ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
OUR
GAMEPLAN 01
OUR PERFORMANCE
Highlights ifc
At the heart of GAME
At a Glance 2
Market Overview 4
Chairman’s Statement 8
Chief Executive’s Review 11
Chief Executive’s Q&A 14
Business Review 16
Corporate Social Responsibility 23
02
DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
International Management 28
Board of Directors 30
Report of the Directors 32
Corporate Governance Statement 37
Directors’ Remuneration Report 42
03
OUR RESULTS
Independent Auditor’s Report 50
Consolidated Income Statement 52
Consolidated Balance Sheet 53
Consolidated Statement of
Recognised Income and Expense 54
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement 55
Statement of Accounting Policies 56
Notes to the Financial Statements 66
Company Balance Sheet 92
Notes to the Company 
Balance Sheet 93
Five-Year Summary 98
Directors and Advisers ibc
CONTENTS HIGHLIGHTS
+86%
+132%
TURNOVER £M
2006
2007
2008
645.1
801.3
1,491.9
PRE-TAX PROFIT £M
2006
2007
2008
5.4
29.5
68.4
+50%
DIVIDEND P
2006
2007
2008
2.53
2.93
4.40
1,161
Number of stores worldwide
1,170,000 sq ft
Total trading space
7 ,959
Number of employees in the Group GAME IS THE ONLY 
PURE PC AND VIDEO
GAMES RETAILER
LISTED ON THE LSE. 
ALMOST HALF OF 
OUR STORES ARE
OVERSEAS.
MARKET PLACE: Trading in the UK under the GAME and 
Gamestation brands. Trading as GAME in other territories. 
Retailing both on the high-street and online.
  INTERNATIONAL GROWTH: From 11 UK stores in 1991 to 1,161 
stores globally in January 2008. Operating in nine countries. 
Covering Europe and Australia.
KEY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS STRENGTHENING OUR 
SPECIALIST PROPOSITION ACROSS THE GROUP:
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS
DISTRIBUTION
RETAIL
ONLINE
PREOWNED
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
The world of interactive entertainment is experiencing unprecedented 
growth. As the number one specialist pc and video games retailer in 
Europe, GAME Group is at the very centre of that growth. Why? 
Because we put the customer at the heart of every decision we make. MARKET
PLACE
The new generation of consoles has dramatically 
expanded the market. They offer something 
for everyone to enjoy. The global interactive 
entertainment industry was worth $42.5 billion 
in 2007. GLOBAL MARKET SIZE $BN
2005
2006
2007
24.6
28.9
42.5
GLOBAL MARKET SHARE OF CONSOLES IN 2007
A PS3 9.3%
B PSP 13.9%
C Xbox 360 9.4%
D Nintendo Wii 20.6%
E Nintendo DS 35.5%
F PS2 11.3%
A
B
C
D
E
F
Source: International Development Group INTERNATIONAL
GROWTH
Small acquisitions in Scandinavia in 1998, and France 
and Spain in 2001, have grown into a global enterprise. 
GAME now has 512 stores outside the UK across France, 
Iberia, Scandinavia and Australia. We continue to review 
opportunities in our current and new territories.  TOTAL INTERNATIONAL OPERATING PROFITS £M
2006 1.8
2007 6.1
2008 13.2
NUMBER OF STORES IN EACH TERRITORY
A France 177
B Spain 202
C Portugal 16
D Sweden 44
E Norway 10
F Denmark 8
G Australia 55
A
B
C
D
E
F
G PROPERTY 
MANAGEMENT
Choosing the right location for our stores is just as important as good store 
management. Our rigorous review procedures ensure that we select the 
best demographic and geographic locations in each market. Continuous 
assessment of store performance helps us to maximise proﬁtability. GROUP CAPITAL EXPENDITURE £M
2006 23.7
2007 21.8
2008 39.9
UK STORE PORTFOLIO
A GAME High-street 134
B GAME Shopping centre 227
C  GAME Out-of-town/
Factory Outlet 20
D GAME Concession 33
E Gamestation 235
A
B
C
D
E SUPPLIER
RELATIONSHIPS
Our long-standing and strong relationships with all the key hardware and 
software suppliers ensure we receive the right allocation of products for our 
customers. Working closely with suppliers, we capitalise on new launches 
and generate unique product deals and offers. COST OF GOODS SOLD BY GAME GROUP £M
2006
2007
2008
470.8
583.6
1,122.3
GLOBAL SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE %
A Electronic Arts 19.2
B Nintendo 14.3
C  Activision 8.1
D Ubisoft 9.1
E Other 49.3
Source: International Development Group
A
B
C
D
E UNITS SHIPPED FROM UK DISTRIBUTION CENTRE
2006 21,000,000
2007 25,000,000
2008 32,000,000
DISTRIBUTION SPACE SQ FT
A UK 196,000
B France 16,000
C  Iberia 31,200
D Scandinavia 12,500
E Australia 16,700
A
B
C
D
E Quick and accurate delivery of games to our customers is essential in our 
fast-paced market where launch dates are critical. Each of our business 
units has a dedicated distribution centre experienced in moving large 
quantities of product, whether to our stores or direct to customer addresses 
following online orders.
DISTRIBUTION  2006
2007
2008
645.1
801.3
1,491.9
VALUE OF SALES TRANSACTIONS  
BY MARKET IN 2007-2008 £M
A UK 1,104.7
B France 141.2
C Iberia 175.8
D Scandinavia 43.5
E Australia 26.8
A
B
C
D
E
RETAIL
GAME and Gamestation stores are designed to offer customers the best 
possible retail experience, with an easy-to-shop layout and great value 
promotions. Our employees are our greatest asset – in our stores we 
provide customers with detailed product knowledge and high standards  
of specialist customer service.
VALUE OF GOODS SOLD   
BY GAME GROUP £M ONLINE
Every GAME business has a transactional 
website. In the UK we operate three 
eCommerce brands – game.co.uk, 
gamestation.co.uk and gameplay.com. 
As the UK’s leading online specialist pc and 
video games retailer, we offer a range of 
multi-channel services that replicate the 
choice in our stores. A new ‘click and collect’ 
service, plus digital downloads and 
games-on-demand services for pc games, 
add to our existing eCommerce services. ECommerce turnover grew 147 per cent to 
£58 million in 2007-2008
ECommerce proﬁt rose 61 per cent to £2.9 million
£5 million investment in eCommerce over last 
two years
Relaunch of game.co.uk in 2007 generated:

 and purchasing 
£5 million investment in 2008-2009
FACTS AND STATISTICS
UNIQUE VISITORS TO GAME.CO.UK 
IN 2007-2008
Q1
Q2
4,000,000
4,000,000
Q3
Q4
5,000,000
9,000,000 At GAME and Gamestation, we give our customers the option of trading 
in and buying preowned games. This helps customers save money in two 
ways: trading in used games gives customers a discount on new games; 
and our wide range of preowned games are available at lower prices. 
PREOWNED  CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT
Our customers are at the heart of all our operations. Maintaining strong 
relationships with customers is essential. The GAME Reward Card gives 
customers points on every purchase, which they can use as a discount 
the next time they buy from us. The card’s transactional data helps us 
learn more about customer trends, and plan targeted marketing and 
advertising campaigns to increase loyalty.  REWARD CARD MEMBERSHIP BY COUNTRY
IN 2007-2008 M
A UK 6.6
B France 2.0
C Iberia 0.8
D Scandinavia 0.3
E Australia 0.4
REWARD CARD MEMBERSHIP TOTALS M
2006
2007
2008
7.5
8.1
10.1
A
B
C
D
E AT A
GLANCE
GAME Group grew rapidly in 2007-2008, boosted by the 
acquisition of 217 Gamestation stores in the UK and the 
opening of a net 116 new GAME stores overseas. We believe 
that we’ve taken the right steps to expand the scale and 
geographic reach of our specialist offer in order to beneﬁt 
from the broadening appeal of pc and video games.
THE NEXT LEVEL FOR 2008-2009
 Open 100 new GAME stores
– 40 in Australia
– 40 in Iberia
– 20 in France
 Improve gross margin by 50-100 basis points
 Ongoing investment: £40 million capex, 
including £5 million in our eCommerce offer
 Increase transactional ability of country 
websites
 Drive Gamestation integration synergies 
of £7 million
 Increase global Reward Card membership
2006
2007
2008
5,000
EMPLOYEE NUMBERS
5,148
7,959
7 ,959
Number of employees 
in the Group
2006
2007
2008
SALES OUTLETS
700
817
1,161
1,161
Number of stores 
worldwide
2  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008 3  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
1
5
4
2
3
UK & IRELAND
1
We are the market leader 
in the UK, with two popular 
specialist brands – GAME 
and Gamestation. 
GAME stores appeal to 
mass market customers, and 
are sited in prime shopping 
centre and high-street 
locations, out-of-town retail 
parks, and department store 
concessions in Hamleys, 
Selfridges, Debenhams 
and Fenwicks.
Gamestation appeals 
more to the core gamers. 
The majority of Gamestation 
stores are located in popular 
secondary retail sites. 
GAME
Head Ofﬁce: Basingstoke
Number of stores: 414
Distribution centre: 196,000 sq ft
GAMESTATION
Head Ofﬁce: York
Number of stores: 235
Distribution centre: Outsourced
FRANCE
2
We are the number two 
specialist pc and video 
games retailer in the market. 
France is traditionally a very 
strong market for Nintendo, 
which has been reﬂected in 
its sales of the Wii and DS Lite.
Head Ofﬁce: Paris
Number of stores: 177
Distribution centre: 16,000 sq ft
IBERIA
3
GAME has been the leading 
retailer of pc and video game 
products in Spain since 2006. 
GAME has beneﬁted from 
the rapid growth of shopping 
centres and is represented in 
every new retail development 
in the country. We entered the 
Portuguese market in 2006, 
where we aim to replicate 
the success of our Spanish 
operation.
Head Ofﬁce: Madrid
Number of stores: 218
Distribution centre: 31,200 sq ft
SCANDINAVIA
4
The operational performance 
in Sweden, Denmark and 
Norway continues to improve, 
and we are very pleased with 
trading in all three markets. 
We now have 44 stores in 
Sweden, 8 in Denmark and 
10 in Norway – covering all 
the major retail hubs.
Head Ofﬁce: Stockholm
Number of stores: 62
Distribution centre: 12,500 sq ft
AUSTRALIA
5
Since we entered the 
Australian market in 2006, 
we have run a rapid store 
opening programme to build 
our store portfolio. GAME 
now has stores in every state 
in Australia, and we have 
seen revenues increase 
by over 400 per cent.
Head Ofﬁce: Sydney
Number of stores: 55
Distribution centre: 16,700 sq ft 4  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
MARKET OVERVIEW
The world of video games took great strides during 2007. Nick Parker provides 
an insider’s view. 
The interactive gaming industry is entering 
the most dynamic growth period in its history . 
It is one of the few media sectors still increasing 
sales and the industry is undergoing rapid 
consolidation. With all three new generation 
consoles now launched and online gaming 
starting to capture the imagination of the 
masses, this market has ﬁnally achieved 
acceptability as a mainstream medium.
GAMES SOFTWARE, THE INDUSTRY 
POWERHOUSE
The market for games software is the most 
important measure of the total games 
market, as it is the largest product group 
and demonstrates the desire for gaming 
the most clearly . In 2007, its worldwide value 
grew by over 15 per cent, to reach annual 
sales of 18.4 billion. This compares to a ﬂat 
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) 
between 2000 and 2006.
The primary drivers were: the DS Lite 
hand-held device and the Wii console, both 
from Nintendo; the Microsoft Xbox 360 – after 
a slow start to the year; and the most recent 
arrival, the Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3), which 
launched in Europe in March 2007 – though 
elsewhere at the end of 2006. 
The Sony PS2, now seven years old, 
generated software sales of 3.6 billion of 
the global total software market value. This 
equates to 20 per cent of the market, putting 
it in second place behind the Nintendo DS Lite 
due to its signiﬁcant hardware installed base. 
TABLE ONE: GLOBAL SOFTWARE VALUE MARKET SIZE
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
Millions Euros
Total PC Consoles Handheld
12,111
14,274
15,805
15,810
16,555
15,286
15,427
14,965
15,974
18,358
8,607
9,661
9,849
9,414
11,031
10,479
10,594
9,339
10,650
8,868
2,794
2,994
3,414
3,545
3,235
2,810 2,632
3,149
4,713
5,425
2,477 2,393 2,283
709
1,619
2,542
2,852
2,289
1,997
2,201
Source: Screen Digest 5  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
NICK PARKER CONSULTANT
Nick Parker is the founder and CEO of 
Parker Consulting Ltd, the foremost specialist 
games strategic business consultancy 
in Europe.
Not forgetting the pc software performance, 
the bread and butter of the market which 
keeps many publishers aﬂoat during transition 
periods with consoles, which generated 
 2.3 billion (12 per cent of total software 
sales). PC was a top four best-performing 
platform in value terms and generated a 
considerable volume of software, a growing 
share of which was for massive multiplayer 
games (MMOGS).
GLOBAL TRENDS
The chart below demonstrates the potential 
sales which consoles can achieve, with the 
PS2 selling over 100 million units on a global 
basis. It is unlikely that any one console out 
of the three newer releases – PS3, Xbox 360 
and Wii – will reach that ﬁgure. Why? Because, 
in this generation, each device is competing 
against the other and ‘household saturation 
point’ is a factor. But the three together are 
sure to create a combined market greater 
than those of previous generations. 
Simple, casual online games – such as 
Bejeweled or Tetris and MMOGs like World 
of Warcraft – are the dominant gaming 
experience in most of the Far East but 
account for less than 10 per cent of gaming 
revenues in the West. However, these internet-
driven games are growing signiﬁcantly, 
introducing new payment models and 
attracting a less hardcore market.
TABLE TWO: LIFETIME HARDWARE SALES FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 2007
PS2 PS3 Xbox 360 Wii DS PSP
USA Japan Western Europe
Source: Screen Digest
0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
Millions units
41.1
36.6
21.1
3.2 3.2
1.7
9.2
4.4
0.6
7.4
6.2
4.6
10.5
9.2
7.5
17.6
20.0
21.2 6  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
EUROPEAN FOCUS
Western Europe is now the largest games 
market in the world, with software revenues 
of more than 7.5 billion in 2007. Within Europe, 
the UK leads and is the third strongest market 
on a global basis after the US and Japan. 
Europe has the most evenly-divided share 
of platform sales in the world, as gaming on 
pcs remains a viable option. In 2007, pc sales 
of 1.4 billion accounted for 18 per cent of 
total European software sales, much higher 
than in the US or Japan. 
It was also the ﬁrst year when all three of 
the next generation consoles were available 
on the European market, following the PS3 
launch at the end of March. Hand-held 
software, led by Nintendo, is on a par 
with Japan in terms of software revenues.
DIVERSE EUROPEAN MARKET CULTURES
The unusual aspects of gaming preferences 
in Europe are the difference in consumer 
cultures and retail structures across the 
continent. For example, in the UK, children 
behave in a more independent, irreverent 
way than children of the same age group 
in Germany, where parental inﬂuence is 
stronger and pc gaming is more popular. 
These differences mean that local software 
genres and styles have to be respected and 
games which work well in one country are 
not necessarily successful in another. Indeed, 
some console devices, due to their gamer 
demographic, work better in some countries 
and not in others. 
Take the Xbox 360, which appeals more 
to the adult male player and sells well in 
certain markets like the UK, Australia and 
the US. But the more casual, family markets 
in southern Europe present it with a challenge 
to gain market share. Nintendo has always 
performed well in France, for example, where 
the gamer demographic is more female, 
family-based and casual than in other parts 
of the world.
In general value terms, Germany, France, 
Spain and Italy are next in Europe after the 
UK, but they have different strengths. Germany 
is the biggest pc gaming market in Europe. 
Spain sells more Sony PSP hand-held devices 
than any other European market except 
the UK and France is second to the UK 
on all other consoles.
  MARKET OVERVIEW CONTINUED
TABLE THREE:
SOFTWARE MARKET SHARES (2007)
A
B
C
C
A
B
D
E
F
C
A
B
F
E
D
AUSA 42%
BJapan 12%
CUnited Kingdom 11%
DFrance 6%
EGermany 7%
FOther 22%
VOLUME
AUSA 37%
BJapan 13%
CUnited Kingdom 13%
DFrance 7%
EGermany 7%
FOther 23%
AConsoles  51%
BHand-held 31%
C PC 18%
VALUE
(EUROS)
EUROPE
Source: Screen Digest 7  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
LOOKING AHEAD
Consolidation in the ofﬂine, traditional 
publishing sector will drive market share 
and margin expansion. Video games remain 
a scale-driven industry . Vendors must increase 
market share to boost margins, particularly 
in vibrant markets like MMOGs and casual 
gaming, and by acquiring key franchises and 
new intellectual property in traditional markets. 
There are two outstanding deals – EA’s 
bid for Take-Two and Vivendi’s Activision 
deal – along with a host of potential buyout 
candidates such as SCi in the UK. Warner 
Brothers has started to invest in new gaming 
divisions to exploit the games market potential 
for its movie licences and Paramount Studios 
has just announced a similar strategy.
Future expansion of the industry will not be 
as dramatic as 2007, when the new consoles 
made such a signiﬁcant impact. But the 
market will continue to grow to new, record 
levels in each of the next few years. In the ﬁrst 
quarter of 2008, sales are already revealing 
a record performance for this time of the year. 
Games will sit side by side with other media 
on exciting portable devices and feature 
in leisure environments as the most fun, 
interactive form of entertainment. Finally, 
more mainstream media companies will 
enter the games market.
UNITED KINGDOM
SCANDINAVIA
NETHERLANDS
FRANCE
SPAIN
ITALY
GERMANY
CULTURAL TRAITS
IRREVERENT
URBAN
‘CORE’
CUTE
COMIC
‘FAMILY VALUES’
TABLE FOUR: CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN KEY EUROPEAN MARKETS
Source: GameVision Europe/Game Group 8  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
A YEAR OF ACHIEVEMENT
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE YEAR
Sales performance up 86%
Record PBT* of £75.5 million (2007: £29.5 million)
Final dividend up 79%
Expansion overseas – a net 116 new stores
Successful acquisition of Gamestation’s 217 store chain
ECommerce turnover up 147%, operating proﬁts up 61%
 *proﬁt before tax and non-recurring costs
The strategy to ensure that every part of the Group was well positioned ahead of the 
launch of the new generation of consoles has driven GAME Group’s outstanding results.
Peter Lewis
Chairman 9  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
This was an outstanding year for the Group 
with total revenue growth of 86 per cent. 
The Group’s expansion was accelerated 
by our acquisition of Gamestation in the UK 
and the opening of a net 116 new GAME 
stores internationally. This excellent trading 
performance delivered a Group like for like 
(‘lﬂ’) performance of 41.2 per cent. Through 
our ongoing focus on operational efﬁciency 
we were able to translate our excellent sales 
growth into a record proﬁt before tax and 
non-recurring costs of £75.5 million, an 
increase of 156 per cent on the prior year 
(2007: £29.5 million).
The success of our operational and 
ﬁnancial performance is an endorsement 
of our strategy to expand the scale and 
geographic reach of our portfolio ahead 
of the launch of this new generation of 
games consoles.
RESULTS
Group turnover for the year to 31 January 2008 
increased by 86 per cent to £1,491.9 million 
(2007: £801.3 million) with lﬂ sales up by 
41.2 per cent. In the UK and Ireland total sales 
increased by 88 per cent and lﬂ sales were 
up by 42.5 per cent. In our international 
operations total sales and lﬂ sales increased 
by 80.2 per cent and 37.9 per cent respectively .
As expected, Group gross margin declined 
by 240 basis points compared to last year, due 
to lower margin hardware being a larger part 
of the total sales mix. Other factors included 
the impact of the acquisition of Gamestation, 
which has traditionally achieved lower margins, 
and the participation of our international 
businesses.
Group operating proﬁt was £75.2 million 
(2007: £33.0 million), including international 
operating proﬁts more than doubling to 
£13.2 million (2007: £6.1 million) and 
eCommerce operating proﬁts achieving 
a growth of 61 per cent, to £2.9 million. 
Proﬁt before tax was £68.4 million (2007: 
£29.5 million) and basic earnings per share 
were 13.79p (2007: 6.25p).
The Board is proposing a 79 per cent increase 
in the ﬁnal dividend to 2.97p (2007: 1.66p), 
lifting the total dividend for the year by 
50 per cent to 4.40p per share (2007: 2.93p).
Our net cash position as at 31 January 
was £42.1 million (2007: £0.6 million). The Group 
continues to have a strong balance sheet.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
The Market and Our Market Position
The latest generation of consoles from all 
three hardware manufacturers (the Sony PS3 
and PSP; the Nintendo Wii and DS Lite; and the 
Microsoft Xbox 360) have expanded the video 
games market signiﬁcantly, with the Sony PS2 
and pc games also remaining popular. The 
variety of product innovation has broadened 
the appeal of gaming to a wider customer 
base, attracting both the younger and older 
generations and in particular more females. 
We developed the key differentiators of 
our business to ensure we were well positioned 
ahead of the launch of the latest generation 
of formats:
  Our well established supplier relationships 
allow us to source appropriate quantities 
of ‘must have’ new products and present 
innovative offers to our customers.
  GAME and Gamestation’s specialist retail 
propositions allow us to carry the widest 
range of product on the high-street. 
Consumers can experience a wide range 
of console hardware formats and an 
unprecedented software line-up.
  Our well trained and knowledgeable 
employees are instrumental in guiding 
consumers to the products, deals and 
choices that best suit their needs.
  Our GAME Reward Card scheme, to which 
over 10 million members have signed up 
since inception, gives the consumer great 
discounts and exclusive beneﬁts.
  Our trade-in programme and preowned 
product offer allow consumers to use their 
old games to buy new ones cheaper, and 
buy preowned games at a cheaper price 
than new.
We have opened stores in the right territories 
and the right locations. We now have 1,161 
stores across two brands and ﬁve key 
geographic operating divisions, reﬂecting 
our expansion strategy of building our business 
in the most appropriate markets.
We continue to invest in our multi-channel 
proposition to ensure we can deliver growth 
in the future and maintain our competitive 
position. Our strategy reﬂects customers’ 
increasing adoption of multi-channel shopping, 
and we have invested in this area to ensure 
that the qualities of the GAME brand are 
replicated for our eCommerce customers. 10  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
Acquisitions – Gamestation
On 2 May 2007 we acquired Gamestation, 
a specialist pc and video games retailer with 
217 stores in the UK. The Ofﬁce of Fair Trading 
reviewed our acquisition of Gamestation and, 
on 9 August 2007, referred the acquisition 
to the Competition Commission, from which 
point we operated under agreed legal ‘hold 
separate’ undertakings. On 15 January 2008 
the Competition Commission unconditionally 
cleared the transaction. The non-recurring 
costs of the Group complying with these 
requirements were £4.2 million. 
We have been very pleased with the 
performance of the Gamestation business. 
We originally expected synergies of £7 million 
to be achieved in the 12 months from 
acquisition; however on 3 March 2008 the 
Board announced that it considers that 
these can be realised fully within the 
current ﬁnancial year. 
There will be a total non-recurring 
charge of approximately £7 million related 
to integrating the acquisition, of which 
£2.8 million has been incurred this year. 
Furthermore, there will be capital expenditure 
required to achieve the integration of around 
£4 million.
