Following gossip of a proposed flotation in the UK, computer games publisher and developer Gremlin Interactive Ltd is likely to apply for a full Stock Exchange listing by the middle of the year, according to the company’s broker Beeson Gregory. The Sheffield, UK-based company, which employs around 160 people, has said that no firm decision has been made as to what market it will choose, and indeed whether it will float at all. If Gremlin does float, it will become the first UK games company to have a full listing, and the Financial Mail on Sunday expects the company to be valued at between 40 and 45m pounds. Public relations manager Steve McKevrpp said that flotation was one of several options that the company is considering. Gremlin develops and produces games for PowerPC, the Sega Enterprises Ltd Saturn, Sony Corp PlayStation and Windows CD-ROM market and reported an revenue of 10m pounds in 1995, which the company says is growing all the time, with profits increasing 10-fold over the past five years. Gremlin was established as a spin-off from a computer store owned by the present chairman, Ian Stewert, in 1984. The first product released by the company in the mid-1980s was a game called Monty Mole which proved very successful and put Gremlin on the map. It is now better known for its series of sports games, headed by Actua Soccer which was launched in 1995 and followed by Actua Golf and the Premier Manager series. With Gremlin games supplied to 32 different countries around the world, its US partner Interplay Inc, based in Irvine, California has proved to play an essential role in capturing the US games market. Between now and the end of April Gremlin has plans to release 11 new titles for its chosen systems, in a bid to further boost its prominence in the games market.
