from investors, partners, our ambassador Dele Alli, and all on and off-stage talent.

“We now have all the elements in place to aim for more, to go from a household name in UK esports to an internationally recognised, diverse British gaming brand with the ability to derive maximum value from ongoing sector expansion and the growing digitisation of consumer behaviour.”