We will continue to operate both GAME 
and Gamestation as separate brands, which 
will allow us to appeal to the widest range 
of customers that make up the pc and 
video game playing market. 
International
Our international business has grown from 
small acquisitions in France and Spain in 2001 
to 512 stores contributing operating proﬁts of 
£13.2 million (2007: £6.1 million). We opened 
a net 116 stores in the year with 40 of these 
in France, 43 in Iberia, 35 in Australia and 
two closures in Scandinavia. We have also 
closed or acquired 14 franchises in the year. 
Our proﬁtability is continuing to improve 
as we achieve greater economies of scale 
in these international markets.
ECommerce and Digital Distribution
The Group eCommerce turnover increased by 
147 per cent to £58 million (2007: £23.5 million). 
The operating proﬁts increased to £2.9 million 
from £1.8 million. The capital investment in our 
eCommerce offering has been over £5 million 
in the past two years. In the UK we launched 
a new website for our primary platform 
game.co.uk and upgraded our logistics 
infrastructure. We anticipate further signiﬁcant 
growth in eCommerce turnover and operating 
proﬁts this year. 
All of our international businesses now have 
transactional websites that we will continue 
to develop.
We launched a digital distribution service 
offering our customers the opportunity to 
download pc games. This is a minimal but 
growing part of the market. 
EMPLOYEES
The Group’s growth and results could not 
have been achieved without the fantastic 
efforts of our employees. For many, particularly 
those at Gamestation and in our new stores, 
it was their ﬁrst year in the Group and I would 
like to welcome and thank them and all of our 
other staff for their dedication and enthusiasm. 
CURRENT TRADING AND OUTLOOK
The ﬁrst quarter has seen a very encouraging 
start to the year particularly given that the 
comparative period in 2007 included the 
launch of Playstation 3.
In the ﬁrst 13 weeks to 26 April 2008 the Group 
lﬂ and total sales were up by 20.1 per cent 
and 64.3 per cent respectively. In the UK and 
Ireland lﬂ sales and total sales were up by 
25.6 per cent and 78.6 per cent respectively. 
In our international business lﬂ sales and 
total sales were up by 8.8 per cent and 
34.3 per cent respectively.
The unprecedented range of popular 
products has broadened the demographic 
appeal to new customers of all generations. 
It has also favourably altered the short and 
medium-term outlook for our industry. With a 
large and growing installed base of hardware 
in the market, a strong line-up of new software 
launches and the beneﬁts of full year 
ownership of Gamestation in prospect, the 
Board remains very conﬁdent in the outlook 
for the 53 weeks to 31 January 2009.
Peter Lewis
Chairman 
  CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT CONTINUED 11  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
EXPANDING OUR GROUP
This has been a momentous year both for 
the Group and for the pc and video games 
industry. Our specialist business has beneﬁted 
greatly, not only from a buoyant market but 
also from the solid foundations we have 
put in place. 
Our acquisition of Gamestation has 
considerably enhanced our UK market position 
and given us a second specialist brand allowing 
access to a much wider range of customers.
Video games are now mainstream 
entertainment, appealing to and entertaining 
a broad spectrum of customers. In the UK, pc 
and video games sales exceeded £3.2 billion 
in 2007, compared to £3 billion sales for 
recorded music in the UK or £1 billion for 
cinema receipts.
As a specialist retailer we offer a compelling 
shopping environment, both on the high-street 
and online.
We offer an extensive product range, 
a trade-in and preowned programme, 
offers and promotions, and most importantly 
enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff to best 
help consumers ﬁnd the products that meet 
their needs.
As a result, for the third consecutive year 
the Group reported excellent lﬂ sales.
THE GAME GROUP SPECIALIST
PROPOSITION
To drive growth in every part of our business 
and in every market in which we operate, 
we put our relationship with our customer at 
the heart of our activities. The key components 
of this relationship are:
  Compelling shopping environment – 
Both on the high-street and online we 
aim to deliver customers an enhanced 
shopping experience.
  The quality of our staff – Our staff are trained 
to offer advice on the broad range of 
products now available and are dedicated 
to delivering the highest levels of customer 
care and service. 
  Product range and choice – We present 
the customer with the widest range of pc 
and video games products. Our specialist 
buyers negotiate unique offers, leading 
promotions and innovative hardware 
packs offering excellent value.
  Preowned and trade-in programme – 
The ability to trade-in and buy preowned 
games at GAME and Gamestation is a real 
beneﬁt for customers. Trading in games is 
a unique way for customers to save money, 
using their old games as currency against 
new purchases. Preowned games enable 
us to offer a wider range and better value 
to today’s more price-conscious consumer.
  Customer Loyalty and Customer 
Relationship Management – The GAME 
Reward Card gives us a unique relationship 
with our customers. We reward our customers 
with points on every purchase which can 
be used as discounts against future 
purchases. The transactional data allows us 
to track purchasing trends and learn about 
our changing needs. It also helps us plan 
tactical direct marketing, advertising and 
other campaigns to increase loyalty. To drive growth in every part of our business and in every market in which we 
operate, we put our relationship with our customer at the heart of our activities.
Lisa Morgan
Chief Executive 12  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
Over time, we have signed up over 10 
million GAME Reward Card members 
across the UK and our international 
businesses.
  ECommerce – We relaunched our 
eCommerce service game.co.uk in 
September 2007. As the UK’s leading online 
specialist video games retailer, we offer 
customers a range of multi-channel 
services that replicate the specialist service 
in our stores. This year the Group will increase 
investment to accelerate the expansion 
of our multi-channel offer both in the UK 
and internationally. 
These activities have served us well in 
building brand recognition in all the territories 
in which we operate and in generating a 
strong performance for the year. We have 
seen considerable growth in loyalty and 
membership, excellent results for mystery 
shopping and improvements in service 
across the chain.
SUPPORTING THE SPECIALIST
PROPOSITION
To maintain our leading specialist proposition 
it has been vital that we ensure all elements 
of our support functions are working to the 
very highest standards: 
  Buying – We have maintained long-term 
and successful relationships with all of the 
key hardware and software suppliers in the 
market. This ensures we receive a good 
allocation of products for our customers. 
Together, we are able to maximise new 
launches and generate unique product 
deals and offers. Working closely with each 
supplier also helps us to create market- 
leading campaigns.
  Distribution and merchandising – In such 
a fast-paced market, where launch dates 
are key, it is crucial that products are 
available for the customer as fast as 
possible. Distribution centres for each of 
our business units are dedicated to moving 
large volumes of products quickly and 
efﬁciently to ﬁnal destinations, whether that 
is our stores or direct to customer homes 
via online orders. In the UK, for example, 
our distribution centre despatched over 
30 million units in 2007, an increase of over 
25 per cent on the previous year. Our 
sophisticated systems and merchandising 
function ensures that we get the correct 
products in the right quantities to 
every destination.
  Property management – A major part 
of successful retailing is the location and 
management of retail outlets. Our rigorous 
review procedures mean that we open 
stores in the right demographic and 
geographic locations. We constantly assess 
store performance, ensuring that our lease 
commitments allow us to manage the 
portfolio efﬁciently to maximise proﬁtability.
WHERE WE SELL
We deliver our specialist proposition throughout 
the Group worldwide, using a consistent 
operating model.
Outside the UK and Ireland we operate 
in France, Iberia, Scandinavia and Australia. 
Total revenues from our international businesses 
of £387.3 million (2007: £214.9 million) 
represented 26.0 per cent of Group revenues. 
Total international sales increased by 
80 per cent, with a 37.9 per cent increase 
in the lﬂ sales.
France
All of the former Maxi-Livres book stores, 
which we acquired in October 2006, have 
now been reﬁtted and branded as GAME 
and the 50 store portfolio delivered a pleasing 
trading performance in their ﬁrst year as pc 
and video games specialist stores.
Iberia
Over the course of the year we have 
experienced a strong roll-out of stores, 
allowing us to consolidate our number 
one position in the market. 
Scandinavia
Managed from our central ofﬁce in Stockholm, 
we have stores in Sweden, Norway and 
Denmark in all the major retail hubs.
Australia
This is the newest market for the GAME business 
and we have achieved considerable growth 
over the last ﬁnancial year, opening 35 new 
stores to make a total of 51.
  CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW CONTINUED 13  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
We recognise that eCommerce is an 
important area in the pc and video games 
market and we will continue to invest in 
and develop our multi-channel proposition, 
building our offer online to reﬂect the same 
brand values our customers recognise and 
trust. In the past two years, we have invested 
over £5 million in our eCommerce offering 
and will commit a further £5 million this year.
OUTLOOK
The excellent performance for the year 
is a result of our efﬁcient operating model, 
our investment in our stores, our people, our 
supplier relationships, and our creation of a 
leading specialist proposition that is designed 
to exceed our customers’ expectations and 
build long-term loyalty. 
We look forward to the current year with 
conﬁdence. We will continue to develop our 
consumer proposition, both online and in our 
stores, realise the beneﬁts from the Gamestation 
acquisition in the UK and build further on our 
successful international expansion programme.
Lisa Morgan
Chief Executive
“To maintain our leading 
specialist proposition it has 
been vital that we ensure 
all elements of our support 
functions are working to 
the very highest standards.” 14  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
Q&A
WITH LISA MORGAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE 15  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
With nearly half of all your stores now 
outside the UK how are you maintaining
control effectively? 
Our strategy has always been to have 
experienced local management who 
are committed to driving the business.
Our role at Group level is to give local 
management the support and tools to 
maximise their performance. 
We do not seek to micro manage the 
regions. We have great management in 
place that we trust to manage their business 
day to day. 
We communicate frequently and 
hold regular meetings with our Country 
Managing Directors.
We have a formal programme in place 
where we not only review performance but 
where they can encourage each other and 
their teams to share best practice and ideas.
So what is your strategy on further acquisitions
– and given cyclical, market and pricing
threats, is now the right time? 
Our strategy is unchanged. We specialise 
in pc and video games and the key challenge 
is ﬁnding the right opportunity rather than 
a matter of timing. 
We continually review acquisition 
opportunities. Our preferred acquisition 
is to buy an existing business that has 
an experienced local management team, 
ideally with around 10 to 25 stores and 
a market that is meaningful in size, with 
good growth prospects. 
How are you combating the increasing 
threat from supermarkets and online retailers?
The video games market has always been 
a competitive market.
We recognise it is essential to maintain 
a different and compelling customer offer, 
whether it be in-store or online and our 
specialist difference is key.
These include our easy to navigate store 
environment, our great range, offers and 
promotions, enthusiastic, well trained staff, 
and our more unique beneﬁts such as our 
trade-in and preowned programme and 
our popular customer Reward Card. 
We genuinely believe that we offer a whole 
package – one that is designed to give our 
customers a superior shopping experience. 
But we never sit back – we are constantly 
looking at ways to improve and this ensures 
we stay ahead of our competition.
With other retail brands moving online, what
have you done to improve your online offering? 
Developing our multi-channel offer has been 
very important for us too. ECommerce has 
seen both considerable focus and investment 
over the past few years and we are seeing 
signiﬁcant improvement in performance.
We retail online in the UK through three 
well recognised brands: GAME, Gameplay 
and Gamestation.
We relaunched our GAME website 
in September 2007 and we saw a great 
response from customers – which resulted 
in improvements in customer conversion 
and growth in overall sales.
Our online retail sales have grown from 
around £4 million in 2003 to over £58 million 
in 2007.
We plan to invest a further £5 million in 
this area in the current year.
What challenges do you face from Digital
Distribution and Online Gaming?
Digital Distribution currently represents a 
very small part of the total market. Games 
are much larger than music or movies, which 
makes them less convenient to download 
at current broadband speeds. To date we 
participate in this channel by offering our 
customers the opportunity to download 
pc games from our GAME and Gameplay 
websites in the UK. 
Online gaming, whether it be pc-based 
or via the Xbox 360, is becoming more popular 
with ‘core’ gamers, and we serve them with 
all the software, hardware, peripherals and 
timecards that they need to enjoy the best 
online gaming experience. 
What’s your long-term outlook for GAME Group? 
GAME has changed dramatically over the last 
ﬁve years in terms of the quality of our consumer 
offer and the scale and geographic reach 
of our business. 
At the same time the market has increased 
in size to a £3.2 billion market in the UK 
alone, with three major console hardware 
manufacturers playing a critical part in 
its growth.
Video games are now mainstream 
entertainment. Along with your typical hit video 
games, products like Brain Training, Singstar, 
Guitar Hero and now Wii Fit are entertaining 
males and females of all generations. 
All things considered, Game Group is 
well placed for the medium and long term. 16  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
BUSINESS
REVIEW 17  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
Lisa Morgan
Chief Executive
David Thomas
Group Finance Director 
& Deputy Chief Executive
The acquisition of Gamestation in 2007 marks a transformation of our UK business. 
We now have two popular retail brands appealing to both ‘mass market customers’ 
and ‘core gamers’. Our success under both brands is a testament to our qualities 
as a specialist retailer.
OVERVIEW
GAME Group is Europe’s leading specialist 
retailer of pc and video game products. The 
business started trading in 1991 from 11 stores 
in the UK, and has grown both organically 
and through acquisition to a 1,161 store chain 
as at 31 January 2008. We operate stores in 
nine countries, supported by eCommerce 
websites. Following the successful acquisition 
of Gamestation in 2007, we operate in the UK 
market under the GAME and Gamestation 
brands – and as GAME in all other territories.
OUR MARKET
Technology
Video game technology has evolved rapidly 
since Atari launched Pong in the 1970s, with 
present day games offering very realistic 
simulations and opportunities for multiple 
players. The current generation of games 
consoles are not purely for playing games. 
They can be used to access the web, watch 
ﬁlms, store photos and for many other 
functions. The technology in our industry 
is evolving in a number of ways:
  To enhance the game play, graphics 
and content. Gamers like to experience 
the full game-playing power of a next 
generation console, driving demand for 
ever more complex games and more 
realistic simulations. This, in turn, signiﬁcantly 
increases the cost of developing 
new games.
  To increase the inclusivity of gaming. Some 
manufacturers are forgoing the race to 
push the technology in favour of making 
products that focus on simplicity and 
having fun.
  To extend how and where games are 
played. Portable consoles and online 
gaming allow people to challenge each 
other or themselves wherever they are. It is 
also possible to download simple games.
In the short to medium-term, games 
manufacturers will continue to create products 
that realise the potential of the current consoles 
and their entertainment possibilities, in order to 
satisfy the demands of the game-playing public. 
Over the longer term, games are expected to 
feature more online play , but current technology 
constraints are limiting growth. 2008 2007
As at 31 January Number Number
Company owned and 
concessions
UK and Ireland 
– GAME 414 407
– Gamestation 235 –
Total UK and Ireland 649 407
France 170 130
Iberia 208 165
Scandinavia 62 64
Total Continental Europe 440 359
Australia 51 16
Total International 491 375
Total owned and concessions 1,140 782
Franchises
France 7 11
Iberia 10 18
Australia 4 6
Total franchises 21 35
Total operational outlets 1,161 817 18  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
Digital distribution is another potential route 
to market but existing domestic broadband 
networks generally do not deliver speeds of 
more than 8MB/sec and game ﬁle sizes are 
increasing, so games are slow to download. 
It is also difﬁcult to store large ﬁles in a console’s 
limited memory. For example, PS3 games can 
be up to 50GB in size, whereas the PS3 hard 
drive is limited to 40GB.
Geography
There are 229 million games consoles in the 
top 15 markets, creating an industry worth 
US$42.5 billion (source IDG). The prime markets 
are the USA, Japan and Europe. Japan 
and the USA are the lead markets, and 
are also the national homes of the console 
manufacturers. In Europe the largest video 
game market is the UK followed by France, 
Spain, Germany, Italy and Scandinavia.
The US, Japanese and UK markets tend 
to be the most mature with consumers very 
aware of the products and choices available 
to them. The other European games markets 
are continuing to evolve rapidly. The Australian 
market shows a strong growth proﬁle, with an 
installed base penetration of approximately 
one-third of the penetration seen in the 
UK market. 
Within these economies the games market 
has become part of the wider entertainment 
industry, competing successfully for consumer 
spend on entertainment. As with the wider 
entertainment industry, growth in the video 
games industry has been driven more by 
new technology than by the state of the 
wider economy.
Around the globe there are a signiﬁcant 
number of emerging economies with the right 
infrastructure and customer demographic 
to support a successful pc and video 
games market.
Consumer
Historically the video game consumer would 
have been a male in his teens or early 20s 
(the ‘core gamers’). This has changed radically 
in the last three years, with the arrival of many 
new and innovative products. Today’s consoles, 
and in particular the Nintendo Wii and DS Lite, 
offer a game play experience that has 
expanded the consumer base to include 
children, the over 30s and many more 
female players (the ‘mass market gamers’). 
 BUSINESS REVIEW CONTINUED
ECOMMERCE
GAME Group is at the forefront of 
initiatives to deliver customers specialist 
service, wherever and whenever they 
need it. 
The Group’s largest transactional 
website game.co.uk was relaunched in 
September 2007, generating a 65 per cent 
increase in trafﬁc. A range of multi-channel 
services have revolutionised the site, 
including customer reviews, and a ‘Click 
and Collect’ service that allows customers 
to order online and pick up the product 
instore. These are in addition to the existing 
digital download and games-on-demand 
services for pc games. 
Online commentator comScore
reported that game.co.uk was the fastest 
growing retail site in the peak November 
to December period in 2007. Meanwhile 
web consultancy Webcredible’s October 
2007 usability report, which studies the 
top 20 High-Street retailers’ sites, placed 
game.co.uk second, up 18 places from 
the previous year. 
GAME Group will continue to invest 
in eCommerce in 2008 to deliver growth 
and maintain our competitive position.
65%
Increase in trafﬁc on game.co.uk 19  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
This broadening of the demographic appeal 
of computer games is occurring in all key 
game playing geographic areas. As a result, 
hardware manufacturers and games 
publishers need to satisfy the demands 
of both the ‘core gamer’ and the ‘mass 
market gamers’.
Products
Typically a successful specialist video game 
retailer will sell a wide range of hardware, 
software, accessories and preowned products.
Hardware
The consoles used to run the software are 
manufactured and supplied by Microsoft 
(Xbox360), Sony (PS2, PS3 and the hand-held 
PSP), and Nintendo (Wii and hand-held 
DS Lite). Hardware sales drive the future 
purchase of software products.
Software
This includes video games for all console 
formats plus game software products for pc. 
Like other entertainment products, longstanding 
brands are often the most successful. Well-
established franchises – such as Mario from 
Nintendo, Halo from Microsoft, Grand Theft 
Auto from Rockstar, FIFA from EA, Gran Turismo 
from Sony and Metal Gear Solid from Konami 
are classed as AAA launches. The recent 
explosion of mass market customers has 
lengthened purchasing trends, and new 
franchises such as Brain Training from 
Nintendo and Guitar Hero from Activision 
have achieved strong chart positions.
Accessories
These include hand-held controllers, steering 
wheels, protective cases, cables and other 
attachments that improve the game play 
experience. ‘Casual’ games are increasingly 
reliant on accessories to maximise the game 
play – including microphones for singing 
titles, mock guitars for music games, steering 
wheels for driving games and add-ons for 
the Wii such as the Wii Fit. 
Preowned
This comprises console software and hardware 
that is traded in for cash, credit or a discount 
on another purchase. Trading in games is 
a unique way for customers to save money, 
using their old games as currency against 
new purchases. Preowned games allow the 
specialist to offer a broader range and great 
value to today’s more price-conscious consumer.
OUR BUSINESS
The acquisition of Gamestation in 2007 marks 
a transformation in our UK business. We now 
have two popular retail brands appealing 
to both the ‘mass market customers’ and 
‘core gamers’. Our success under both 
brands is a testament to our qualities as 
a specialist retailer: 
  A quality shopping environment – Both on 
the high-street and online we aim to deliver 
customers the best shopping experience 
whilst maximising sales opportunities. The 
GAME brand provides an easy-to-shop 
store layout, clear signage, helpful and 
knowledgeable staff and offers and 
promotions tailored to the mass market 
consumer. The Gamestation brand, with its 
distinctive advertising, offers and mix 
of preowned games, has a greater appeal 
to the core gamer. In both chains, our 
employees are trained to give the very 
highest levels of product knowledge 
support to the customer.
  Product range and choice – Our specialist 
offer allows us to present to the customer 
the widest range of pc and video game 
products on the high-street. To support the 
range, we run special promotions, unique 
offers and innovative bundling campaigns. 
Uniquely, GAME stores offer a wide range 
of own-brand accessories which give 
consumers value for money. Preowned 
products are increasingly popular with 
customers and represent a signiﬁcant 
part of our business. They allow both our 
chains to offer competitive price points 
to cost-conscious consumers. Pricing and 
stock are controlled centrally to ensure 
sufﬁcient stock levels are maintained.
  Price Offerings – We use a variety of tools 
to give our customers value for money. 
We work with suppliers to provide attractive 
promotions, including Deal of the Week 
and Buy One Get One Free offers. Our 
preowned range offers lower price points, 
and customers can save money against 
their new purchases by trading in their 
used games. Our Reward Card provides 
a 2.5 per cent discount on any purchase 
made and 5 per cent on many pre-orders. 20  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
the UK. Stores are located in prime locations 
in shopping centres, high-streets and out-of-
town retail parks. We also have concessions 
including Hamleys, Selfridges, Debenhams 
and Fenwicks. GAME UK is supported by a 
state-of-the-art distribution centre and head 
ofﬁce facility in Basingstoke, built speciﬁcally 
for the Group and comprising some 196,000 
sq ft of storage space.
Gamestation
The Group acquired Gamestation on 2 May 
2007, with 1,800 employees and 217 stores. 
The majority of Gamestation stores are 
located in popular secondary retail sites 
and appeal more to the typical ‘core gamer’. 
Gamestation added 528 employees in 2007 
and opened 18 new stores. Gamestation is 
supported by a head ofﬁce and distribution 
facility in York. Distribution is managed by a 
third-party logistics partner.
France
GAME in France, where we have 170 stores, 
continues to grow and perform well. We are 
the number two specialist pc and video games 
retailer in the market. France is traditionally 
a very strong market for Nintendo, which 
has been reﬂected in its sales of the Wii and 
DS Lite. The French business is supported by 
a 16,000 sq ft head ofﬁce and distribution 
centre, situated in Paris.
Iberia
GAME has been the leading retailer of pc 
and video game products in Spain since 2006. 
The operational performance of the business 
is excellent. GAME has beneﬁted from the 
rapid growth of shopping centres and is 
represented in every new retail development 
in the country. We acquired a presence in 
the Spanish market in 2001 and from here 
expanded into Portugal in 2006. The Iberian 
business is supported by a 31,200 sq ft 
head ofﬁce and distribution centre situated 
in Madrid.
Scandinavia
The operational performance in Sweden, 
Denmark and Norway continues to improve, 
and we are very pleased with trading in 
all three markets. We now have 44 stores 
in Sweden, 8 in Denmark and 10 in Norway. 
The Scandinavian business is supported by 
a 12,500 sq ft head ofﬁce and distribution 
centre situated in Stockholm.
As outlined in the Chief Executive’s Review, 
we have built our specialist retailer proposition 
by having a strong support infrastructure: 
  supplier relationships – to create unique 
deals and offers for the consumer; 
  sophisticated distribution and 
merchandising systems – to ensure we get 
the right quantities and type of product 
to meet customer demand whether 
online or in-store; 
  property management – to ensure we 
are in the right locations for maximising 
customer catchment and proﬁtability; 
  customer relationship management tools 
– to ensure we respond to our customers’ 
changing needs and market trends;
  preowned and trade-in – offering a 
preowned alternative to the price-
conscious consumers. 
We replicate this strong operating chain 
and specialist retail proposition in each 
of the territories in which we operate.
STORE PROFILES
We aim to produce a standard store format 
across our portfolio. Most measure just over 
1,000 sq ft, although this does vary by territory. 
Each is merchandised to provide a great 
product range across all formats, clear offers 
and promotions and most of all an easy 
and satisfying shopping experience for 
our customers. We are constantly updating 
our proposition to keep up with the latest 
consumer trends and demands, making 
sure the customer remains at the heart 
of everything we do.
UK and Ireland
GAME
With over 4,000 employees and 414 outlets 
GAME is the leading video games retailer in 
 BUSINESS REVIEW CONTINUED
“Both on the high-street and 
online we aim to deliver 
customers the best shopping 
experience whilst maximising 
sales opportunities.” 21  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
Australia
Our presence in Australia has more than 
trebled since we acquired a local business 
in September 2006. Under the leadership of 
the experienced existing management team, 
we have achieved excellent progress. On 
acquisition we relocated the head ofﬁce and 
distribution centre to a 16,700 sq ft facility in 
Sydney and rebranded the existing stores to 
GAME. We also began a rapid store opening 
programme taking the portfolio from 16 to 51 
stores in just over a year. GAME now has stores 
in every state in Australia.
ONLINE RETAILING, ONLINE GAMING
AND DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
ECommerce has rapidly increased its 
contribution to the Group and represents 
a signiﬁcant opportunity for the future. 
In the UK we operate retail websites 
game.co.uk, gamestation.co.uk, and 
gameplay.com. 
The relaunch of game.co.uk in September 
2007 generated a 65 per cent increase in 
trafﬁc and a 50 per cent rise in customers 
visiting and purchasing. The revised site has 
won awards for usability and trafﬁc increases 
in the UK. In November 2007 we launched 
a ‘click and collect’ service which allows 
customers to order online and collect 
products from our stores. This new channel 
complements our existing digital download 
and games-on-demand services.
PLANNING FOR FUTURE GROWTH
Computer game retailing is evolving 
rapidly through the combined impact of 
technological advances and an increasingly 
competitive high-street and online market. 
We aim to maintain our leading position 
by adhering to the core principles of our 
Group as a specialist retailer, and to continue 
to roll out new stores across appropriate 
markets. We plan to open around 100 new 
stores primarily focused on France, Spain, 
and Australia. 
We will continue to review opportunities 
in our current sectors and in new territories. 
We will acquire new stores and businesses 
providing they are a good ﬁt with our existing 
outlets and the new businesses meet our 
criteria for capable management, sound 
infrastructure and good ﬁnancial returns.
In the current year we expect the total 
capital expenditure including information 
technology and head ofﬁce expenditure for 
the Group to be in the region of £40 million. 
GAMESTATION
We will maintain our focus on the online 
area of our business to ensure that we are 
well positioned both in terms of eCommerce 
and digital distribution. We aim to build on 
recent market share gains and increase 
the proportion of sales online in the Group. 
The successes of our relaunch of game.co.uk 
will be applied to other Group sites in the 
coming year. On 2 May 2007 the Group acquired 
Gamestation, the popular UK based 
games retailer.
Adding an extra 217 stores and 1,800 
employees, this transformed our UK 
business. The majority of Gamestation 
stores are in secondary retail sites and 
appeal more to the core gamer. 
Gamestation stores offer a wide range 
of new and preowned video games, 
consoles and accessories, with employees 
who are passionate about helping 
customers ﬁnd the right games.
Founded in 1993 in York, Gamestation 
grew to 62 stores by 2002. Rapid expansion 
followed, ahead of the launch of third 
generation consoles, and 72 new stores 
were opened in 2004. Gamestation has 
continued to grow, with 18 new stores 
opening since acquisition.
The Group will operate a dual brand 
strategy in the UK, using the appeal of the 
GAME and Gamestation brands to serve 
the increasing number and range of 
customers who are buying video games.
217
Stores added on acquiring Gamestation 22  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
FINANCIAL RESULTS
Proﬁt and loss account 
Revenue
During the year Group revenue increased by 
86 per cent to £1,492 million from £801 million 
last year. Lﬂ sales increased by 41 per cent with 
new store openings, excluding Gamestation, 
contributing a 14 per cent increase.
Average sales per annum per sq ft 
increased by £359 to £1,275.
Gross margin
Overall gross margin was 24.8 per cent 
compared to a prior year margin of 
27.2 per cent. This decline in gross margin 
was in line with our expectations. It was 
caused by the increased participation of 
hardware in our sales mix, the acquisition of 
Gamestation, with its lower margin operating 
model, and the participation from our 
overseas businesses.
Operating expenses
Total operating costs have increased by 
28 per cent from £184.8 million to £237.3 million, 
excluding Gamestation and non-recurring 
costs, and as a percentage of sales were 
20 per cent compared to 23 per cent last year. 
On a cash basis our operating expenditure has 
increased year on year but this is in line with 
the increase in volumes traded across our 
business. The decrease in operating costs as 
a percentage of sales is a testament to our 
ability to control our expenditure across the 
operating chain.
Proﬁt before tax
We achieved a proﬁt before tax of £68.4 million 
compared to a proﬁt before tax of £29.5 million 
for last year. 
Taxation
The effective rate of Corporation Tax was 
31.0 per cent (2007: 28.3 per cent) and we 
have continued to provide deferred taxation 
in line with IAS 12. 
Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share were 13.79p compared 
to 6.25p last year, an increase of 121 per cent. 
Diluted earnings per share were 13.65p 
compared to 6.20p last year, an increase 
of 120 per cent. 
Dividend
The Board is recommending a ﬁnal dividend of 
2.97p per share, which will give a total dividend 
for the period of 4.40p compared to 2.93p last 
year an increase of 50 per cent. The dividend 
will be paid on 18 July 2008, to shareholders 
on the register at the 30 May 2008.
Balance sheet
Capital expenditure
Capital expenditure in the period, excluding 
acquisitions, amounted to £40 million. The 
majority of this expenditure was undertaken 
to open new stores in the UK, the rest of Europe 
and Australia. Additionally we invested in the IT 
infrastructure across the Group, enhanced our 
distribution facilities in the UK and France and 
relocated our Head Ofﬁce and distribution 
centre in Australia. In summary:
Stock
Stock at the end of the period represented 
£127,000 per owned store compared 
to £108,000 for the same period last year. 
The increase in the average stock holding 
per store reﬂects the fact that we were holding 
higher levels of hardware product to meet 
ongoing consumer demand; and that the unit 
cost of stock has increased with the launch of 
PS3 in March 2007, a next generation product 
that commands a higher retail price point.
Cash ﬂow
Net cash generated by operations was 
£172 million compared to £35 million last year. 
The signiﬁcant increase on the prior year can 
be attributed both to the strong operating 
performance of the business and the timing 
of supplier payments at the year end. With 
the GAME Group operating on a 52 week 
year, the year end payment to suppliers fell 
after our year end date of 26 January 2008. 
Immediately following the year end the 
Group made payments to suppliers to 
the value of approximately £90 million.
2008 2007
Capital expenditure £m £m
Stores 25 12
Reﬁts 5 3
Web 4 1
Infrastructure 6 6
Total 40 22
 BUSINESS REVIEW CONTINUED 23  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
We recognise that the way we operate as a business 
has a direct impact on our reputation and brand.
Vivienne Hemming
Company Secretary
David Thomas
Group Finance Director 
& Deputy Chief Executive
CORPORATE AND SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)
CSR is right at the heart of the GAME Group. 
As a responsible retailer, we recognise that 
the way we operate as a business has a direct 
impact on our reputation and our brand. 
To be successful we must do more than just 
maximise proﬁts for our shareholders and 
maintain product range and choice for 
our customers. We combine these objectives 
with ﬁrst-class management of all our 
stakeholder relationships. This is not an easy 
task. Our stakeholders may have conﬂicting 
expectations of what we should deliver.
Dedicated committee
In the next 12 months we will be more 
co-ordinated and focused so as to improve 
our approach to CSR year on year. We have 
a CSR Committee comprised of individuals 
in the business who represent our key 
stakeholders and ensure their needs and 
expectations are met. This Committee reports 
to the GAME Board via David Thomas, who 
is its CSR representative.
We recognise that CSR is not something 
the Company can address in isolation. To be 
effective, our CSR policy must be linked to 
the way we do business. The Committee has 
determined exactly who our key stakeholders 
are and the best way we can serve them 
at every stage of our operating chain. In the 
coming year the Committee plans to report 
quarterly to the Board of Directors on CSR 
issues and to publish a fuller report on the 
Company website.
Key stakeholders
Our suppliers, the environment, our customers, 
our employees, our bankers and lenders, our 
shareholders and the community in which 
we live and operate are all stakeholders.
Our suppliers
Our operating chain begins with our suppliers 
and we need to seek reassurance that 
they comply with our high ethical standards. 
During the coming year the Committee will 
be developing CSR questionnaires which 
we will use to evaluate our suppliers’ own 
CSR policies.
Distribution and the environment
We wish to make certain that our distribution 
methods have the minimum impact on 
the environment. We ensure that all of 
our subsidiaries comply with any relevant 
environmental laws and standards. We 
are committed to reducing our impact 
on the environment with a particular focus 
on energy consumption, waste reduction 
and recycling.  24  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
  CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
CONTINUED
Our Group head ofﬁce and GAME UK 
distribution centre opened in Basingstoke 
in 2004. The building is equipped with a 
sophisticated building management system 
that regulates temperature and switches off 
lights when not in use.
We aim to recycle as much as possible 
across the business and in our distribution 
centre alone we recycled 406.7 metric tonnes 
of cardboard and 6.8 metric tonnes of plastic. 
We are a member of a recycling programme 
called Recycle More, implemented by 
Valpack Limited, a packaging waste 
compliance scheme company.
A key feature of our operating processes 
is that we are able to repair damaged CDs, 
through our own in-house operations, and 
we deal with damaged hardware by using 
third party sources. Both these actions reduce 
the level of electrical waste, a target for the 
European Union Waste Directive.
Stores and the environment
As we open new stores they are ﬁtted with 
the latest energy-saving technology, including 
digital inverter air conditioning, energy-
efﬁcient lighting and single switch control – 
which minimises energy consumption when 
the store is closed.
Quality employees
Our employees play an important role in 
every part of our operating chain. We are 
committed to equal opportunities for 
everyone. All our employment decisions, 
policies and practices are made without 
regard to an individual’s gender, race, colour, 
religion, creed, sexual preference or national 
origin. We are also dedicated to the provision 
of equal opportunities for all disabled persons 
able to discharge job duties and functions 
required as part of their employment in 
the Group.
Our working environment
The GAME Group places considerable 
emphasis on providing a relaxed, safe and 
healthy workplace for all of our employees.
  We do not tolerate any act of sexual or 
racial harassment for whatever reason 
at any level in the organisation.
  It is our policy to do all that is reasonably 
practicable to ensure a safe and healthy 
environment. We provide instructions, 
training, supervision and information to 
enable all employees to perform their 
work safely. We comply with all laws of 
health and safety and take all possible 
steps to ensure that everyone in our 
stores and places of work is safe. We are 
committed to a system of monitoring 
and recording our health and safety 
performance so that we can continually 
improve it.
  We offer a fully-serviced canteen and 
‘Chill Out Zone’ – a leisure room containing 
the latest hardware consoles and games 
– to allow the staff to enjoy breaks and 
free time outside ofﬁce hours should 
they wish.
Employee rewards
We offer a variety of ﬁnancial rewards across 
the business to ensure that staff see a direct 
beneﬁt from the effort and commitment 
they put into our business. The mainstream 
rewards are:
 Long service awards: The Group has a 
scheme of awards designed to recognise 
and reward employees for length of service.
 Sharesave: The Group believes in its 
employees sharing in the success of 
the business and operates a Sharesave 
scheme for all employees.
 Sales incentives and management bonus: 
The Group believes that sales incentives 
and bonus schemes will help focus our 
people on the achievement of key 
objectives and reward them for contributing 
to the success of the Group.
 Share Option scheme and Performance 
Share Plan: The Group operates a Share 
Option scheme and Performance Share 
Plan which are designed to aid employee 
retention and align the objectives of 
our senior management with those 
of our shareholders. 25  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
Career development
We recognise the importance of employee 
continuity in generating a knowledgeable 
and driven workforce and we are committed 
to enhancing the skills of our people. We offer 
external courses as well as our own bespoke 
training programme, EIP (Excellence In People), 
as structured methods of training within 
the business.
We are also keen to support our employees 
in understanding the qualities of the latest 
technologies on the market, by offering them 
discounts on purchases and providing 
a lending library. This greater knowledge 
of our products helps our teams to advise 
our customers on their purchases.
Employee feedback
  We positively encourage feedback from 
our people and use an annual survey to 
measure our success as employers. We 
have also introduced a Bright Ideas scheme, 
which rewards employees for ideas that will 
enhance our working environment or our 
operating performance.
  Our newsletter keeps employees up 
to date with business related activities. 
This is supplemented by internal annual 
conferences, which give us a chance to 
communicate with our store management 
and ﬁeld teams and congratulate them 
face to face.
Customer relationships
Our primary aim is to ensure that our customers 
are given the products, range, choices and 
offers that best suit their particular requirements. 
However we are also mindful of the need 
to take great care to sell age-related games 
appropriately, only to the customers for whom 
they are intended. We take our responsibility 
very seriously and we are actively engaged 
with the Entertainment and Leisure Software 
Publishers Association (ELSPA), the Video 
Standards Council (VSC) and the 
Entertainment Retailers’ Association (ERA).
Our employees receive regular training 
in the importance of complying with our own 
internal policy and legislative requirements. 
They are empowered and encouraged 
to challenge customers and demand proof 
of age. To monitor the success of our training 
we employ mystery shopper processes which 
help us sustain our track record in avoiding 
under-age selling.
Business support
The GAME business is supported by its 
shareholders, its bankers and its lenders. We 
attach great importance to the effectiveness 
of our communications with these stakeholders 
and we aim to provide all the ﬁnancial and 
strategic information they need on a regular 
basis. We do this through presentations and by 
the publication of information on our website. 
We are proud that our relationships with our 
ﬁnancial partners go back many years. 
Our responsibility to the community
We want to be a positive inﬂuence within 
the communities in which we operate and, 
throughout 2007, we have donated a number 
of pc and video games to non-proﬁt making 
bodies and ofﬁcial charities in sectors 
including education, community health 
and welfare and the environment. We have 
donated to both Asthma UK and NCH.
We do not donate to any political party 
or religious groups.
“We recognise the importance 
of employee continuity in 
generating a knowledgeable 
and driven workforce and are 
committed to enhancing the 
skills of our people.” 26  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
CASE STUDY: HELPING CHILDREN CASE STUDY: REWARDING EXCELLENCE
  CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
CONTINUED
In August 2007 a team of 20 GAME employees 
contributed to the John Waterhouse Project in 
Kenilworth, a residential project run by leading 
children’s charity NCH. The project provides 
short breaks for young people with severe 
learning or physical disabilities. The volunteers 
redecorated and transformed bedrooms and 
bathrooms, and donated a range of games 
consoles and software. The makeover was 
part of a wider initiative that saw GAME 
employees raise over £30,000 for the charity. 
Other events included a GAME team 
completing the Great North Run and 
a summer fundraising fete at the GAME 
head ofﬁce.
With such talented people at GAME, we like to 
reward and promote best practice. In 2007 we 
introduced Bonus Bonds – vouchers awarded 
on the spot by regional managers when an 
individual employee has delivered excellent 
customer service. Over £20,000 of Bonus Bonds 
were handed out in 2007. Team excellence 
is also rewarded. Every month the best 
performing store in each of the 22 GAME 
regions is given £200 to spend on a team 
night out. We reward great ideas too, with 
a monthly £250 prize to the best ‘Bright Idea’ 
submitted by a team member, and ﬁve 
runners-up prizes of £50. 
2006
2007
2008
SALES OUTLETS
700
817
1,161
2006
2007
2008
EMPLOYEE NUMBERS
5,000  
5,148
7,959 27  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
01 OUR PERFORMANCE
CASE STUDY: SAVING ENERGY CASE STUDY: PROTECTING CONSUMERS
Reducing waste cuts costs. The GAME Group 
ofﬁce and distribution facilities in Basingstoke 
were purpose-built in 2004 using the latest 
energy-saving technologies. Motion detectors 
are used throughout the buildings to switch off 
lights when they are not needed. No heating 
or light is used overnight when the buildings 
are empty. All cardboard and pallets used 
in the distribution centre are recycled.
GAME Group is committed to enforcing age 
ratings on video games to ensure the right 
games are sold to the right customers. In 2007 
the British Prime Minister commissioned 
psychologist Dr Tanya Byron to review measures 
that protect children from mature content 
in video games and on the internet. GAME 
contributed by attending all of the relevant 
consultations with the Byron team, both 
to reinforce our support for age ratings and 
to see what we could do better. Published 
in March 2008, the Byron Review recognised 
the critical role of specialist retailers to raise 
awareness of the rating systems and train 
staff appropriately. GAME will continue 
to work with partners in the games industry 
and with customers to implement the Review’s 
recommendations and ensure that our 
measures to sell games responsibly are robust, 
well understood and frequently tested.
WAREHOUSE SIZE SQ FT (’000)
A UK & Ireland 196.0
B France 16.0
C Iberia 31.2
D Scandinavia 12.5
E Australia 16.7
A
B
C
D
E 2006
2007
2008
REWARD CARD MEMBERSHIP TOTALS M
7.5
8.1
10.1 28  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
INTERNATIONAL 
MANAGEMENT
The strengths of the GAME Group are recognised in markets across the world. 
Ensuring the Group’s specialist services ﬁt the needs of local customers requires 
focused management and a detailed understanding of the market. In each 
territory, GAME Group has a strong local team of retail experts who focus on 
building sales and increasing proﬁtability.
TRICIA BRENNAN (41)
MD, GAME UK & IRELAND
Tricia has been central to 
GAME’s evolution into a mass 
market retailer since she 
joined the GAME UK team 
in 2005. Formerly Commercial 
Director, she was promoted 
to Managing Director in 
2008. Tricia has over 21 
years’ experience as an 
entertainment retailer.
MARTYN GIBBS (37)
MD, GAMESTATION
Martyn leads the Gamestation 
team in York and was 
promoted to Managing 
Director in 2008. Previously the 
chain’s Commercial Director, 
he has played an instrumental 
role in the rapid growth of 
Gamestation in the UK. He 
has over 19 years’ retail 
experience, 12 of which are in 
video games.
PHILIPPE WEHMEYER (39)
MD, GAME FRANCE
Philippe has driven GAME’s 
growth in France since 2003, 
overseeing the rebrand of 
the original Scoregame stores, 
the ongoing store opening 
programme, and the 
acquisition and rebrand of 
the former Maxi-Livres book 
stores in 2007. He has over 
17 years’ experience in high 
proﬁle retail.
From left to right: Tricia Brennan, Martyn Gibbs, Philippe Wehmeyer, Pablo Crespo, Adolf Kristjansson, Rob Lukic, Mark Axon and Alex Croft. 29  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
02 DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
PABLO CRESPO (43)
MD, GAME IBERIA
Pablo was Managing Director 
of the CentroMail store chain 
when it was acquired by the 
GAME Group in 2001. Since 
then he has continued to 
build the business, and in 2006 
GAME became the leading 
video games retailer in Spain. 
Pablo oversaw GAME’s entry 
into the Portuguese market in 
2006, and the rapid expansion 
of the store portfolio in 
Spain continues.
MARK AXON (44)
DIRECTOR OF GROUP 
PLANNING & BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT
Mark joined the Group in 2007, 
with 24 years’ experience in 
global retail at Wal-Mart and 
Marks & Spencer. As well as 
overseeing the integration of 
Gamestation into the Group, 
his team ensure that best 
practice is shared among 
all territories, and research 
future opportunities that 
will accelerate the growth 
of the Group.
ADOLF KRISTJANSSON (35)
MD, GAME SCANDINAVIA
Adolf joined GAME in 2005, 
and accelerated the 
Group’s expansion in all 
three Scandinavian territories 
– Sweden, Norway and 
Denmark. He has 14 years’ 
experience of retailing 
entertainment and electrical 
products, as well as a degree 
in International Business 
and an MBA in Finance.
ROB LUKIC (39)
MD, GAME AUSTRALIA
As the founder and Managing 
Director of The Games Wizards, 
Rob joined GAME in 2006 
when the business was 
acquired by GAME Group. 
As well as rebranding the 
existing 16 stores, Rob led the 
expansion of the portfolio to 
51 stores in just over a year, 
and the growth continues. 
He also moved his team 
into a new head ofﬁce and 
distribution centre. Rob has 
been a video games retailer 
for over 20 years.
ALEX CROFT (34)
MD, GROUP ONLINE
OPERATIONS
Alex is charged with 
harnessing the opportunities 
of eCommerce and multi-
channel retailing for the 
Group. He oversaw the 
relaunch of game.co.uk in 
2007, generating signiﬁcant 
increases in customer trafﬁc, 
sales and proﬁtability. The 
success of this initiative is 
being applied to other Group 
eCommerce sites in 2008, 
and Alex’s team continues to 
evaluate customer demand 
for digitally distributed video 
games and online play. 
Alex was formerly the Buying 
Director for GAME UK and 
has been a video games 
retailer for 12 years. 30  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
LISA MORGAN (37)
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Lisa was appointed as Chief 
Executive on 31 January 2007. 
She joined the Group in 1997 
and was appointed as a 
subsidiary Board Director in 
1998. She ﬁrst joined the Board 
as Commercial Director in 
January 2000. She has over 
18 years’ experience in the 
video games industry and 
immediately prior to joining 
the Group, was part of the 
commercial team at Dixons 
Group plc.
DAVID THOMAS (45)
GROUP FINANCE
DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY 
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
David joined as Group 
Finance Director in 2004, and 
in addition was appointed 
as Deputy Chief Executive 
on 31 January 2007. Before 
joining GAME Group, he was 
Group Finance Director at 
Millennium and Copthorne 
Hotels plc. Prior to this, he 
held senior ﬁnancial roles 
with House of Fraser plc 
and Forte plc.
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTORS 31  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
02 DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
PETER LEWIS (67)
Peter was appointed to the Board in 1995 
as a Non Executive Director and in June 1998 
he was appointed Non Executive Chairman. 
He was a founder and Executive Chairman 
of Ashtead Group plc from May 1984 to 
December 2000.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (50)
Christopher was appointed to the Board 
in January 2003. He is Chief Executive of 
Ladbrokes plc. He was appointed to the 
Board of Ladbrokes plc (formerly Hilton plc) 
in June 2000. He joined Ladbrokes in 1991 and 
became Managing Director in 1994. Prior to 
that, he held a number of senior positions 
with Allied Domecq. He is also Vice Chairman 
of the Association of British Bookmakers, 
Chairman of the Bookmakers Committee 
and a member of the Horseracing Betting 
Levy Board. 
JEAN-PAUL GIRAUD (62)
Jean-Paul Giraud was appointed to the Board 
in November 2003. He was Chairman of the 
Board of Groupe Go Sport (2004-2007) the 
second largest sports retailer in France (with 
subsidiaries in Belgium and Poland) and he 
was previously Chairman and Chief Executive 
of FNAC (1995-2003) currently the largest 
retailer of its kind in Europe. He is also a Non 
Executive Director of Banque Transatlantique 
and Grandvision (Grand Optical, Vision
Express, Solaris).
ISHBEL MACPHERSON (47)
Ishbel was appointed to the Board on 
3 October 2005. She was an investment 
banker for over 20 years, specialising in UK 
mid-market corporate ﬁnance. Her most 
recent role was as Head of UK and Emerging 
Companies Corporate Finance at Dresdner 
Kleinwort Wasserstein. She is currently a Non 
Executive Director of MITIE Group plc and 
Senior Non Executive Director at Hydrogen 
Group plc and Speedy Hire plc.
NON EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
From left to right: Christopher Bell, Ishbel Macpherson, Peter Lewis and Jean-Paul Giraud. 32  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS
for the year ended 31 January 2008
The Directors have pleasure in presenting their Report on the affairs of the Group, together with the audited 
ﬁnancial statements, for the year ended 31 January 2008.
Principal activities 
The Group operates retail outlets which specialise in the retailing of computer software, video games and 
related products. The Parent Company The GAME Group plc is an investment holding company.
Business review
As at 31 January 2008 the Group operated in four European territories and in Australia, with 649 stores 
throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, 208 in Iberia, 170 in France, 62 in Scandinavia 
and 51 in Australia, as well as operating eCommerce sites.
A more detailed review of the business for the year ended 31 January 2008 and future developments is set 
out in the Chairman’s Statement on pages 8 to 10, the Chief Executive’s Review on pages 11 to 13 and 
the Business Review on pages 16 to 22.
Results and dividends
The consolidated proﬁt after taxation was £47.2 million (2007: £21.1 million), on turnover of £1,491.9 million 
(2007: £801.3 million). This proﬁt represents basic earnings per share of 13.79p (2007: 6.25p). 
The Directors recommend a ﬁnal dividend of 2.97p (2007: 1.66p) per share. This, when taken with the interim 
dividend of 1.43p (2007: 1.27p) per share, gives a total dividend of 4.40p (2007: 2.93p) per share for the year 
ended 31 January 2008.
Directors
The Directors of the Company during the year were as follows:
Peter Lewis
Lisa Morgan
David Thomas
Christopher Bell
Jean-Paul Giraud
Ishbel Macpherson
The Directors who retire by rotation are Lisa Morgan and Ishbel Macpherson who, being eligible, offer 
themselves for re-election. In addition, Peter Lewis, who has been a Director for more than nine years, retires 
in accordance with provision A.7.2 of the Combined Code, and offers himself for re-election. 
Details of Directors’ service contracts and beneﬁcial interests in the share capital of the Company are given 
in the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 42 to 49.
Biographies of the Directors are set out on page 30.
Corporate governance
The Company’s compliance with corporate governance is disclosed in the Corporate Governance 
Statement on pages 37 to 41. 33  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
02 DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
Charitable and political donations
The Group made charitable donations of over £30,000 to the children’s charity NCH. The Group does not 
make donations to any political party.
Creditor payment policy
The Group’s policy for the year to 31 January 2008, for all suppliers, was to agree terms of payment when 
establishing the terms of each business transaction and to abide by the agreed terms of payment. 
The Group had an average 42 days’ purchases included in trade creditors at the year end. The Company 
had no trade creditors.
Financial instruments
The main risks arising from the Group’s ﬁnancial instruments are interest rate risk, liquidity risk, foreign currency 
risk and credit risk. The Board reviews and agrees policies for managing each of these risks. Further details on 
the Group’s ﬁnancial instruments can be found in the Statement of Accounting Policies and notes 16 and 17 
to the ﬁnancial statements.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The Group recognises that to remain successful over the longer term the business must take an open, honest 
and responsible approach towards all of its key stakeholders – employees, customers, investors and the wider 
community. The full report is set out on pages 23 to 27. 
Principal risks and uncertainties
The principal risks and uncertainties facing the Group are detailed in note 27 to the ﬁnancial statements.
Share capital
Details of changes in share capital during the year ended 31 January 2008 are set out in note 20 to the 
ﬁnancial statements.
As at 31 January 2008 the Company had an unexpired authority to repurchase further shares up to a 
maximum of 33,000,000 shares. During the year no shares were purchased in the market for cancellation.
Substantial shareholdings
As at 31 March 2008, the Board had been notiﬁed of, or was otherwise aware of, the following holdings 
of 3 per cent or more of the Company’s share capital:
Number of
ordinary shares % holding
Goldman Sachs 27,059,765 7.85
Franklin Templeton 26,347,380 7.64
JP Morgan 19,465,833 5.64
State Street Global Advisors 18,121,825 5.25
Legal & General Investment Management  16,012,938 4.64
Fox Point Capital Management LLC  10,350,000 3.00 34  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS CONTINUED
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of THE GAME GROUP PLC will be held on 3 July 2008 at 10.00 a.m. at Unity 
House, Telford Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6YJ. The full AGM notice detailing the ordinary and 
special business to be considered is contained in a separate document.
Resolutions will be proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting, inter alia, to: 
  renew the Directors’ general authority to allot the Company’s ordinary shares up to an aggregate 
nominal amount of £5,747,802. This authority shall expire on whichever is the earlier of the conclusion 
of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2009 or the date falling 15 months from 
the passing of this resolution. The Directors have no present intention of exercising this authority, which 
represents 33.33 per cent of the present issued share capital; 
  approve a limited disapplication of pre-emption rights on allotments for cash up to an aggregate 
nominal amount of £862,170; representing 5 per cent of the present issued share capital. Following 
the introduction of The Companies (Acquisitions of Own Shares) (Treasury Shares) Regulations 2003, 
companies are now able to hold shares acquired by way of market purchase in treasury, rather than 
cancelling them. The Company may consider holding any of its own shares which it purchases pursuant 
to the authority conferred by the relevant resolution as treasury shares. This would allow the Company 
to sell shares out of treasury, providing the Company with the ability to replenish its distributable reserves. 
No dividends will be paid on any shares held in treasury and no voting rights will attach to such shares. 
It will also be possible for the Company to transfer shares out of treasury pursuant to an employee 
share scheme. If any shares are so used then the Company will count them towards the limits in such 
employees’ share schemes on the number of new shares which may be issued under them. As at 
29 April 2008, the Company held no shares in treasury.
  authorise the Directors to make purchases of the Company’s ordinary shares in the market when the 
Directors consider that it would be in the best interests of the Company to do so, up to an aggregate 
nominal amount of £1,724,340, representing 10 per cent of the present issued share capital. The resolution 
sets out the maximum and minimum price at which ordinary shares may be purchased. Purchases would 
only be made if the effect would be expected to improve earnings per share and the Directors consider 
that it would be in the best interests of the Company to do so. 
As at 29 April 2008, there are outstanding options in respect of 3,317,028 ordinary shares pursuant to employees’ 
share schemes, which represent 0.96 per cent of the issued share capital. If the authority to purchase ordinary 
shares were used in full, the options would represent 1.07 per cent of the issued share capital.
As at 29 April 2008, there were 2,844,094 ordinary shares held in trust to cover awards under the Performance 
Share Plan and the Executive Deferred Bonus Plan. The consideration paid for these shares was £4,841,000 
and these shares represent 0.8 per cent of the issued share capital.
Directors’ responsibility statement 
The Directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable 
accuracy at any time the ﬁnancial position of the Group, for safeguarding the Group’s assets, for taking 
reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities and for the preparation 
of a Directors’ Report and Directors’ Remuneration Report which comply with the requirements of the 
Companies Act 1985. 35  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
02 DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
Financial statements are published on the Group’s website in accordance with legislation in the United 
Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of ﬁnancial statements, which may vary from 
legislation in other jurisdictions. The maintenance and integrity of the Group’s website is the responsibility 
of the Directors. The Directors’ responsibility also extends to the ongoing integrity of the ﬁnancial statements 
contained therein.
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the ﬁnancial statements in accordance 
with the Companies Act 1985. The Directors are also required to prepare ﬁnancial statements for the Group 
in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (IFRSs) 
and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. The Directors have chosen to prepare ﬁnancial statements for the 
Company in accordance with UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.
Group ﬁnancial statements
International Accounting Standard 1 requires that ﬁnancial statements present fairly for each ﬁnancial year 
the Group’s ﬁnancial position, ﬁnancial performance and cash ﬂows. This requires the faithful representation 
of the effects of transactions, other events and conditions in accordance with the deﬁnitions and recognition 
criteria for assets, liabilities, income and expenses set out in the International Accounting Standards Board’s 
‘Framework for the preparation and presentation of ﬁnancial statements’. In virtually all circumstances, a fair 
presentation will be achieved by compliance with all applicable International Financial Reporting Standards. 
A fair presentation also requires the Directors to:
  consistently select and apply appropriate accounting policies;
  prepare the ﬁnancial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that 
the Group will continue in business;
  present information, including accounting policies, in a manner that provides relevant, reliable, 
comparable and understandable information; and
  provide additional disclosures when compliance with the speciﬁc requirements in IFRS is insufﬁcient to 
enable users to understand the impact of particular transactions, other events and conditions on the 
entity’s ﬁnancial position and ﬁnancial performance. 
Parent Company ﬁnancial statements
Company law requires the Directors to prepare ﬁnancial statements for each ﬁnancial year which give 
a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the proﬁt or loss of the Company for that 
period. In preparing these ﬁnancial statements, the Directors are required to:
  select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
  make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 
  prepare the ﬁnancial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that 
the Company will continue in business; and
  state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures 
disclosed and explained in the ﬁnancial statements. 36  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS CONTINUED
Treasury risk management
Group treasury matters are governed by policies and procedures approved by the Board of Directors. 
The treasury group monitors and reviews treasury matters on a regular basis. A written summary of 
major treasury activity is presented to each Board meeting. The Group’s treasury policies are set out in 
the Statement of Accounting Policies.
Disclosure of information to auditors
So far as each Director at the date of approval of this Report is aware, there is no relevant audit information 
of which the Company’s auditors are unaware and the Directors have taken all steps that they ought to 
have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors 
are aware of that information.
Directors’ indemniﬁcation provisions
The Directors have the beneﬁt of ‘qualifying third-party indemnity provisions’ for the purposes of sections 
309A to 309C of the Companies Act 1985 pursuant to the Company’s Articles of Association. A copy of the 
Articles of Association is available for inspection at the Company’s registered ofﬁce. The indemnity provisions 
in the Articles of Association were amended at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 
6 July 2006 to take advantage of changes in legislation allowing companies to grant wider indemnities 
than previously permitted. 
Auditors
A resolution to reappoint BDO Stoy Hayward LLP as auditors will be proposed at the forthcoming Annual 
General Meeting.
By order of the Board
Vivienne Hemming ACIS
Company Secretary
Unity House
Telford Road
Basingstoke RG21 6YJ
29 April 2008 37  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
02 DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
Corporate governance
There is a commitment to high standards of corporate governance throughout the Group. The Board 
conﬁrms that the Company and the Group have complied during the year ended 31 January 2008 with 
the principles set out in Section 1 of the Combined Code on Corporate Governance issued in July 2003, 
as revised in June 2006 (the ‘Combined Code’).
The Board notes that the Chairman has been a Director for more than nine years but considers that 
Peter Lewis makes a signiﬁcant contribution to the Company and that his period of ofﬁce does not impair 
his independence. In accordance with Code provision A.7.2, Peter Lewis will stand for re-election at the 
forthcoming Annual General Meeting. 
The Board is accountable to the Company’s shareholders for good governance and the statements set 
out below describe how the principles identiﬁed in the Combined Code are applied by the Group.
Directors
The Board consists of a Non Executive Chairman, Peter Lewis, three other Non Executive Directors and 
two Executive Directors, of which Lisa Morgan is Group Chief Executive, and David Thomas is Group Finance 
Director and Deputy Chief Executive. All of the Non Executive Directors are considered by the Board to be 
independent of management and free of any relationship which could materially interfere with the exercise 
of their independent judgement. There is a clear division of responsibility between the Chairman and the 
Chief Executive.
Biographies of Board members appear on page 30. These indicate the seniority and range of business 
experience, which are essential to manage effectively a business of the size and complexity of the Group. 
The full Board meets at least six times each year and more frequently where business needs require. The Board 
has a schedule of matters reserved for its decision, including inter alia statutory matters; approval of ﬁnancial 
statements and dividends; appointments and terminations of Directors, ofﬁcers and auditors; appointments 
of committees and setting of terms of reference; review and approval of Group performance against budgets; 
approving risk management strategy and material contracts; and determining of authority levels within 
which management is required to operate.
There is an agreed procedure for Directors to take independent professional advice at the Company’s 
expense. This is in addition to the access which every Director has to the Company Secretary. The Company 
Secretary is charged by the Board with ensuring that Board procedures are followed. The minutes of all 
meetings of the Board and each committee are taken by the Company Secretary who ensures that 
any unresolved concerns of the Directors are recorded in the minutes. 
Appropriate Directors’ and Ofﬁcers’ insurance cover is arranged and maintained via the Company’s 
insurance broker, Heath Lambert Group, and its terms are reviewed annually.
When new members are appointed to the Board, they are provided with advice from the Company 
Secretary in respect of their role and duties as a public company director. 
Christopher Bell is the Senior Non Executive Director. Concerns relating to the executive management 
of the Company or the performance of the other Non Executive Directors may be raised with the Senior 
Non Executive Director. The Senior Non Executive Director is also available to shareholders if they have 
concerns which contact through the normal channels of Chairman, Chief Executive or Finance Director 
have failed to resolve or for which such contact is inappropriate. The Senior Non Executive Director also 
makes himself available to listen to the concerns of employees. 38  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT CONTINUED
To enable the Board to function effectively and Directors to discharge their responsibilities, full and timely 
access is given to all relevant information. In the case of Board meetings, this consists of a comprehensive set 
of papers, including regular business progress reports and discussion documents regarding speciﬁc matters. 
Appointments to the Board 
The Board ensures that plans are in place for the orderly succession of appointments to the Board and to 
senior management; taking into account the need to maintain an appropriate balance of skills. Appointments 
to the Board of both Executive and Non Executive Directors are considered by the Nomination Committee. 
The recommendations of the Nomination Committee are ultimately made to the full Board, which considers 
them before any appointment is made. The Remuneration Committee considers any remuneration package 
before it is offered to a potential appointee. The members of the Audit, Remuneration and Nomination 
Committees are set out on page 39. 
Any Director appointed during the year is required, under the provisions of the Company’s Articles of Association, 
to retire and seek election by shareholders at the next Annual General Meeting. The Articles also require that 
one-third of the Directors retire by rotation each year and seek re-election at the Annual General Meeting. 
The Directors required to retire are those in ofﬁce longest since their previous re-election, and each Director 
retires at least once every three years.
Full details of Directors’ remuneration and a statement of the Company’s remuneration policy are set out 
in the Directors’ Remuneration Report appearing on pages 42 to 49. The members of the Remuneration 
Committee and the principal terms of reference of the Committee appear on page 39.
Meetings with Non Executive Directors
The Chairman holds meetings as required with the Non Executive Directors without the Executive Directors 
being present.
Board performance evaluation
In accordance with the requirements of the Combined Code, during the year the Board undertook a formal 
internal evaluation of its own performance and that of its committees and individual Directors. This review 
was led by the Senior Non Executive Director and included an evaluation of the Chairman’s performance. 
A further review will be conducted during the current ﬁnancial year.
Individual attendance by Directors at meetings of the Board and of other committees
Meetings held from 24 April 2007 to 29 April 2008
Board Audit Remuneration Nomination
Number of Number Number of Number Number of Number Number of Number
Director meetings attended meetings attended meetings attended meetings attended
Peter Lewis 9 9–––– 1 1
Lisa Morgan 9 9––––––
David Thomas 9 9––––––
Christopher Bell 99334411
Jean-Paul Giraud 99334411
Ishbel Macpherson 99334411 39  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
02 DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee comprises Ishbel Macpherson as Chairman, together with Christopher Bell and 
Jean-Paul Giraud. 
The terms of reference of the Audit Committee are available on request and are published on the 
Company’s website.
The Audit Committee’s main objectives are, inter alia, to monitor the integrity of the Company’s ﬁnancial 
statements and any other formal announcements relating to the Company’s ﬁnancial performance; 
review signiﬁcant ﬁnancial reporting judgements contained in such statements or announcements, before 
submission to, and approval by, the Board, and before clearance by the external auditors; review the 
Company’s internal ﬁnancial controls and risk management systems; monitor and review the effectiveness 
of the Company’s internal audit function; and review the arrangements by which employees of the Company 
may, in conﬁdence, raise concerns about possible improprieties in matters of ﬁnancial reporting or other matters.
The Committee also reviews any matters raised by the auditors. The Chief Executive and the Finance Director 
are invited to attend part of each meeting of this Committee, as are the auditors. The auditors have unrestricted 
access to the members of the Audit Committee, and the Committee ensures that meetings are used as an 
open avenue of communication between the external auditors and the Board.
Following a recommendation from the Audit Committee, the Board has adopted a policy in relation to 
the provision of non-audit services by the auditors, with the objective of ensuring that the provision of such 
services does not impair the external auditor’s independence or objectivity. This includes, inter alia, assessing 
all relationships with the audit ﬁrm, including their partners and staff; assessing the nature and level of fees for 
non-audit services in relation to the audit fee; obtaining conﬁrmation of independence from the auditors; 
and ensuring the appropriateness of the ﬁrm as providers for non-audit services.
The split between audit and non-audit fees for the year under review is disclosed in note 4 to the ﬁnancial 
statements. The non-audit fees were principally paid in respect of tax compliance services and are 
considered by the Audit Committee not to affect the auditors’ independence or objectivity.
Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee comprises Jean-Paul Giraud as Chairman, together with Christopher Bell 
and Ishbel Macpherson. The work of the Remuneration Committee is covered further in the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report on pages 42 to 49.
Copies of Executive Directors’ service contracts and the terms and conditions of appointment of the 
Non Executive Directors are available for inspection at the Company’s ofﬁce during normal business hours.
The terms of reference of the Remuneration Committee are available on request and are also published 
on the Company’s website.
Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee comprises Peter Lewis as Chairman, together with Christopher Bell, Jean-Paul 
Giraud and Ishbel Macpherson. 
It meets as required and makes recommendations to the Board on all Board and Committee appointments, 
including the selection of Non Executive Directors. The terms of reference of the Nomination Committee are 
available on request and are also published on the Company’s website. 40  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT CONTINUED
Audit and internal control
The respective responsibilities of the Directors and the auditors in connection with the Annual Report and 
Accounts are explained on pages 34 and 50 respectively and the statement of the Directors on going 
concern appears on page 41.
Following the publication of guidance for Directors, Internal Control: Guidance for Directors on the 
Combined Code, the Board conﬁrms that there is an ongoing process for identifying, evaluating and 
managing any signiﬁcant risks faced by the Group. This process has been in place during the year ended 
31 January 2008 and up to the date of approval of the accompanying Report and Accounts by the Board. 
The process is regularly reviewed by the Board and accords with the Turnbull Guidance on Internal Control. 
The Board of Directors acknowledges its responsibility for the Company’s system of internal control and for 
reviewing its effectiveness over ﬁnancial, operating and risk management controls. The system of internal 
control is designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives and 
can only provide reasonable (but not absolute) assurance against material misstatements or loss.
The Board has reviewed the effectiveness of the system of internal control during the year by reference to 
budgets, management accounts, cashﬂow projections and reports from the internal and external auditors, 
and covers ﬁnancial, operational and compliance controls and risk management systems.
The risks facing the Group in each country of operation have been identiﬁed and the appropriateness 
of the associated direct controls and indirect controls have been assessed. This risk matrix is reviewed 
and updated on a regular basis.
The key procedures that the Directors have established to ensure that internal controls are effective are 
commensurate with a group of this size, a key control procedure being the day-to-day supervision of the 
business by the Directors. Other internal control procedures and reviews for effectiveness by the Board 
include the following:
  preparation, maintenance and review of a Group risk register;
  review of ﬁnancial, operational and compliance reports from management; and
  review of any signiﬁcant issues arising from the internal and external audits
The Group has an internal audit function which focuses primarily on the control of cash and stock losses. 
The Audit Committee consider the focus of the function to be appropriate for the business and operations 
of the Group.
The Audit Committee keeps the scope and cost-effectiveness of the external audit under review. The 
independence and objectivity of the external auditors is also considered on a regular basis, with particular 
regard to the level of non-audit fees. The split between audit and non-audit fees for the year under review 
appears on page 68. The non-audit fees were principally paid in respect of tax compliance services and 
are considered by the Committee not to affect the auditors’ independence or objectivity.  41  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
02 DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
Communication with shareholders
The Company attaches importance to the effectiveness of its communications with shareholders. It publishes 
regular trading statements as well as a full Annual Report. The Company maintains a regular dialogue with 
institutional shareholders and the ﬁnancial community. This includes presentations of the preliminary and 
interim results, regular meetings with major shareholders, participation in stockbrokers’ seminars and site visits. 
The Group holds a variety of investor and analyst meetings in order to improve the ﬁnancial community’s 
understanding of the Group and to introduce investors to a broader range of management. All shareholders 
can gain access to these and other presentations, as well as to the Annual Report and other information 
about the Group, on the Group’s website at www.gamegroup.plc.uk. Holders of ordinary shares may attend 
the Company’s AGM at which the Company highlights key business developments during the year and 
at which shareholders have an opportunity to ask questions. The chairmen of the Audit, Remuneration and 
Nomination Committees are available to answer any questions from shareholders on the work of their committees.
The Company conﬁrms that it sends the AGM notice and relevant documentation to all shareholders at 
least 20 working days before the date of the AGM. Amendments proposed to be made to the Company’s 
Articles of Association at the AGM would permit the Company to take advantage of new provisions 
contained in the Companies Act 2006 relating to website and electronic communications. Further details 
are set out in the explanatory notes to the resolutions contained in the Notice of AGM. Responsibility for 
maintaining regular communications with shareholders rests with the executive management team led by 
the Chief Executive. However, the Board is informed on a regular basis of key shareholder issues, including 
share price performance, the composition of the shareholder register and City expectations. Independent 
research is commissioned annually into institutional shareholder perceptions of the Group. The Chairman, 
the Senior Independent Director and the Non Executive Directors make themselves available to meet with 
shareholders as required.
Going concern
The Directors have reviewed the ﬁnancial position of the Group and of the Company and have concluded 
that there is a reasonable expectation that the Group and the Company have adequate resources to 
continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason the Directors continue to adopt 
the going concern basis in preparing the ﬁnancial statements. 42  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION REPORT
Statement of compliance
As well as complying with the provisions of the Combined Code as disclosed in the Corporate Governance 
Statement and with Schedule 7a of the Companies Act 1985, the Company has applied the principles 
relating to Directors’ remuneration as described below.
Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee comprises Jean-Paul Giraud as Chairman, together with Christopher Bell and 
Ishbel Macpherson. 
The Board has overall responsibility for Directors’ remuneration, but has delegated this responsibility to the 
Committee. The Committee is responsible for all aspects of remuneration for the Executive Directors and 
for determining the policy of the remuneration of the Directors of the principal operating subsidiaries. 
The remuneration of the Chairman is determined by the Committee, excluding the Chairman.
Remuneration policy
The Committee’s policy, for current and future years, is to remunerate the Group’s Chairman, Executive 
Directors and management fairly in such a manner as to facilitate the recruitment, retention and motivation 
of suitably qualiﬁed personnel. The measurement of their performance and the determination of the annual 
remuneration package of the Executive Directors are undertaken by the Remuneration Committee who 
utilise the services of external professional advisers to assist them in this area, and also take into account the 
annual remuneration packages of executives within the Company’s peer group. The main elements of the 
remuneration package are basic salary, beneﬁts, performance-related bonus, pension contributions and 
share-based long-term incentives. Part of this policy is to ensure that a signiﬁcant proportion of overall 
remuneration is performance related.
The Remuneration Committee receives advice from a variety of sources on issues where it considers it 
appropriate. During the year ended 31 January 2008, the Committee sought external advice from Mike Langley, 
an independent remuneration consultant. Mike Langley has not provided any other services during the year.
The Committee may also call on specialist advice on areas such as pensions. In addition, Lisa Morgan, 
David Thomas and the Company Secretary have presented to the Committee on speciﬁc issues.
Base salaries
The Remuneration Committee aims to pay competitive salaries having regard to market practice, internal 
relativities, performance and affordability. Salary increases of 2 per cent have been awarded to the 
Executive Directors from 1 February 2008.
The remuneration of the Non Executive Directors is determined by the Board. No Director plays a part in any 
discussion about his or her own remuneration. 
Each element of remuneration payable to Executive Directors is discussed in more detail below.
Basic salary and beneﬁts
Basic salaries for all Executive Directors are reviewed annually by the Committee. In addition to basic salary, 
each Executive Director is entitled to the following main beneﬁts:
 25 days’ holiday per annum;
 fully expensed company car or cash equivalent;
  critical illness cover and permanent health insurance;  43  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
02 DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
  health cover for themselves, their spouse and minor children; and
  life assurance cover equal to four times basic salary.
Subject to approval by the Board, Executive Directors are permitted to accept outside appointments, but no 
such appointments have yet been authorised. Salaries for senior management below main board level are 
benchmarked by means of appropriate market comparisons.
Performance-related bonus
As referred to above, part of the Remuneration Committee’s policy on remuneration is to ensure that a 
signiﬁcant proportion of overall remuneration is performance-related. For the year ended 31 January 2008, 
the executive bonus scheme had the following principal features:
  the potential bonus opportunity for Executive Directors will be restricted to 125 per cent of base salary;
  90 per cent of the bonus opportunity was determined by reference to stretching proﬁt targets, with the 
other 10 per cent being determined by reference to clear objectives set for each Executive Director; and
  to align further the interests of Executive Directors with those of shareholders, only the ﬁrst half of the 
maximum bonus potential will be paid in cash (i.e. a maximum of 62.5 per cent) with any excess to be 
deferred into contingent shares for three years. During this period, the executive will not be entitled to 
receive dividends on those shares and they will be subject to forfeiture if the executive voluntarily resigns 
or is dismissed.
The bonus opportunity for subsidiary company Directors does not exceed that of the Executive Directors 
and may be subject to similar deferral arrangements.
Bonus entitlements in respect of the year ended 31 January 2008 were as follows: 
Total
 Cash Deferred Total bonus
payment shares bonus 2007
££££
Lisa Morgan 271,875 271,875 543,750 382,997
David Thomas 240,625 240,625 481,250 341,267
Having taken appropriate advice from an independent consultant and consulted with the Executive 
Directors, the Remuneration Committee have changed the allocation of the bonus between proﬁt targets 
and speciﬁed personal objectives. This change is, intended to provide a more equitable balance between 
the reward for achieving ﬁnancial targets and that for key personal objectives. With effect from 1 February 
2008, therefore, the principal features will be as follows:
  64 per cent of the bonus opportunity will continue to be determined by reference to stretching proﬁt 
targets, with the other 36 per cent being determined by reference to clear objectives set for each 
Executive Director; and
  to align the interests of Executive Directors with those of shareholders, only the ﬁrst half of the maximum 
bonus potential will be paid in cash (i.e. a maximum of 62.5 per cent) with any excess to be deferred into 
contingent shares for three years. During this period, the executive will not be entitled to receive dividends 
on those shares and they will be subject to forfeiture if the executive voluntarily resigns or is dismissed. 44  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION REPORT CONTINUED
Directors’ pension policy
The Executive Directors are entitled to receive company contributions to their deﬁned contribution pension 
schemes at a prescribed percentage rate of basic salary, which in 2008 is 20 per cent of basic salary.
Long-term incentives
The Committee believes that share ownership by Executive Directors strengthens the link between their 
personal interests and those of shareholders. 
In 2004 a comprehensive review of incentive arrangements for the Executive Directors was undertaken, 
with New Bridge Street Consultants LLP acting as independent advisers. Thereafter, the Committee decided 
to introduce a Performance Share Plan to replace the 1998 Executive Share Option Scheme (‘the 1998 
scheme’). Following the introduction of the Performance Share Plan, it is intended that no further grants 
of options to Executive Directors will be made under the 1998 scheme.
The following disclosures (up to and including page 47) on Directors’ remuneration have been audited, 
as required by Part 3 of Schedule 7A of the Companies Act 1985.
Performance Share Plan
Under the Plan, eligible employees may receive a conditional award of shares, which will normally 
be released after three years subject to continued employment and the achievement of challenging 
performance conditions, based on earnings per share. This measurement was chosen as representing 
the most appropriate basis, as earnings per share growth should lead to an improvement in share price 
for the beneﬁt of all shareholders. The Executive Directors have awards under the Plan as follows:
At  At MV of Earliest
Date of 1 Feb  31 Jan share at date of Expiry
grant 2007 Awarded 2008 grant exercise date
Lisa Morgan 7 July 2004 514,851 514,851 57.5p 7 July 2007 7 July 2008*
27 May 2005 330,617  330,617 81.0p 27 May 2008 27 November 2008
28 April 2006 345,276  345,276 79.5p 28 April 2009 28 October 2009
25 May 2007 190,211 190,211 179.0p 25 May 2010 25 November 2010
David Thomas 7 July 2004 435,643 435,643 57.5p 7 July 2007 7 July 2008*
27 May 2005 279,753  279,753 81.0p 27 May 2008 27 November 2008
28 April 2006 312,012  312,012 79.5p 28 April 2009 28 October 2009
25 May 2007 169,486 169,486 179.0p 25 May 2010 25 November 2010
After the year end on 25 February 2008, Lisa Morgan exercised awards over 514,851 shares that were granted 
on 7 July 2004, and then sold all the shares for a gain of £1,156,510 when the market price of the Company’s 
shares was 224.63p.
After the year end on 25 February 2008, David Thomas exercised awards over 435,643 shares that were 
granted on 7 July 2004, and then sold 399,321 shares for a gain of £896,995, when the market price of the 
Company’s shares was 224.63p.
*The Board of Directors granted an extension on the life of the award beyond the 7 January 2008 expiry date 
as the Company was then in a close period owing to the Competition Commission’s investigation into the 
acquisition of Gamestation.  45  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
02 DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
The exercise price for the above awards is £1 for the entire amount of the ordinary shares to which an award 
relates. The awards will normally vest on the third anniversary after the grant subject to continued employment 
and the meeting of an earnings per share performance condition. The targets range from EPS growth at the 
rate of RPI + 15 per cent over a ﬁxed three-year period (at which 25 per cent of any award will vest) increasing 
on a straight-line basis to full vesting for EPS growth of at least RPI + 30 per cent. No consideration was paid for 
the grant of any of the above awards. The awards are not subject to retesting and expire six months after the 
earliest exercise date. 
Any ordinary shares required to fulﬁl entitlements under the Performance Share Plan Scheme are provided 
by the Employee Beneﬁt Trust. As at 31 January 2008, the Employee Beneﬁt Trust held 2,844,094 ordinary 
shares (2007: 1,615,000 ordinary shares).
1998 Executive Share Option and Sharesave Schemes
Under these schemes, the following options are outstanding:
At At  Earliest
Type of 1 Feb 31 Jan Exercise date of Expiry
option 2007 2008 price exercise date
Lisa Morgan Unapproved* 35,971 35,971 69.5p 6 October 2001 5 October 2008
Unapproved* 415,080 415,080 45.0p 1 December 2003 31 January 2010
Unapproved* 232,200 232,200 77.5p 25 April 2004 24 April 2011
Unapproved* 93,900 93,900 132.0p 15 November 2004 14 November 2011
Unapproved* 88,300 88,300 138.0p 1 May 2005 30 April 2012
Approved 18,900 18,900 138.0p 1 May 2005 30 April 2012
Unapproved 401,700 401,700 56.0p 7 May 2006 6 May 2013
Unapproved 378,100 378,100 59.5p 14 May 2006 13 May 2013
David Thomas Unapproved* 640,625 640,625 64.0p 29 April 2007 28 April 2014
Approved 46,875 46,875 64.0p 29 April 2007 28 April 2014
Sharesave 32,414 32,414 50.4p 1 July 2009 31 December 2009
No consideration was paid for the grant of any of the above options. No Directors exercised any share 
options during the year.
*After the year end, Lisa Morgan and David Thomas exercised options over 865,451 and 640,625 ordinary 
shares respectively on 25 February 2008 and then sold the shares for a gain of £1,306,520 and £1,029,036 
respectively, when the market price of the Company’s shares was 224.63p.
As at 5 April 2008, there are outstanding options under the 1998 Scheme to subscribe for 3,317,028 ordinary 
shares pursuant to employees’ share schemes, which represent 0.96 per cent of the issued share capital. 
If the authority to purchase ordinary shares were used in full, the options would represent 1.07 per cent 
of the issued share capital. 46  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
Directors’ interests in shares
The beneﬁcial interests of the Directors at 31 January 2008 in the share capital of the Company and options 
to purchase such shares were as follows: 
31 Jan 2008 31 Jan 2007
Share Share
options and options and
 Performance Performance
Ordinary Share Plan Ordinary Share Plan
shares awards shares awards
Peter Lewis 916,666 – 916,666 –
Lisa Morgan 201,712 3,045,106 201,712 2,854,895
David Thomas 30,000 1,916,808 30,000 1,747,322
Christopher Bell –– ––
Jean-Paul Giraud –– ––
Ishbel Macpherson 13,200 – 13,200 –
Executive Director shareholding requirements
The Remuneration Committee has conﬁrmed to the Executive Directors that in order to further align 
their interests with those of the shareholders, it is desirable for them to hold shares to the value of at least 
100 per cent of salary. This shareholding should be achieved over a timeframe that the Remuneration 
Committee deem to be reasonable.
Direct shareholding
As at 29 April 2008 Lisa Morgan held 201,712 shares with a market value of £518,400 and David Thomas held 
66,322 shares with a market value of £170,448.
Deferred shares held in trust
Lisa Morgan received a total performance-related bonus of £382,997 for the year ended 31 January 2007 
of which £173,937 was deferred into 96,900 contingent shares.
David Thomas received a total performance-related bonus of £341,267 for the year ended 31 January 2007 
of which £154,986 was deferred into 86,343 contingent shares.
The executive is not entitled to receive the dividends on these shares and they will be subject to forfeiture 
if the executive voluntarily resigns or is dismissed prior to 31 January 2010.
DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION REPORT CONTINUED 47  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
02 DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
Directors’ emoluments
The emoluments of the Directors were as follows:
Perform-
ance-   Total  Pension
BasicrelatedBeneﬁts  emoluments  contributions
salary bonus in kind Fees 2008 2007 2008 2007
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Executive
Lisa Morgan 435 544 23 – 1,002 695 74 52
David Thomas 385 481 25 – 891 627 66 43
Martin Long (resigned 
31 October 2006) –––– – 614 – 36
Non Executive
Peter Lewis – – 5 150 155 115 – –
Christopher Bell – – – 45 45 45 – –
Jean-Paul Giraud – – – 45 45 45 – –
Ishbel Macpherson – – – 45 45 45 – –
Total 820 1,025 53 285 2,183 2,186 140 131
On 1 February 2007, the salary of the Chairman was increased, to £150,000, to reﬂect a more appropriate 
market rate given the increased scale and complexity of the Group.
All pension contributions are to deﬁned contribution pension schemes.
Beneﬁts incorporate all assessable tax beneﬁts arising from employment by the Company, which relate 
mainly to the provision of a company car.
Current terms of employment of Executive Directors
Date of
original Date of Notice Basic salary
appointment contract period £ p.a.
Lisa Morgan 25 January 2000 1 March 2005 12 months’ notice 443,700
David Thomas 15 March 2004 1 March 2005 12 months’ notice 392,700
There are no contractual retirement dates included within the Executive Directors’ service contracts. 48  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
Service contracts
Both Executive Directors are employed under service agreements dated 1 March 2005. These are subject 
to 12 months’ notice of termination on either side. Under these contracts, the Company has reserved the 
right to terminate the executives’ contracts by paying a sum in lieu of notice equal to their annual basic 
salary and a sum equal to 25 per cent of their basic salary in respect of their beneﬁts at the termination 
date and a pro-rated sum in respect of their annual bonus to the extent the executives would have been 
awarded a bonus having regard to the criteria of the bonus scheme that are assessed against objective 
performance criteria. Any payment will be subject to a discount of 17 per cent to reﬂect mitigation. 
The executives’ contracts contain no other provisions for compensation payable on early termination.
Current terms of appointment of Non Executive Directors
The current terms of appointment of the Non Executive Directors are as follows:
Date of Date of Annual
original Date of next fee
appointment contract Expires election £ p.a.
Peter Lewis 28 November 1995 1 December 2006 1 December 2009 2008 AGM 150,000¹
Christopher Bell 27 January 2003 28 January 2006 27 January 2009 2009 AGM 45,000²
Jean-Paul Giraud 13 November 2003 13 November 2006 13 November 2009 2010 AGM 45,000³
Ishbel Macpherson  3 October 2005 3 October 2005 3 October 2008 2008 AGM 45,000³
¹includes £5,000 in respect of Chairmanship of a Board committee and £5,000 contribution to ofﬁce expenses.
²includes £5,000 as senior Non Executive Director.
³includes £5,000 in respect of Chairmanship of a Board committee.
There are no provisions for compensation payable upon early termination of any of the above appointments.
DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION REPORT CONTINUED 49  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
02 DIRECTORS & GOVERNANCE
Performance graph
The following graphs compares the total return on the Company’s shares with that of general retailers in the 
FTSE All Share index over the last ﬁve and three years. This index has been chosen as it is considered the most 
likely benchmark by which the majority of shareholders would want to assess their investment in a company 
the size of The GAME Group plc.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Jan 05 Jul 05 Jan 06 Jul 06 Jan 07 Jul 07 Jan 08
Performance growth (%)
3 years from 31 January 2005 to 31 January 2008
GAME Group FTSE All Share General Retailers
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1,000
Jan 03 Jul 03 Jan 04 Jul 04 Jan 05 Jul 05 Jan 06 Jul 06 Jan 07 Jul 07 Jan 08
Performance growth (%)
5 years from 31 January 2003 to 31 January 2008
GAME Group FTSE All Share General Retailers
Source: Datastream
Annual General Meeting
In accordance with the requirements of section 241A of the Companies Act 1985, a resolution will be 
proposed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting to approve this Directors’ Remuneration Report.
On behalf of the Board
Jean-Paul Giraud
Chairman, Remuneration Committee
29 April 2008 50  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
We have audited the Group and Parent Company ﬁnancial statements (the ‘ﬁnancial statements’) of The 
GAME Group plc for the year ended 31 January 2008 which comprise the Consolidated Income Statement, 
the Consolidated Balance Sheet, the Consolidated Statement of Recognised Income and Expense, the 
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement and the related Group notes, the Parent Company Balance Sheet and 
the related Parent Company notes. These ﬁnancial statements have been prepared under the accounting 
policies set out therein. We have also audited the information in the Directors’ Remuneration Report that 
is described as having been audited.
Respective responsibilities of Directors and Auditors
The Directors’ responsibilities for preparing the Annual Report and the Group ﬁnancial statements in 
accordance with applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the 
European Union, and for preparing the Parent Company ﬁnancial statements and Directors’ Remuneration 
Report in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom 
Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) are set out in the Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities.
Our responsibility is to audit the ﬁnancial statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report 
to be audited in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and International Standards 
on Auditing (UK and Ireland).
We report to you our opinion as to whether the ﬁnancial statements give a true and fair view and whether 
the ﬁnancial statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited have been 
properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 and whether, in addition, the Group ﬁnancial 
statements have been properly prepared in accordance with Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. Additionally, 
we report to you whether, in our opinion, the information given in the Report of the Directors is consistent 
with the ﬁnancial statements. We also report to you if, in our opinion, the Company has not kept proper 
accounting records, if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit, 
or if information speciﬁed by law regarding Directors’ remuneration and other transactions is not disclosed.
We review whether the Corporate Governance Statement reﬂects the Company’s compliance with the nine 
provisions of the 2006 Combined Code speciﬁed for our review by the Listing Rules of the Financial Services 
Authority, and we report if it does not. We are not required to consider whether the Board’s statements on 
internal control cover all risks and controls, or form an opinion on the effectiveness of the Group’s corporate 
governance procedures or its risk and control procedures.
We read other information contained in the Annual Report and consider whether it is consistent with the 
audited ﬁnancial statements. This other information comprises only the Financial Highlights, the Chairman’s 
Statement, the Chief Executive’s Statement, the Business Review, the Report of the Directors, the Corporate 
Governance Statement and the unaudited part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report. We consider the 
implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies 
with the ﬁnancial statements. Our responsibilities do not extend to any other information.
Our report has been prepared pursuant to the requirements of the Companies Act 1985 and for no other 
purpose. No person is entitled to rely on this report unless such a person is a person entitled to rely upon this 
report by virtue of and for the purpose of the Companies Act 1985 or has been expressly authorised to do 
so by our prior written consent. Save as above, we do not accept responsibility for this report to any other 
person or for any other purpose and we hereby expressly disclaim any and all such liability.
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT
to the shareholders of The GAME Group plc 51  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
Basis of audit opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) issued 
by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the 
amounts and disclosures in the ﬁnancial statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to 
be audited. It also includes an assessment of the signiﬁcant estimates and judgements made by the Directors 
in the preparation of the ﬁnancial statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate 
to the Group’s and Company’s circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed.
We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we 
considered necessary in order to provide us with sufﬁcient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the 
ﬁnancial statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited are free from material 
misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming our opinion we also evaluated 
the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the ﬁnancial statements and the part of the 
Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited.
Opinion
In our opinion:
  the Group ﬁnancial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the 
European Union, of the state of the Group’s affairs as at 31 January 2008 and of its proﬁt for the year 
then ended;
  the Group ﬁnancial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 
1985 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation;
  the Parent Company ﬁnancial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with United Kingdom 
Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, of the state of the Parent Company’s affairs as at 31 January 2008;
  the Parent Company ﬁnancial statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be 
audited have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985; and
 the information given in the Report of the Directors is consistent with the ﬁnancial statements.
BDO Stoy Hayward LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London
29 April 2008
03 OUR RESULTS 52  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
for the year ended 31 January 2008
2008 2007
Note £’000 £’000
Revenue 1 1,491,914 801,306
Cost of sales 1,122,337 583,563
Gross proﬁt 369,577 217,743
Other operating expenses 2 294,385 184,778
Operating proﬁt before non-recurring costs  82,340 32,965
Non-recurring costs 3 (7,148) –
Operating proﬁt 4 75,192 32,965
Finance income 5 1,511 247
Finance costs 6 (8,341) (3,719)
Proﬁt before taxation 68,362 29,493
Taxation 8 21,183 8,353
Proﬁt for the year attributable to equity holders of the parent 47,179 21,140
Earnings per share – basic 10 13.79p 6.25p
– diluted 10 13.65p 6.20p
The notes on pages 66 to 90 form part of these ﬁnancial statements. 53  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
at 31 January 2008
2008 2007
Note £’000 £’000
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 11 130,662 100,995
Intangible assets 12 172,871 101,522
Deferred tax asset 18 – 1,111
303,533 203,628
Current assets
Inventories 13 145,041 84,587
Trade and other receivables 14 53,845 28,258
Cash and cash equivalents 137,899 48,286
336,785 161,131
Total assets 640,318 364,759
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 15 315,498 150,095
Short-term borrowings 16 – 15,359
Current portion of long-term borrowings  16 38,038 4,477
Leasehold property incentives 19 846 592
Current tax liabilities 15,862 5,003
370,244 175,526
Non-current liabilities
Long-term borrowings 16 57,809 27,827
Leasehold property incentives 19 6,414 4,070
Deferred tax liabilities 18 1,929 –
66,152 31,897
Total liabilities 436,396 207,423
Net assets 203,922 157,336
Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent
Share capital 20 17,167 17,003
Share premium account 21 44,848 42,286
Capital redemption reserve 22 2,223 2,223
Shares held in trust 22 (4,403) (1,176)
Merger reserve 22 76,907 76,907
Foreign exchange reserve 22 5,904 (3,759)
Retained earnings 22 61,276 23,852
203,922 157,336
The ﬁnancial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 29 April 2008 
and were signed on its behalf by: 
David Thomas
Director
The notes on pages 66 to 90 form part of these ﬁnancial statements. 54  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF RECOGNISED
INCOME AND EXPENSE
for the year ended 31 January 2008
2008 2007
Note £’000 £’000
Exchange differences on translation of foreign currency 
net investments in subsidiary undertakings  9,663 (3,571)
Deferred income tax on share-based payments 22 1,272
Total income and expense recognised directly in equity  9,685 (2,299)
Proﬁt on ordinary activities after taxation  47,179 21,140
Total recognised income and expense for the year 
attributable to equity holders 22 56,864 18,841
The notes on pages 66 to 90 form part of these ﬁnancial statements. 55  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
for the year ended 31 January 2008
2008 2007
Note £’000 £’000
Cash ﬂow from operating activities
Operating proﬁt 75,192 32,965
Equity-settled share-based payment expense 1,204 1,202
Depreciation and amortisation 20,587 12,813
Loss on disposal of non-current assets  286 728
Impairment of assets/goodwill – –
Market value movement on ﬁnancial instrument (139) 183
97,130 47,891
Increase in trade and other receivables  (20,772) (11,514)
Increase in inventories (28,562) (13,139)
Increase in trade and other payables  143,645 20,257
Increase in leasehold incentives 532 101
Cash generated from operations 191,973 43,596
Finance costs paid (8,341) (3,719)
Corporation tax paid (11,580) (5,002)
Net cash from operating activities    172,052 34,875
Cash ﬂows from investing activities
Acquisitions 23 (80,941) (9,000)
Purchase of property, plant and equipment  (37,218) (20,431)
Purchase of intangible assets (2,703) (1,322)
Proceeds from sale of equipment 205 897
Finance income received 1,511 247
Net cash used in investing activities    (119,146) (29,609)
Cash ﬂows from ﬁnancing activities
Proceeds from issue of share capital  2,726 1,767
Shares purchased for Trust (3,667) –
Net proceeds from long-term borrowings  64,098 (2,792)
Payment of ﬁnance lease liabilities  (550) (462)
Dividends paid (10,541) (8,947)
Net cash used in ﬁnancing activities    52,066 (10,434)
Net increase/(decrease) in net cash and cash equivalents 104,972 (5,168)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 32,927 38,095
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year 24 137,899 32,927
The notes on pages 66 to 90 form part of these ﬁnancial statements. 56  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparation
The accounting reference date of The GAME Group plc and all of its subsidiary undertakings (the ‘Group’) 
is 31 January. The comparative year’s results are for the 52 week period ended 27 January 2007. The current 
year’s results are for the 52 week period ended 26 January 2008. 
The consolidated ﬁnancial statements incorporate the results of the Group made up to 31 January 2008. 
The Group has used the acquisition method of accounting to consolidate the results of subsidiary undertakings. 
The results of subsidiary undertakings are included from the date of acquisition.
The Group consolidated ﬁnancial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 
1985 as applicable to companies reporting under IFRS and those IFRSs and IFRIC interpretations issued and 
effective and endorsed by the European Union as at the time of preparing these ﬁnancial statements. 
Estimates and judgements
The preparation of ﬁnancial statements in conformity with IFRS requires management to make judgements, 
estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the 
ﬁnancial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. 
Signiﬁcant items subject to such assumptions and estimates include the useful lives of assets, the measurement 
and recognition of provisions, the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for potential corporation 
tax. The most critical accounting policies in determining the ﬁnancial condition and results of the Group 
are those requiring the greatest degree of subjective or complex judgements. These relate to inventory 
valuation, lease costs, the valuation of goodwill and acquired intangible assets, share-based payments and 
taxation and these are discussed in the policies below. The estimates and associated assumptions are based 
on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, 
the results of which form the basis of making the judgements about carrying values of assets and liabilities 
that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates. 
Adoption of new and revised standards
Standards and Interpretations effective in the current period
In the current year, the Group has adopted IFRS 7 ‘Financial Instruments: Disclosures’ which is effective for 
annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2007, and the consequential amendments to IAS 1 
‘Presentation of Financial Statements’.
The impact of the adoption of IFRS 7 and the changes to IAS 1 has been to expand the disclosures provided 
in these ﬁnancial statements regarding the Group’s ﬁnancial instruments and management of capital (see 
note 17). There has been no effect on the results, cash ﬂows or ﬁnancial position of the Group or the Company.
Five interpretations issued by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee are effective for 
the current period. These are IFRIC 7 ‘Applying the Restatement Approach under IAS 29 Financial Reporting in 
Hyperinﬂationary Economies’; IFRIC 8 ‘Scope of IFRS 2’; IFRIC 9 ‘Reassessment of Embedded Derivatives’; 
IFRIC 10 ‘Interim Reporting and Impairment’; and IFRIC 11 ‘IFRS 2 Group and Treasury Share Transactions’. 
The adoption of these Interpretations has not led to any changes in the Group’s accounting policies. 57  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
Standards and Interpretations in issue not yet adopted
The International Accounting Standards Board and the International Financial Reporting Interpretations 
Committee have issued the following standards and interpretations to be applied to ﬁnancial statements 
with periods commencing on or after the following dates:
International Accounting Standards (IAS/IFRS) Effective Date
IAS 1* Presentation of ﬁnancial statements amendment 01/01/2009
IFRS 8 Operating Segments 01/01/2009
IAS 23* Borrowing costs amendment 01/01/2009
IAS 32* Financial Instruments: Presentation amendment 01/01/2009
IFRS 2* Share-based payments amendment 01/01/2009
IFRS 3* Business Combinations amendment and complementary 
  amendments to IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements 01/07/2009
International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) Effective Date
IFRIC 12* Service Concession Arrangements 01/01/2008
IFRIC 13* Customer Loyalty Programmes 01/07/2008
IFRIC 14, IAS 19* The Limit on a Deﬁned Beneﬁt Asset Minimum
  Funding Requirements and their Interaction 01/01/2008
*These standards and interpretations are not endorsed by the EU at present. 
The Directors do not anticipate that the adoption of these standards and interpretations will have a material 
impact on the Group’s ﬁnancial statements in the period of initial application.
Basis of consolidation
The consolidated ﬁnancial statements incorporate the ﬁnancial statements of the Company and entities 
controlled by the Company. Control is achieved where the Company has the power to govern the ﬁnancial 
and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain the beneﬁts from its activities.
The results of the subsidiaries acquired or disposed of during the year are included in the consolidated income 
statement from the effective date of acquisition or up to the effective date of disposal, as appropriate.
Where necessary, adjustments are made to the ﬁnancial statements of subsidiaries to bring their accounting 
policies into line with those used by other members of the Group.
All intra-group transactions, balances, income and expenses are eliminated in full on consolidation. A list 
of the principal subsidiaries is included in note 16 to the Company ﬁnancial statements.
Revenue
Revenue comprises the value of sales (excluding VAT and similar taxes, trade discounts and intra-group 
transactions) of goods and services provided in the normal course of business. Revenue is recognised at the 
point of sale, for high-street retailing, to the extent that it is probable that the economic beneﬁts will ﬂow 
to the Group. Online revenue is recognised when the goods are despatched. 58  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES CONTINUED
Non-recurring costs
The Group presents as ‘non-recurring costs’ on the face of the income statement those costs which, because 
of the nature and expected infrequency of events giving rise to them, merit separate presentation to allow 
shareholders to better understand the ﬁnancial performance in the year. The Group’s policy is to expense 
these costs in the period in which they were incurred.
Non-recurring costs include the unexpected one-off costs of acquiring a new business and the subsequent 
review of the acquisition by the Ofﬁce of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission.
Reward Card scheme 
The Group operates a Reward Card programme which allows members to accumulate points on purchases, 
get exclusive offers and other special beneﬁts. The estimated direct incremental cost of providing free goods 
in exchange for redemption of points earned by members is accrued as members earn points from the 
purchase of goods. These costs are charged to selling costs. The value of points issued is deferred and 
recognised as revenue on redemption of the points by the customer. The incremental cost of providing free 
goods is recognised when the points are redeemed.
The accrued cost is based on various estimates with respect to the costs incurred in providing such schemes. 
Additional assumptions are made, based on general customer behaviour, regarding the likelihood of a customer 
redeeming the points. 
Gift vouchers
Revenue from gift vouchers and gift cards sold by the Group is recognised on the redemption of the gift 
voucher or gift card. Monies received are shown as deferred revenue prior to redemption.
Foreign currencies
The functional and presentational currency of the Group is pounds sterling.
Foreign currency transactions of individual companies are translated at the exchange rates ruling when they 
occurred. Foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities are translated at the rates ruling at the balance 
sheet dates. 
The results of overseas operations are translated at the average rates of exchange during the year and 
their balance sheets are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling on the balance sheet date. 
Foreign exchange differences arising on translation of the opening net assets of foreign subsidiary 
undertakings and from translating the proﬁt and loss account at an average rate are taken to reserves.
On disposal of a foreign operation, the cumulative exchange differences recognised in the foreign exchange 
reserve relating to that operation up to the date of disposal are transferred to the income statement as part 
of the proﬁt or loss on disposal.
Goodwill arising on the acquisition of a foreign operation and fair value adjustments are treated as assets/
liabilities of the foreign operation and are expressed in the functional currency of the foreign operation. 
Goodwill and fair value adjustments are translated at the closing rate in the same manner as any other assets 
and liabilities. The Group has taken advantage of the provisions under IFRS 1 to avoid applying this to acquisitions 
made before the transition date (1 February 2004). 59  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
Interest
Interest payable is charged to the income statement as incurred, except where the borrowing ﬁnances 
property, plant and equipment in the course of construction. Such interest is capitalised until the asset has 
reached practical completion and is then written-off by way of depreciation of the relevant asset.
Dividends
The annual ﬁnal dividend is not provided for until approved at the Annual General Meeting, whilst interim 
dividends are charged in the period they are paid.
Goodwill
Goodwill arising on the acquisition of a subsidiary undertaking is the difference between the fair value of the 
consideration paid and the fair value of the assets and liabilities acquired. 
Goodwill is recognised as an asset and reviewed for impairment at least annually. The impairment review is 
assessed by reference to the value in use, using internal forecasts and a discount rate based on the Group’s 
weighted average cost of capital. The use of this method requires the estimation of future cash ﬂows and the 
choice of a suitable discount rate in order to calculate the present value of these cash ﬂows. Any impairment 
is recognised immediately in proﬁt or loss and is not subsequently reversed.
The valuation of intangible assets acquired through business combinations is based on assumptions and 
the Directors draw upon a variety of external sources to aid them in the determination of appropriate data 
to use for such valuations.
On disposal of a subsidiary, the attributable amount of goodwill is included in the determination of the proﬁt 
and loss on disposal.
Goodwill arising on acquisitions before the date of transition to IFRS (1 February 2004) has been retained 
at the previous UK GAAP amounts subject to being tested for impairment at that date.
Impairment of tangible and intangible assets excluding goodwill
At each balance sheet date, the Group reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets 
to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such 
indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the 
impairment loss (if any). Where the asset does not generate cash ﬂows that are independent from other 
assets, the Group estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs. 
An intangible asset with an indeﬁnite useful life is tested for impairment annually and whenever there is an 
indication that the asset may be impaired.
Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. If the recoverable amount 
of an asset (or cash-generating unit) is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount 
of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised 
as an expense immediately. 
Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset (cash-generating unit) 
is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount 
does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been 
recognised for the asset (or cash-generating unit) in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised 
as income immediately.  60  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES CONTINUED
Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any recognised 
impairment loss. 
Depreciation is provided to write-off the cost less estimated residual values of all property, plant and equipment, 
on a straight-line basis, over their expected useful lives at the following annual rates:
Short leasehold property – over period of lease
Improvements to leasehold property – 10% 
Freehold land – 0%
Freehold property – 1% to 5%
Fixtures, ﬁttings and equipment – 20% to 33%
The residual values of property, plant and equipment are re-assessed on an annual basis. 
Computer software and web development
Computer software and web development are accounted for as intangible assets. Intangible assets are 
valued at cost and are amortised on a straight-line basis over ﬁve years unless the asset can be demonstrated 
to have an indeﬁnite life. Intangible assets with ﬁnite lives are reviewed for impairment if there is any indication 
that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Intangible assets with an indeﬁnite useful life are tested for 
impairment annually.
Leased assets 
Assets held under ﬁnance leases are recognised as assets of the Group at their fair value or, if lower, at the 
present value of the minimum lease payments, each determined at the inception of the lease. The corresponding 
liability to the lessor is included in the balance sheet as a ﬁnance lease obligation. Lease payments are 
apportioned between ﬁnance charges and reduction of the lease obligation so as to achieve a constant 
rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability . Finance charges are charged directly against income, 
unless they are directly attributable to qualifying assets, in which case they are capitalised in accordance 
with the Group’s general policy on borrowing costs.
Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to income on a straight-line basis over the term of the 
relevant lease.
Premiums paid or received on the acquisition of short leasehold properties are transferred to the income 
statement on a straight-line basis over the length of the lease.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost is calculated to include, where 
applicable, duties, handling, transport and other directly attributable costs.
Net realisable value is based on estimated normal selling prices less further costs expected to be incurred 
in selling and distribution. 61  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
Provisions
A provision is recognised when the Group has a legal or constructive obligation as a result of a past event 
and it is probable that an outﬂow of economic beneﬁts will be required to settle the obligation. If the effect 
is material, expected future cash ﬂows are discounted using a current pre-tax rate that reﬂects the risks speciﬁc 
to the liability . Calculations of these provisions require judgements to be made, which include forecast consumer 
demand and inventory loss trends.
Taxation
The tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax.
Current tax
The tax currently payable is based on taxable proﬁt for the year. Taxable proﬁt differs from the net proﬁt 
as reported in the income statement because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable 
or deductible in other years and it further excludes items that are never taxable or deductible. The Group’s 
liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by 
the balance sheet date.
Deferred tax
Deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable or recoverable on differences between the carrying amounts 
of assets and liabilities in the ﬁnancial statements and the corresponding tax bases used in the computation 
of taxable proﬁt, and is accounted for using the balance sheet liability method. Deferred tax liabilities are 
generally recognised for all taxable temporary differences and deferred tax assets are recognised to the 
extent that it is probable that taxable proﬁts will be available against which deductible temporary differences 
can be utilised. Such assets and liabilities are not recognised if the temporary difference arises from goodwill 
or from the initial recognition (other than in a business combination) of other assets and liabilities in a transaction 
that affects neither the tax proﬁt nor the accounting proﬁt.
Deferred tax liabilities are recognised for taxable temporary differences arising on investments in subsidiaries 
and associates, and interests in joint ventures, except where the Group is able to control the reversal of the 
temporary difference and it is probable that the temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future.
The carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each balance sheet date and reduced to the 
extent that it is no longer probable that sufﬁcient taxable proﬁts will be available to allow all or part of the 
asset to be recovered.
Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled 
or the asset is realised. Deferred tax is charged or credited in the income statement, except when it relates 
to items charged or credited directly to equity, in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in equity.
Pension contributions
The Group makes payments to a number of deﬁned contribution pension schemes. The assets of these schemes 
do not form part of the assets of the Group. The pension cost charge represents contributions payable during 
the year. 62  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES CONTINUED
Share-based payments
Share-based incentive arrangements are provided to employees under the Group’s share option, incentive 
and Sharesave schemes. Share options granted to employees and share-based arrangements put in place 
since 7 November 2002 are valued at the date of grant or award using an appropriate option pricing model 
and are charged to the income statement over the performance or vesting period of the scheme. The annual 
charge is modiﬁed to take account of shares forfeited by employees who leave during the performance 
or vesting period and, in the case of non-market related performance conditions, where it becomes unlikely 
that the option will vest.
When shares and share options are awarded to employees a charge is made to the income statement. 
The associated deferred tax is charged to the income statement with any excess deferred tax being 
recorded directly in reserves in accordance with IAS 12.
The Directors are of the opinion that the Black Scholes model is the most appropriate due to its simplicity 
and it is deemed the most accurate when taking into account the expected timing of the exercise of 
options. The options model requires highly subjective assumptions to be made and the Directors draw upon 
a variety of external sources to aid them in the determination of appropriate data to use in such calculations. 
During the vesting period of share options, an assessment is required of the likelihood of whether non-market 
performance conditions will be met, which affects the estimate of the number of share options that will vest, 
and hence the amount charged to the income statement.
Employee Beneﬁt Trust 
The cost of the Company’s shares held by the Employee Beneﬁt Trust is deducted from the shareholders’ 
funds in the Group balance sheet. Any cash received by the Trust on disposal of the shares it holds is also 
recognised directly in shareholders’ funds. Other assets and liabilities of the Trust (including borrowings) 
are recognised as assets and liabilities of the Group.
Any shares held by the Trust are treated as cancelled for the purposes of calculating earnings per share.
Financial risk management 
The Group’s treasury function provides a centralised service for the provision of ﬁnance and the management 
and control of liquidity, foreign exchange and interest rates. The function operates as a cost centre and 
manages the Group’s treasury exposures to reduce risk in accordance with policies approved by the Board.
The Group’s principal ﬁnancial instruments comprise bank loans, overdrafts, ﬁnance leases, cash and 
short-term deposits. The main purpose of these ﬁnancial instruments is to raise ﬁnance for the Group’s 
operations. The Group has various other ﬁnancial instruments such as trade receivables and trade payables 
which arise directly from its operations. The Group also enters into interest rate swap derivative transactions. 
Their purpose is to assist in the management of the Group’s ﬁnancial risk. These instruments are also used, 
where appropriate, to generate the desired effective interest rate proﬁle. The Group hedge accounts for 
commercial purposes and not for accounting purposes.
It is, and has been throughout the year under review, the Group’s policy that no trading in ﬁnancial instruments 
shall be undertaken. 63  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
The main risks arising from the Group’s ﬁnancial instruments are interest rate risk, liquidity risk, foreign currency 
risk and credit risk. The Board reviews and agrees policies for managing each of these risks and they are 
summarised below:
Interest rate risk
The Group’s exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates primarily to the Group’s long-term 
debt obligations and deposits. The Group’s policy is to manage its interest cost using interest rate swaps.
Foreign currency risk
Due to the international nature of its activities, the Group’s reported proﬁts, net assets and gearing are all 
affected by foreign exchange movements.
Although the Group carries out operations through a number of foreign enterprises, Group exposure to currency 
risk at a transactional level is minimal. The day-to-day transactions of overseas subsidiaries are carried out 
in local currencies.
Credit risk
The Group trades only with recognised, credit-worthy third parties. The Group does not enter into derivatives 
to manage its credit risk. At the balance sheet date there were no concentrations of credit risk.
With respect to credit risk arising from the other ﬁnancial assets of the Group, which comprise cash and cash 
equivalents and derivative instruments, the Group’s exposure to credit risk arises from default of the counter 
party with a maximum exposure equal to the carrying amount of these instruments. Derivative counterparties 
and cash transactions are limited to high credit-quality ﬁnancial institutions. The Group has policies that limit 
the amount of credit exposure to any one ﬁnancial institution. Cash surpluses are placed on deposit only 
with ﬁnancial counterparties with short-term credit ratings of A1/P1 or better and long-term ratings of A1/A+ 
or better.
Liquidity risk
The Group’s objective is to maintain a balance between continuity of funding and ﬂexibility through the use 
of borrowings with a range of maturities. The Group’s policy on liquidity is to ensure that there are sufﬁcient 
medium- and long-term committed borrowing facilities to meet the medium-term funding requirements. 
To achieve this it seeks to maintain cash balances to meet expected requirements for a period of at least 
60 days. The liquidity risk for each country is managed centrally. Budgets are set locally but agreed by the 
Board in advance to enable the Group’s cash requirements to be anticipated.
Financial assets
Financial assets are classiﬁed into the following speciﬁed categories: ‘ﬁnancial assets at fair value through 
proﬁt or loss (FVTPL)’, and ‘loans and receivables’. The classiﬁcation depends on the nature and purpose 
of the ﬁnancial assets and is determined at the time of initial recognition. The Group does not hold any 
‘held-to-maturity’ investments or ‘available-for-sale’ ﬁnancial assets. 64  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES CONTINUED
Financial assets at FVTPL
This category comprises only in-the-money derivatives (see Financial liabilities section for out-of-the-money 
derivatives). They are carried in the balance sheet at fair value with changes in fair value recognised in the 
consolidated income statement in the ﬁnance income or expense line. The Group does not have any assets 
held for trading nor does it voluntarily classify any ﬁnancial assets as being at fair value through proﬁt or loss.
Loans and receivables
Trade receivables, loans, and other receivables that have ﬁxed or determinable payments that are not quoted 
in an active market are classiﬁed as loans and receivables. 
Trade and other receivables are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently carried at amortised 
cost, less provision for impairment. A provision for impairment of trade and other receivables is established 
when there is objective evidence that the Group will not be able to collect all amounts due according 
to the original terms of the receivables. This provision represents the difference between the asset’s carrying 
amount and the present value of estimated future cash ﬂows. The amount of the provision is recognised 
in the income statement.
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits at call with banks, bank overdrafts and unpresented 
cheques. Bank overdrafts where there is no right of set-off are shown within borrowings in current liabilities 
on the balance sheet.
Interest income is recognised by applying the effective interest rate, except for short-term receivables when 
the recognition of interest would be immaterial.
Financial liabilities and equity instruments
Debt and equity instruments are classiﬁed as either ﬁnancial liabilities or as equity in accordance with the 
substance of the contractual arrangements. Financial liabilities are classiﬁed as either ‘ﬁnancial liabilities 
at fair value through proﬁt or loss (FVTPL)’ or ‘other ﬁnancial liabilities’.
Financial liabilities at FVTPL
This category comprises only ‘out-of-the-money’ derivatives.
The Group uses derivative ﬁnancial instruments such as interest rate swaps to hedge its risks associated with 
foreign exchange or interest ﬂuctuations. Such derivative ﬁnancial instruments are initially recognised at fair 
value with subsequent movements in fair value taken to the income statement.
Net interest arising on interest rate agreements is taken to the income statement.
Other than these derivative ﬁnancial instruments, the Group does not have any liabilities held for trading 
nor has it designated any ﬁnancial liabilities as being at fair value through proﬁt or loss.
The fair value for the Group’s interest rate swap derivatives is based on broker quotes for similar instruments. 65  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
Other ﬁnancial liabilities
Trade and other payables are recognised on the trade date of the related transactions. Trade payables 
are not interest-bearing and are stated at their nominal value.
Borrowings are recognised initially at fair value, net of transaction costs incurred. Borrowings are subsequently 
stated at amortised cost, with any difference between the proceeds (net of transaction costs) and the 
redemption value recognised in the income statement over the period of the borrowings using the effective 
interest method.
Equity instruments
An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of an entity after deducting 
all of its liabilities. Equity instruments issued by the Group are recorded at the proceeds received, net of direct 
issue costs.
Capital risk management
The Group manages its capital to ensure that entities in the Group will be able to continue as a going concern 
while maximising the return to stakeholders through the optimisation of the debt and equity balance. The Group’s 
overall strategy remains unchanged from 2007.
In managing its capital, the Group’s primary objective is to ensure its continued ability to provide a consistent 
return for its equity shareholders through a combination of capital growth and distributions. In order to achieve 
this objective, the Group seeks to maintain a gearing ratio that balances risks and returns at an acceptable 
level and also to maintain a sufﬁcient funding base to enable the Group to meet its working capital and 
strategic investment needs. In making decisions to adjust its capital structure to achieve these aims, either 
through altering its dividend policy, new share issues, or the reduction of debt, the Group considers not only 
its short-term position but also its long-term operational and strategic objectives.  66  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the year ended 31 January 2008
1 REVENUE, PROFIT AND NET ASSETS
Revenue, pre-tax proﬁts and net assets all relate to computer software and video game retailing and the 
Group’s operations are organised and managed by geographic location only. Management consider the 
geographical locations split between the UK and Ireland and Other EU countries (‘Other EU’). The non-EU 
element of ‘Other EU’, Norway and Australia, is an insigniﬁcant proportion of the category.
Revenue by origin and destination are not materially different.
United United
Kingdom Kingdom
and Ireland Other EU and Ireland Other EU
2008 2008 2007 2007
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Revenue 1,104,657 387,257 586,361 214,945
Cost of sales 829,630 292,707 423,848 159,715
Gross proﬁt 275,027 94,550 162,513 55,230
Other operating expenses 205,913 81,324 135,684 49,094
Operating proﬁt before non-recurring costs  69,114 13,226 26,829 6,136
Non-recurring costs 7,148 – ––
Operating proﬁt 61,966 13,226 26,829 6,136
Finance income/costs (5,891) (939) (2,914) (558)
Taxation (17,747) (3,436) (6,734) (1,619)
Proﬁt after tax 38,328 8,851 17,181 3,959
Other segmental information:
Goodwill and other intangibles 151,267 21,604 82,729 18,793
Other assets 259,839 207,608 156,718 106,519
Assets 411,106 229,212 239,447 125,312
Liabilities 233,117 203,279 89,743 117,680
Net assets 177,989 25,933 149,704 7,632
Capital expenditure 15,576 24,345 9,199 12,136
Depreciation and amortisation 12,886 7,701 8,710 4,103
Share-based payment expense 1,204 – 1,202 – 67  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
1 REVENUE, PROFIT AND NET ASSETS (CONTINUED)
Year Year
ended ended
31 January 31 January
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Turnover by territory
United Kingdom and Ireland 1,104,657 586,361
France 141,183 81,204
Iberia 175,808 97,744
Scandinavia 43,485 30,912
Australia 26,781 5,085
1,491,914 801,306
Stores by territory Number Number
United Kingdom and Ireland 649 407
France 170 130
Iberia 208 165
Scandinavia 62 64
Australia 51 16
1,140 782
Franchises
France 7 11
Iberia 10 18
Australia 4 6
21 35
Trading square footage by territory    Sq ft Sq ft
United Kingdom and Ireland 712,408 518,230
France 162,014 128,571
Iberia 177,427 141,809
Scandinavia 59,729 64,961
Australia 58,639 21,611
1,170,217 875,182 68  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
2 OTHER OPERATING EXPENSES
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Selling and distribution 234,450 156,066
Administrative expenses 59,935 28,712
294,385 184,778
Administrative expenses include non-recurring costs of £7,147,721 (2007: £nil) (see note 3).
3 NON-RECURRING COSTS
In the current year administrative expenses include non-recurring costs of £7,147,721 (2007: £nil). Of these 
non-recurring costs, £2,957,051 was in relation to integration planning fees on the acquisition of Gamestation 
and £4,190,670 was incurred in dealing with the merger control review of the Gamestation acquisition by the 
Ofﬁce of Fair Trading and subsequently by the Competition Commission (see note 23).
4 OPERATING PROFIT
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
This is stated after charging:
Depreciation charge 18,583 12,068
Amortisation of intangible ﬁxed assets  2,004 745
Operating lease rentals – leasehold premises 65,569 48,235
– other 1,214 427
Loss on disposal of non-current assets  286 728
Auditors’ remuneration – Fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit 
of the Company’s annual accounts 87 72
– Fees payable to the Company’s auditors and its 
associates for other services:
The audit of the Company’s subsidiaries, pursuant 
to legislation  294 253
– Other services supplied pursuant to legislation  44 53
– Other services relating to tax  117 74
– Recruitment and remuneration services 31 –
– All other services  11 –
5 FINANCE INCOME
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Interest income on ﬁnancial assets classiﬁed as loans and receivables  1,511 247
1,511 247 69  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
6 FINANCE COSTS
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Interest expense for ﬁnance lease and hire purchase arrangements  102 120
Interest expense for borrowings at amortised cost 8,223 3,560
Other interest 16 39
Finance costs 8,341 3,719
7 EMPLOYEES 
Staff costs for all employees (including Directors) consist of:
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Wages and salaries 101,878 61,590
Social security costs 12,831 8,302
Other pensions costs 743 551
Share-based payment expense (see note 20) 1,204 1,202
116,656 71,645
The average number of employees of the Group during the year, including Directors, was as follows:
2008 2007
Number Number
Selling and distribution 7,271 4,648
Administration 688 500
7,959 5,148
Details of Directors’ remuneration are included within the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 42 to 49. 70  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
8 TAXATION 
(a) Analysis of charge in the year
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Current tax
UK corporation tax 19,615 7,696
Adjustments in respect of prior periods  (1,191) (1,269)
Overseas tax payable 3,436 1,619
Total current tax 21,860 8,046
Deferred tax
Current year movement (191) 307
Adjustment to estimated recoverable deferred tax asset arising in previous period 825 –
Prior year movement (1,274) –
Change in tax rates (37) –
Taxation on proﬁt on ordinary activities  21,183 8,353
(b) Factors affecting the tax charge for the year
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Proﬁt on ordinary activities before taxation  68,362 29,493
Proﬁt on ordinary activities multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax 
in the UK of 30% (2007: 30%) 20,509 8,848
Effects of:
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes  1,441 651
Effect of foreign tax rates 439 239
Tax losses incurred but unutilised in the year  471 109
Adjustment to estimated recoverable deferred tax asset arising in previous period 825 –
Adjustments to tax charge in respect of previous periods  (2,465) (1,269)
Other items (37) (225)
Tax charge for the year 21,183 8,353
The Group has approximately £20 million (2007: £20 million) of unrelieved trading losses available for offset 
against future taxable proﬁts of certain Group companies.  71  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
9 DIVIDENDS
2008 2007
Pence 2008 Pence 2007
per share £’000 per share £’000
Final paid 1.66 5,636 1.38 4,661
Interim paid 1.43 4,905 1.27 4,286
10,541 8,947
It is proposed that a ﬁnal dividend of 2.97p will be paid on 18 July 2008 to shareholders on the register 
on 30 May 2008.
10 EARNINGS PER SHARE
The calculation of earnings per share for the year ended 31 January 2008 is based on the proﬁt after taxation 
of £47,178,969 (2007: £21,140,000). The calculation of basic earnings per share is based on a weighted average 
number of 342,198,365 (2007: 338,469,975) shares in issue during the year. The number of shares used in these 
calculations and the reconciliation of denominators used for basic and diluted earnings per share calculations 
is set out in the table below:
Effect of
Basic share options Diluted
Year ended 31 January 2008   342,198,365 3,405,544 345,603,909
Year ended 31 January 2007 338,469,975 2,355,027 340,825,002
Additional disclosure has been provided in respect of earnings per share before non-recurring costs as the 
Directors believe this gives a better view of ongoing maintainable earnings in the prior year.
2008 2007
Pence Pence
Basic earnings per share 13.79 6.25
Non-recurring costs 2.09 0.00
Basic earnings per share before non-recurring costs  15.88 6.25
The total potentially dilutive share options are disclosed in note 20d. There are no anti-dilutive share options 
in the current or prior years. 72  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
11 PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
Short 
Freehold leasehold Improvements Fixtures,
land and land and to leasehold ﬁttings and
property property property equipment Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Group
Cost
At 31 January 2006 19,474 29,295 41,747 48,621 139,137
Additions – 3,802 9,936 6,692 20,430
Acquisitions – 3,810 382 879 5,071
Disposals – (1,040) (800) (2,180) (4,020)
Exchange adjustment – (621) (523) (384) (1,528)
At 31 January 2007 19,474 35,246 50,742 53,628 159,090
Additions 1,089 5,071 18,091 12,967 37,218
Acquisitions – – 13,629 5,848 19,477
Disposals – (25) (1,873) (1,683) (3,581)
Exchange adjustment – 2,851 2,572 1,609 7,032
At 31 January 2008 20,563 43,143 83,161 72,369 219,236
Accumulated depreciation 
and impairment
At 31 January 2006 545 5,666 15,182 27,094 48,487
Charge for the year 389 1,080 4,507 6,092 12,068
Acquisitions – – – 200 200
Disposals – – (526) (1,841) (2,367)
Exchange adjustment – (16) (117) (160) (293)
At 31 January 2007 934 6,730 19,046 31,385 58,095
Charge for the year 389 1,335 8,145 8,714 18,583
Acquisitions – – 9,639 3,880 13,519
Disposals – (375) (1,434) (1,266) (3,075)
Exchange adjustment – 89 631 732 1,452
At 31 January 2008 1,323 7,779 36,027 43,445 88,574
Carrying amount
At 31 January 2008 19,240 35,364 47,134 28,924 130,662
At 31 January 2007 18,540 28,516 31,696 22,243 100,995
At 31 January 2006 18,929 23,629 26,565 21,527 90,650
The net book value of tangible ﬁxed assets includes an amount of £1,358,429 (2007: £2,304,000) in respect of 
assets held under ﬁnance lease and hire purchase contracts, and these are recorded in ﬁxtures, ﬁttings and 
equipment. The related depreciation charge for the year was £1,284,695 (2007: £579,000). The main ﬁnance 
leases are for EPOS equipment and motor vehicles.
The amount of interest capitalised during the year amounted to £nil (2007: £nil), bringing the total amount of 
capitalised interest to date to £741,500. The related depreciation charge for the year was £31,500 (2007: £31,500).  73  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
12 INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
 Other
 Goodwill intangibles Total
£’000 £’000 £’000
Group
Cost
At 31 January 2006 94,358 5,031 99,389
Acquisitions 4,261 242 4,503
Additions 417 905 1,322
Foreign exchange adjustment (208) (15) (223)
Disposals – (10) (10)
At 31 January 2007 98,828 6,153 104,981
Acquisitions 52,770 18,050 70,820
Additions – 2,703 2,703
Foreign exchange adjustment 519 65 584
Disposals – (8) (8)
At 31 January 2008 152,117 26,963 179,080
Amortisation
At 31 January 2006 – 2,664 2,664
Acquisitions – 63 63
Charge for the period – 745 745
Foreign exchange adjustment 3 (11) (8)
Disposals/impairments – (5) (5)
At 31 January 2007 3 3,456 3,459
Acquisitions – 711 711
Charge for the period – 2,004 2,004
Foreign exchange adjustment 32 52 84
Disposals/impairments – (49) (49)
At 31 January 2008 35 6,174 6,209
Carrying amount
At 31 January 2008 152,082 20,789 172,871
At 31 January 2007 98,825 2,697 101,522
At 31 January 2006 94,358 2,367 96,725
Other intangible assets comprise computer software and costs associated with the Group’s web domains 
and brand valuations in relation to GAME Australia and Gamestation. 74  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
12 INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS (CONTINUED)
Goodwill principally relates to the GAME and Gamestation brands. The goodwill is allocated, for impairment 
testing purposes, to cash-generating units as follows:
£’000
UK and Ireland 131,688
Other 20,394
Total 152,082
The carrying value of goodwill has been assessed on a value-in-use basis. The key assumptions for the calculations 
are those regarding growth rates and expected changes to selling prices and direct costs. The growth rates 
are based on industry forecasts, changes in selling prices and direct costs are based on past practices and 
expectations of future changes in the market. The Group prepares cash ﬂow forecasts derived from the most 
recent ﬁnancial budgets approved by management for the next three years and extrapolates cash ﬂows 
for no more than 13 years using a steady growth rate applicable to the relevant market. This rate does not 
exceed the average long-term growth rate for the relevant markets. The cash ﬂows were discounted using 
pre-tax discount rates between 8 per cent and 13 per cent dependent on the territories concerned and 
GAME’s operations in those territories. No impairments were recognised in the year.
13 INVENTORIES
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Finished goods and goods held for resale  145,041 84,587
The Directors consider that the replacement value of inventories is not materially different from their carrying 
value. The stock provision in the current year is £11,748,000 (2007: £6,741,000).
14 TRADE AND OTHERRECEIVABLES
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade receivables 18,921 9,179
Other receivables 14,050 4,355
VAT recoverable 324 108
Total trade and other receivables 33,295 13,642
Prepayments and accrued income  20,550 14,616
53,845 28,258
A large proportion of the trade receivables of the Group relates to customers using credit cards or similar 
arrangements to purchase goods. GAME bears no risk of recovery and as a result, the risk of impairment 
of accounts receivable is not considered by the Directors to be signiﬁcant.
As at 31 January 2008 and 31 January 2007 there were no amounts which were past due and no amounts 
which were impaired. 75  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
15 TRADE AND OTHER PAYABLES
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade payables 192,529 95,580
Other payables 7,838 4,699
Tax and social security costs 4,039 2,890
VAT payable 50,206 21,573
Accruals and deferred income 60,886 25,353
315,498 150,095
Trade payables are non-interest bearing and are normally settled on 60-day terms. 
16 BORROWINGS
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Short-term:
Bank overdrafts – 15,359
Long-term:
Current portion:
Bank loans 37,515 3,835
Obligations under ﬁnance leases and hire purchase contracts 523 642
38,038 4,477
Non-current portion:
Bank loans 56,897 26,479
Obligations under ﬁnance leases and hire purchase contracts 912 1,348
57,809 27,827
The borrowings are repayable as follows:
On demand or within one year 37,515 19,194
In one to two years 25,924 2,796
In more than two years but less than ﬁve years 30,973 17,683
After ﬁve years – 6,000
94,412 45,673
The ﬁnance leases are repayable as follows:
On demand or within one year 523 642
In one to two years 712 577
In more than two years but less than ﬁve years 200 771
After ﬁve years – –
1,435 1,990
There is no material difference between the book value and current value of these borrowings. 76  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
17 FINANCIALINSTRUMENTS
Financial risk management
Details of the Group’s ﬁnancial risk management objectives, including interest rate risk, foreign currency risk, 
credit risk and liquidity risk management, are disclosed in the Statement of Accounting Policies on page 62.
Categories of ﬁnancial instruments
Loans and receivables
2008 2007
Financial assets £’000 £’000
Current ﬁnancial assets
Trade and other receivables (note 14)  33,295 13,642
Net cash and cash equivalents (note 24)  137,899 32,927
171,194 46,569
Financial liabilities
measured at
amortised cost
2008 2007
Financial liabilities    £’000 £’000
Current ﬁnancial liabilities
Trade and other payables (note 15)  315,498 150,095
Loans and borrowings (note 16) 38,038 4,477
Total current ﬁnancial liabilities 353,536 154,572
Non-current ﬁnancial liabilities
Loans and borrowings (note 16) 57,809 27,827
Total non-current ﬁnancial liabilities  57,809 27,827
Total ﬁnancial liabilities 411,345 182,399
The Directors consider that the carrying amounts of ﬁnancial assets and ﬁnancial liabilities recorded at 
amortised cost in the ﬁnancial statements approximate their fair values.
The maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date is represented by the carrying value of the 
ﬁnancial assets in the balance sheet.  77  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
17 FINANCIALINSTRUMENTS (CONTINUED)
The Directors review any requirement for interest rate hedging during the year dependent upon the level 
of borrowings.
(a) Interest rate and currency of borrowings
The currency and interest rate exposure of the Group’s borrowings is shown below:
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Floating rate Euro borrowings 14,412 14,188
Floating rate Sterling borrowings 81,164 33,475
Floating rate AUD borrowings 271 –
95,847 47,663
The ﬂoating rate borrowings comprise bank borrowings and ﬁnance leases bearing interest rates based 
upon LIBOR and EURIBOR. 
The Group holds a revolving credit facility (RCF) of £70 million to be used for general corporate and working 
capital purposes. As at 31 January 2008 an amount of 15 million was drawn down for use in Spain. 
The interest rate on the RCF is based on LIBOR and EURIBOR.
The ﬁxed rate sterling borrowings comprise an £80 million term loan taken out in order to fund the purchase 
of Gamestation and reﬁnance the existing debt at GAME. The interest rate on the loan is based on LIBOR. 
The ﬁrst repayment was made in January 2008 and three further annual instalments are due.
The terms of the loan facility include a ﬁxed charge over the freehold property and a ﬂoating charge 
over assets.
(b) Interest rate and currency of cash balances
The currency and interest rate exposure of the Group’s ﬂoating rate cash balances is shown below:
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Sterling 84,840 32,705
Euro 47,237 12,440
Swedish krona 1,757 2,359
Danish krone 147 106
Norwegian krone 490 462
Australian dollar 3,428 214
137,899 48,286
The ﬂoating rate assets comprise bank accounts bearing interest rates based upon LIBOR and EURIBOR. 
There are no ﬁxed rate ﬁnancial assets. 78  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
17 FINANCIALINSTRUMENTS (CONTINUED)
(c) Sensitivity analysis
The sensitivity analyses below are based on a change in an assumption while holding all other assumptions 
constant. In practice this is unlikely to occur and changes in some of the assumptions may be correlated, 
for example a change in interest rate and a change in foreign currency interest rates. The sensitivity analysis 
prepared by management for foreign currency risk and interest rate risk illustrates how changes in the fair 
value or future cash ﬂows of a ﬁnancial instrument will ﬂuctuate because of changes in foreign exchange rates.
At 31 January 2008, if interest rates on the ﬂoating rate borrowings denominated in sterling had been 100 
basis points higher with all other variables held constant, proﬁt after tax for the period would be £1,037,910 
lower (2007: £468,461 lower).
At 31 January 2008, if interest rates on the ﬂoating rate borrowings denominated in euros had been 100 basis 
points higher with all other variables held constant, proﬁt after tax for the period would have been £173,231 
lower (2007: £106,797 lower).
The Directors consider that 100 basis points is the maximum likely change to sterling and euro interest rates 
over the next year, being the period up to the next point at which the Group expects to make these disclosures. 
The Directors do not consider that any reasonably possible change in the interest rates attached to the 
Australian dollar debt would have a signiﬁcant effect on the Group.
The tables in (a) and (b) above present ﬁnancial liabilities and assets denominated in foreign currencies held 
by the Group in 2008 and 2007. If the euro weakened or strengthened by 10 per cent against sterling, with 
all other variables held constant, proﬁt after tax and equity would move by £352,146. If the Australian dollar 
weakened or strengthened by 10 per cent against sterling, with all other variables held constant, proﬁt after 
tax and equity would move by £205,562.
(d) Fair value of borrowings and ﬁnancial assets
Set out below is an analysis of all the Group’s borrowings and ﬁnancial assets by category. The fair value of 
ﬂoating rate borrowings is the amortised cost because the interest rate payments are based on market value.
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Trade and other receivables 33,295 13,642
Net cash and cash equivalents 137,899 32,927
Current portion of long-term debt  (38,038) (4,477)
Non-current portion of long-term debt  (57,809) (27,827)
There is no material difference between the book value and current value of these borrowings. 
(e) The Group had no material monetary assets or liabilities that are not denominated in the functional 
currency of the operating unit involved.
(f) As at 1 April 2008, the Group had undrawn working capital facilities available to it of £15.9 million (2007: 
£48.8 million) and Euro nil (2007: Euro nil). There are no signiﬁcant conditions attached to these facilities. 79  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
17 FINANCIALINSTRUMENTS (CONTINUED)
Capital risk management
Details of the Group’s capital risk management objectives are disclosed in the Statement of Accounting 
Policies on page 65.
The capital structure of the Group consists of debt, which includes the borrowings disclosed in note 16, cash 
and cash equivalents and equity attributable to equity holders of the parent, comprising issued capital, 
reserves and retained earnings as disclosed in notes 20, 21 and 22.
Gearing ratio
It is the Group’s policy to maintain its gearing ratio within the range of 0-100 per cent (2007: 0-100 per cent). 
The Group’s gearing ratio at the balance sheet date is shown below:
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Debt
(i)
95,847 32,304
Trade and other payables 315,498 150,095
Net cash and cash equivalents (137,899) (32,927)
Net debt 273,446 149,472
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Equity
(ii)
203,922 157,336
Capital and net debt    477,368 306,808
Gearing ratio 57% 49%
(i)
Debt is deﬁned as current and non-current portion of long-term debt, as detailed in note 16.
(ii)
Equity includes all capital and reserves of the Group.
18 DEFERRED TAXATION
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Accelerated capital allowances (1,369) (2,896)
Tax losses carried forward – 825
Share options 2,615 2,340
Other temporary and deductible differences (3,175) 842
Deferred tax (liability)/asset (1,929) 1,111
At 1 February 2007 1,111 3
Acquisition of subsidiary (3,739) 143
Deferred tax charge in the income statement for the year (note 8)  677 (307)
Deferred tax taken to equity 22 1,272
At 31 January 2008 (1,929) 1,111 80  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
19 LEASEHOLD PROPERTY INCENTIVES
2008 2007
Rent-free periods and reverse premiums £’000 £’000
At 1 February 2007 4,662 4,345
Rent-free periods and reverse premiums received during the year 3,239 713
Released to proﬁt and loss account  (641) (396)
At 31 January 2008    7,260 4,662
Due within one year 846 592
Due greater than one year 6,414 4,070
At 31 January 2008    7,260 4,662
20 CALLED-UP SHARE CAPITAL
2008 2007
£’000 Number £’000 Number
Authorised
Ordinary shares of 5p 24,000 480,000,000 24,000 480,000,000
Allotted, called-up and fully paid
Ordinary shares of 5p 17,167 343,344,566 17,003 340,071,161
(a) Shares issued
During the year 3,273,405 (2007: 3,162,746) shares were issued to employees exercising share options granted 
under various option schemes. The total consideration received on the exercise of these options was 
£2,725,551 (2007: £1,767,256).
Between the year end and 1 April 2008, a further 1,523,576 shares have been issued to employees exercising 
share options granted under various option schemes. The total consideration received on the exercise 
of these options was £1,059,743.
(b) Shares purchased
No shares were repurchased for cancellation by the Company during the current and prior years.
(c) Trust shares
During the year 1,892,460 shares (2007: no shares) were purchased at a cost of £3,666,622 (2007: £nil). These 
shares are to be used wholly and exclusively to pay LTIP awards when they become due for payment. 81  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
20 CALLED-UP SHARE CAPITAL (CONTINUED)
(d) Share options
After taking account of options that have lapsed, the following options over shares were outstanding at 
31 January 2008:
Exercise Exercise
 Number of price period
Schemes shares Pence From To
1998 executive share option scheme  31,000 69.50 06.10.01 05.10.08
Approved 85,000 41.75 03.12.02 02.12.09
3,800 57.00 13.10.03 12.10.10
22,700 132.00 15.11.04 14.11.11
18,900 138.00 01.05.05 30.04.12
189,988 107.00 19.07.05 18.07.12
114,369 62.25 09.06.06 08.06.13
46,875 64.00 29.04.07 28.04.14
1998 executive share option scheme  35,971 69.50 06.10.01 05.10.08
Unapproved 415,080 45.00 01.02.03 31.01.10
21,200 57.00 13.10.03 12.10.10
232,200 77.50 25.04.04 24.04.11
221,200 132.00 15.11.04 14.11.11
88,300 138.00 01.05.05 30.04.12
78,676 107.00 19.07.05 18.07.12
401,700 56.00 07.05.06 06.05.13
378,100 59.50 14.05.06 13.05.13
1,414,920 62.25 09.06.06 08.06.13
640,625 64.00 29.04.07 28.04.14
400,000 57.50 07.07.07 06.07.14
Sharesave schemes 9,438 87.00 01.12.07 31.05.08
138,320 43.75 01.07.06 31.12.08
46,675 50.44 01.07.07 31.12.09
82,719 63.84 01.07.08 31.12.10
262,479 65.80 01.07.09 31.12.11
195,179 136.16 01.07.10 31.12.12
5,575,414 82  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
20 CALLED-UP SHARE CAPITAL (CONTINUED)
(e) Equity-settled Executive Share Option Plan
The Group Executive Share Option plan provides for a grant price equal to the average quoted market price 
of the Group shares on the date of grant. The options will vest after 3 years subject to meeting the following 
performance conditions. Furthermore, options are forfeited if the employee leaves the Group before the 
options vest. 
For awards up to 100 per cent of salary awards are subject to achieving an earnings per share (EPS) growth 
of at least RPI +9 per cent over three years. This condition may be re-tested at the end of years 4 and 5, where 
EPS growth must be at least RPI +12 per cent and RPI +15 per cent respectively over the period since grant. 
For awards between 100 per cent and 200 per cent of salary awards are subject to achieving EPS growth 
of 15 per cent. This may be re-tested in years 4 and 5 with RPI +20 per cent and RPI +25 per cent respectively. 
If the options remain unexercised after a period of 10 years from the date of grant, the options expire.
2008 2007
 Weighted Weighted
average average
exercise exercise
Options price (in £) Options price (in £)
Outstanding at beginning of period  5,131,390 0.60 6,904,800 0.59
Granted during the period –– ––
Lapsed during the period –– ––
Exercised during the period (1,734,801) 0.58 (1,773,410) 0.57
Outstanding at the end of the period  3,396,589 0.61 5,131,390 0.60
Exercisable at the end of the period  3,396,589 0.61 3,593,890 0.60
No options were granted during this year or last year.
(f) Equity-settled Sharesave 
The Group Sharesave scheme is an all employee plan whereby participants receive an option to purchase 
shares in the Group. Participants are offered an exercise price discounted by 20 per cent to the average of 
the mid-market share price on the ﬁve dealing days preceding the date of invitation. Fair values have been 
calculated for saving contracts of both three and ﬁve years. 
2008 2007
 Weighted Weighted
average average
exercise exercise
Options price (in £) Options price (in £)
Outstanding at beginning of period  994,316 0.58 1,143,163 0.52
Granted during the period 212,270 1.36 445,738 0.66
Lapsed during the period (363,428) 0.72 (126,412) 0.77
Exercised during the period (108,348) 0.50 (468,173) 0.44
Outstanding at the end of the period  734,810 0.79 994,316 0.58
Exercisable at the end of the period  194,433 0.47 9,755 0.44 83  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
20 CALLED-UP SHARE CAPITAL (CONTINUED)
The inputs into the Black Scholes model for contracts with a three-year term are as follows:
2008 2007
Weighted average share price (£)  1.78 0.84
Weighted average exercise price (£)  1.36 0.66
Expected volatility (%) 35.00 40.00
Expected life (years) 3.33 3.42
Risk free rate (%) 5.70 4.78
Expected dividends (%) 2.50 3.25
Weighted Average Fair Value (£) 0.66 0.30
The inputs into the Black Scholes model for contracts with a ﬁve-year term are as follows:
2008 2007
Weighted average share price (£)  1.78 0.84
Weighted average exercise price (£)  1.36 0.66
Expected volatility (%) 37.00 42.00
Expected life (years) 5.33 5.42
Risk free rate (%) 5.52 4.83
Expected dividends (%) 2.50 3.25
Weighted Average Fair Value (£) 0.75 0.34
Expected volatility was determined by calculating the forward weighted historical volatility of the Group’s 
share price over a period equal to the expected life. The expected life used in the model is the mid point 
of the exercise period.
(g) Equity-settled Long-Term Incentive Scheme (LTIP)
The Group long-term incentive scheme has a vesting period of three years from grant, and must be exercised 
in the six month period following vesting. Furthermore, shares are forfeited if the employee leaves the Group 
before the awards vest. Twenty-ﬁve per cent of awards vest if EPS grows by RPI +15 per cent over the 
performance period, 100 per cent of the award vests if EPS grows by RPI +30 per cent. The award vests 
on a pro-rata basis between these points. 
2008 2007
 Weighted Weighted
average average
exercise exercise
Options price (in £) Options price (in £)
Outstanding at beginning of period  5,124,739 – 3,316,282 –
Granted during the period 875,945 – 1,808,457 –
Lapsed during the period (760,426) – ––
Exercised during the period (663,366) – ––
Outstanding at the end of the period  4,576,892 – 5,124,739 –
Exercisable at the end of the period  –– –– 84  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
20 CALLED-UP SHARE CAPITAL (CONTINUED)
The inputs into the Black Scholes model are as follows:
2008 2007
Weighted average share price (£)  1.80 0.80
Weighted average exercise price (£)  0.00 0.00
Expected volatility (%) N/A N/A
Expected life (years) 3 3
Risk free rate (%) N/A N/A
Expected dividends (%) 2.50 3.25
Weighted Average Fair Value (£) 1.67 0.73
As the awards under both the Executive Share Option Scheme and the Long-Term Incentive Scheme are 
subject to the satisfaction of EPS performance conditions, the total charge is calculated based on the fair 
value of the options and the total number of options expected to vest based on the Company’s estimate 
of meeting the performance conditions. The charge is also adjusted for management’s judgements in 
relation to the number of leavers.
Given the above assumptions, the Group recognised total expenses of £1,204,493 (2007: £1,202,025) related 
to equity-settled share-based payment transactions during the year (see note 7).
21 SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value
At 1 February 2007 42,286 40,677
Arising on issue of shares during the year (net of expenses)  2,562 1,609
At 31 January 2008    44,848 42,286 85  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
22 RECONCILIATION OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
Capital
  redemp- Shares   Foreign
Share Share tion held in Merger Retained exchange
capital premium reserve trust reserve earnings reserve  Total
At 1 February 2006 16,845 40,677 2,223 (963) 76,907 9,185 (188) 144,686
Exchange differences
on translation of foreign
currency net investment
in subsidiaries –––––– (3,571) (3,571)
Deferred income tax
on share-based 
payments credited
to equity ––––– 1,272 – 1,272
Net income recognised
directly in equity ––––– 1,272 (3,571) (2,299)
Net income recognised
in income statement ––––– 21,140 – 21,140
Total recognised income
and expense ––––– 22,412 (3,571) 18,841
Issue of shares 158 1,609 ––––– 1,767
Purchase of shares ––––––––
Dividends payable ––––– (8,947) – (8,947)
Shares held in Trust – – – (213) – – – (213)
Share-based payments ––––– 1,202 – 1,202
At 1 February 2007 17,003 42,286 2,223 (1,176) 76,907 23,852 (3,759) 157,336
Exchange differences
on translation of foreign
currency net investment
in subsidiaries –––––– 9,663 9,663
Deferred income tax
on share-based 
payments credited
to equity ––––– 22 – 22
Net income recognised
directly in equity ––––– 22 9,663 9,685
Net income recognised
in income statement ––––– 47,179 – 47,179
Total recognised income
and expense ––––– 47,201 9,663 56,864
Issue of shares 164 2,562 ––––– 2,726
Purchase of shares – – – (3,667) – – – (3,667)
Exercise of options – – – 440 – (440) – –
Dividends payable ––––– (10,541) – (10,541)
Share-based payments ––––– 1,204 – 1,204
At 31 January 2008 17,167 44,848 2,223 (4,403) 76,907 61,276 5,904 203,922 86  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
22 RECONCILIATION OF CHANGES IN EQUITY (CONTINUED)
Share capital – the amount subscribed for share capital at nominal value.
Share premium – the amount subscribed for share capital in excess of nominal value.
Capital redemption reserve – amounts transferred from share capital on redemption of issued shares.
Shares held in trust – the weighted average cost of own shares held in treasury and by the ESOP Trust. 
The Employee Beneﬁt Trust was established in January 2002 to provide for the future obligations of the 
Company for share awards under the Performance Share Plan and other share-based plans. Under the 
scheme the trustee, BDO Guernsey Trustees Limited, purchases the Company’s ordinary shares in the 
open market.
Merger reserve – holds the share premium arising on the share for share exchange on acquisition of 
Game Plc.
Retained earnings – the cumulative net gains and losses recognised in the consolidated income statements.
Foreign exchange reserve – holds gains/losses arising on re-translating the net assets of overseas operations 
into sterling since 1 February 2004.
The cumulative amount of goodwill resulting from acquisitions in previous years prior to the adoption of FRS 10 
(Goodwill and Intangible Assets) which has been eliminated against Group reserves, net of goodwill attributable 
to disposals before 31 January 2008, is £9,639,000 (2007: £9,639,000). 87  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
23 ACQUISITIONS
Current year acquisitions
On 2 May 2007 the Group acquired 100 per cent of the share capital of the UK pc and video games retailer 
Gamestation. On acquisition, Gamestation operated 217 owned stores throughout the UK. The business was 
acquired for an initial consideration of £76 million and a post-completion deferred payment of £7.6 million 
to reﬂect cash of £4.3 million and other working capital, plus fees of £2.6 million.
Book Fair
value Adjustment value
£’000 £’000 £’000
Property, plant and equipment 5,871 – 5,871
Inventories 31,892 (744) 31,148
Trade and other receivables 4,813 – 4,813
Trade and other payables (24,060) (1,109) (25,169)
Cash and cash equivalents 4,289 – 4,289
Tax asset 530 (4,428) (3,898)
Intangible ﬁxed assets 1,039 – 1,039
Total net assets 24,374 (6,281) 18,093
Initial cash consideration 76,000
Deferred consideration 7,603
Costs of acquisition 2,641
Goodwill and intangibles 68,151
The goodwill arising on acquisition of Gamestation is attributable to the anticipated proﬁtability of the 
distribution of the Group’s products and the anticipated future operating synergies from the combination. 
The following factors have contributed to the recognition of goodwill:
– the acquired workforce
– the expected synergies from acquisition
From the date of acquisition Gamestation added £273 million to turnover and £12 million to operating proﬁt.
If the acquisition had been completed on the ﬁrst day of the ﬁnancial year, Group revenues for the year 
would have been increased by £67 million and the Group proﬁt attributable to equity holders of the parent 
would have been decreased by £1.5 million. 88  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
23 ACQUISITIONS (CONTINUED)
On 1 July 2007 Engine Technology Systems SL, a subsidiary of Game Group plc, acquired 100 per cent of the 
share capital of the Spanish retailer Mail Vigo which owned a GAME Spanish franchise. On acquisition, Mail Vigo 
operated three owned stores throughout Spain. The business was acquired for an initial consideration of £413,000. 
In addition four Spanish franchises were acquired – Vigo Pontevedra, Fuenguirola, Valladolid and Coruna – 
for a total consideration of £512,000.
Spanish
 Mail Vigo franchises Gamestation Total
fair value fair value fair value fair value
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Property, plant and equipment 87 – 5,871 5,958
Inventories 169 236 31,148 31,553
Trade and other receivables 19 – 4,813 4,832
Trade and other payables (240) (250) (25,169) (25,659)
Cash and cash equivalents 94 – 4,289 4,383
Long-term borrowings (109) – – (109)
Tax asset – – (3,898) (3,898)
Intangible ﬁxed assets – goodwill 393 526 51,851 52,770
Intangible ﬁxed assets – brand – – 16,300 16,300
Intangible ﬁxed assets – other – – 1,039 1,039
Total purchase price 413 512 86,244 87,169
Cash and cash equivalents (94) – (4,289) (4,383)
Non-cash – – (1,845) (1,845)
Cash ﬂows on acquisition
net of cash acquired 319 512 80,110 80,941
From the date of acquisition Mail Vigo, Vigo Pontevedra, Fuenguirola, Valladolid and Coruna added 
£1,544,000, £271,000, £785,000, £222,000 and £294,000 to turnover respectively and £237,000, £36,000, 
£113,000, £9,000 and £31,000 to operating proﬁt respectively.
If these acquisitions, other than Gamestation, had been completed on the ﬁrst day of the ﬁnancial year, it 
is not anticipated that the operating proﬁt would have been materially different. No fair value adjustments 
were required on these acquisitions.  89  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
23 ACQUISITIONS (CONTINUED)
Prior year acquisitions
On 19 September the Group acquired 100 per cent of the share capital of the Australian retailer, The Games 
Wizards (‘TGW’). TGW operated 14 owned stores and 8 franchises at the time of the acquisition. On 9 October 
the Group acquired the trade and assets of the Norwegian retailer Spiderman TV Spiel Spesialisen AS. 
Spiderman operated 10 stores at the time of acquisition. On 13 November the Group acquired 50 stores 
from the French book retailer Maxi-Livre. In Spain ﬁve franchises were brought back into the business.
TGW Spiderman Maxi-Livre Spain Total
acquisition acquisition acquisition acquisition acquisition
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Property, plant and equipment 1,010 51 3,810 – 4,871
Inventories 808 552 – 236 1,596
Trade and other receivables 143 – – – 143
Trade and other payables (1,873) – – (177) (2,050)
Cash and cash equivalents (1,803) – – – (1,803)
Long-term borrowings –––––
Deferred tax asset –––––
Intangible ﬁxed assets – goodwill 3,476 244 – 690 4,410
Intangible ﬁxed assets – other 30––– 30
Total purchase price 1,791 847 3,810 749 7,197
Deferred consideration –––––
Cash and cash equivalents 1,803 – – – 1,803
Cash ﬂows on acquisition
net of cash acquired 3,594 847 3,810 749 9,000
From the date of acquisition TGW, Spiderman, Maxi-Livre and the Spanish franchises added £5.1 million, 
£1.3 million, £0.1 million and £1.1 million to turnover respectively and £(30,000), £60,000, £(20,000) and 
£157,000 to operating proﬁt respectively. 
If these acquisitions had been completed on the ﬁrst day of the ﬁnancial year, it is not anticipated that the 
operating proﬁt would have been materially different. Fair value adjustments were made to the Australian 
balance sheet to reﬂect the write-down of historic goodwill in the business and the value in use of certain 
of the ﬁxed assets. No fair value adjustments were required on the other acquisitions. 
24 ANALYSIS OF NET FUNDS
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Cash and cash equivalents 137,899 48,286
Short-term borrowings – (15,359)
Net cash and cash equivalents 137,899 32,927
Current portion of long-term borrowings  (38,038) (4,477)
Long-term borrowings (57,809) (27,827)
Net funds 42,052 623
During the year, the Group entered into new ﬁnance lease arrangements in respect of assets with a total 
capital cost of £279,695 (2007: £2,245,000). 90  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS CONTINUED
for the year ended 31 January 2008
25 OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS
The Group leases certain land and buildings on short-term leases. The rents payable under these leases are 
subject to re-negotiation at various intervals speciﬁed in the leases. At the balance sheet date, the Group 
has outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, 
which fall due as follows:
Motor Land and Motor Land and
vehicles buildings vehicles buildings
2008 2008 2007 2007
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
The total future minimum lease payments 
are due as follows:
Not later than one year 189 486 291 36,786
Later than one year but not later than ﬁve years 352 53,396 434 142,103
Later than ﬁve years – 402,460 – 197,953
541 456,342 725 376,842
The average remaining term on operating leases over land and buildings in the UK and Ireland is 7.5 years.
The operating leases over land and buildings in Continental European operations have lengths of term for 
a maximum period of nine years.
26 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
There were no related party transactions within the year or prior year.
27 RISKS
The principal risks and uncertainties facing the Group have been and are as at the date of this report:
Competition
The Group faces strong competition from a diverse range of competitors including supermarkets, online 
retailers, conventional high-street retailers and independents. The Group expects increased competition 
from food retailers who are expanding their range of non-food items. 
Seasonality
The Group’s business is highly seasonal with the key trading period being the Christmas season. Turnover, 
operating proﬁt and cash ﬂow may be adversely impacted by variations in demand during this period.
Technology
Playing games online is a growing part of the market, whereby software content is sent digitally, direct from 
the publisher to the gamer. This may lead to reduced product sales for mainline retailers. 91  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
COMPANY ACCOUNTS
CONTENTS
Company Balance Sheet 92
Notes to the Company Balance Sheet 93 92  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
COMPANY BALANCE SHEET
at 31 January 2008
2008 2007
Note £’000 £’000
Fixed assets
Investments in subsidiaries 6 153,348 65,900
Current assets
Debtors 7 41,305 39,313
Cash 51,792 25,220
93,097 64,533
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 8 129,633 44,097
Net current (liabilities)/assets (36,536) 20,436
Total assets less current liabilities 116,812 86,336
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year  9 55,000 14,000
Net assets 61,812 72,336
Capital and reserves
Called-up share capital 10 17,167 17,003
Share premium account 11 44,848 42,286
Capital redemption reserve 13 2,223 2,223
Shares held in trust 13 (4,403) (1,176)
Merger reserve 13 76 76
Proﬁt and loss account 14 1,901 11,924
Shareholders’ funds 12 61,812 72,336
The ﬁnancial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 29 April 2008 
and were signed on its behalf by:
David Thomas
Director
The notes on pages 93 to 97 form part of these ﬁnancial statements. 93  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
1 BASIS OF ACCOUNTING
The ﬁnancial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, in accordance with 
applicable accounting standards and the Companies Act 1985, except for the fair valuing of certain 
ﬁnancial instruments.
The required consolidated cash ﬂow statement has been included within the consolidated accounts 
of the Group.
As permitted by FRS 8 no related party disclosures for the Company have been included.
2 CHANGE IN ACCOUNTING POLICIES
In the current year, the Company has adopted FRS 29 ‘Financial Instruments: Disclosures’ which is effective for 
annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2007, and the consequential amendments to IAS 1 
‘Presentation of Financial Statements’. The Company has taken advantage of the exemptions in FRS 29 not 
to apply the requirements of the standard in its single-entity ﬁnancial statements.
Detail regarding the Company’s ﬁnancial instruments and management of capital are disclosed in note 17 
to the Group accounts.
3 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Investments
Investments held as ﬁxed assets are stated at cost less provision for any impairment.
Foreign currencies
Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at year end rates of exchange. Gains 
and losses arising on equity investments denominated in foreign currencies are taken to reserves. Other 
exchange differences are taken to the proﬁt and loss account. 
Deferred taxation
Deferred tax is recognised as an asset or liability, at appropriate rates, in respect of transactions and events 
recognised in the accounts of the current and previous periods which give the entity a right to pay less, 
or an obligation to pay more, tax in future periods. Deferred tax assets are only recognised to the extent 
it is probable that there will be suitable taxable proﬁts from which they can be recovered.
No provision is made for any taxation on capital gains that would arise from the future disposal of any ﬁxed 
assets shown in the accounts at valuation, except to the extent that at the balance sheet date there is 
a binding sale agreement.
Deferred tax balances are not discounted.
NOTES TO THE COMPANY BALANCE SHEET
at 31 January 2008 94  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE COMPANY BALANCE SHEET CONTINUED
at 31 January 2008
3 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED)
Employee beneﬁt trust
The cost of the Company’s shares held by the Employee Beneﬁt Trust is deducted from shareholders’ funds 
in the Company. Any cash received by the Trust on disposal of the shares it holds is also recognised directly 
in shareholders’ funds. Other assets and liabilities of the Trust (including borrowings) are recognised as assets 
and liabilities of the Company.
Any shares held by the Trust are treated as cancelled for the purposes of calculating earnings per share.
Share-based payments
The Company grants awards of its own shares to employees of its subsidiary undertakings. Accounting 
for these is in accordance with FRS 20 and is also in accordance with Group accounting policy and the 
disclosures provided in note 20 to the Group consolidated ﬁnancial statements, which have been prepared 
under IFRS 2, ‘Share-based payment’. The costs of share-based payments in respect of these awards are 
accounted for, by the Company, as additional investment in its subsidiary undertakings.
4 PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT OF THE PARENT COMPANY
As permitted by section 230 of the Companies Act 1985, the proﬁt and loss account of the Parent Company 
has not been separately presented in these accounts. The Parent Company loss for the year was £246,461 
(2007: loss for the year of £222,788). The loss for the year involves a charge of £14,000 (2007: £16,500) in 
respect of the audit of the Company. 
The Company had no employees in 2008 and 2007. Details of the remuneration of the Directors are included 
within the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 42 to 49.
5 DIVIDENDS PAID AND PROPOSED
2008 2007
Pence 2008 Pence 2007
per share £’000 per share £’000
Final paid 1.66 5,636 1.38 4,661
Interim paid 1.43 4,905 1.27 4,286
10,541 8,947
It is proposed that a ﬁnal dividend of 2.97p will be paid on 18 July 2008 to shareholders on the register 
on 30 May 2008.
6 FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS
Long-term
 Investments loan Total
£’000 £’000 £’000
At 31 January 2007 59,900 6,000 65,900
Gamestation acquisition 86,244 – 86,244
Share option charge 1,204 – 1,204
At 31 January 2008 147,348 6,000 153,348
The subsidiary undertakings at 31 January 2008, which are all unlisted, are set out in note 16. 95  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
7 DEBTORS
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade debtors 362 –
Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings  39,397 39,124
Prepayments and accrued income  1,476 189
Corporation tax 70 –
41,305 39,313
8 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings  102,775 26,164
Bank loan 25,000 2,000
Bank overdraft – 15,359
Other creditors 3 154
Corporation tax – –
Accruals and deferred income 1,372 420
Dividends 483 –
129,633 44,097
9 CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER MORE THAN ONE YEAR
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Bank loans 55,000 14,000
55,000 14,000
The borrowing terms are disclosed in note 16 to the Group accounts.
10 CALLED-UP SHARE CAPITAL
2008 2007
£’000 Number £’000 Number
Authorised
Ordinary shares of 5p 24,000 480,000,000 24,000 480,000,000
Allotted, called-up and fully paid
Ordinary shares of 5p 17,167 343,344,566 17,003 340,071,161
The movement in share capital is explained in note 20 to the Group accounts. 96  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
NOTES TO THE COMPANY BALANCE SHEET CONTINUED
at 31 January 2008
11 SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT
£’000
At 1 February 2007 42,286
Arising on issue of shares during the year (net of expenses)  2,562
At 31 January 2008 44,848
12 RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN SHAREHOLDERS’ FUNDS
2008 2007
£’000 £’000
Loss on ordinary activities after taxation  (246) (223)
Dividends paid (10,541) (8,947)
Issue of shares during the year 2,726 1,767
Shares held in trust (3,667) (213)
Share options charged to equity 1,204 1,202
Net deductions to shareholders’ funds  (10,524) (6,414)
Shareholders’ funds at beginning of year as previously reported 72,336 78,750
Shareholders’ funds at end of year  61,812 72,336
13 OTHERRESERVES
£’000
Merger reserve
At 1 February 2007 and 31 January 2008  76
Capital redemption reserve
At 1 February 2007 2,223
Arising during the year –
At 31 January 2008 2,223
Shares held in trust
As at 1 February 2007 (1,176)
Purchased during the year (3,667)
Exercised during the year 440
As at 31 January 2008 (4,403)
Number of shares held at 31 January 2008  2,844,094
The Employee Beneﬁt Trust was established in January 2002 to provide for the future obligations of the Company 
for share awards under the Performance Share Plan and other share-based plans. Under the scheme the trustee, 
BDO Guernsey Trustees Limited, purchases the Company’s ordinary shares in the open market. 97  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
03 OUR RESULTS
14 PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
£’000
At 1 February 2007 11,924
Retained loss for the ﬁnancial year  (10,787)
Exercise of shares (440)
Share-based payment for 2008 1,204
At 31 January 2008 1,901
15 CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
The Company has guaranteed certain liabilities and bank borrowings of its subsidiary undertakings. 
At 31 January 2008 the liabilities covered by these guarantees amounted to £14,411,685 (2007: £13,174,362). 
In addition the Company has guaranteed certain operating leases of its subsidiary undertakings with 
an annual lease commitment of £2,142,255 (2007: £2,887,819). Where the Company enters into ﬁnancial 
guarantee contracts to guarantee the indebtedness of other companies within its Group, the Company 
considers these to be insurance arrangements and accounts for them as such. In this respect, the Company 
treats the guarantee contract as a contingent liability until such time as it becomes probable that the 
Company will be required to make a payment under the guarantee.
16 SUBSIDIARY UNDERTAKINGS
Country of
Name incorporation Nature of business
Game Stores Group Ltd* England Computer software and video game retailing
Game Retail (UK) Ltd* England Computer software and video game retailing
Game Digital Ltd* England Online computer software and video game business
Gameplay (GB) Ltd* England Online computer software and video game business
Game (Stores) Limited England Computer software and video game retailing
Game Financial Services Limited* England Provision of card-handling services
Games Station Limited* England Computer software and video game retailing
Game Stores Group Sweden AB* Sweden Computer software and video game retailing
Engine Technology Systems S.L.* Spain Computer software and video game retailing
ABC Games International SA France Computer software and video game retailing
The Games Wizards Pty Australia Computer software and video game retailing
Blue 26 Limited England Non-trading
Game Limited* England Non-trading
Blue 25 Limited England Non-trading
Pure Retail Stores Limited * England Non-trading
Pure Entertainment Stores Limited* England Non-trading
Toyplay Ltd England Non-trading
Gamestation Limited England Non-trading
The Company retains 100 per cent of the voting rights and ordinary share capital of all the above 
subsidiary undertakings.
*Direct subsidiary of The GAME Group plc  98  THE GAME GROUP PLC | ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2007-2008
FIVE-YEAR SUMMARY
UK GAAP¹ IFRS IFRS IFRS IFRS
31 January 31 January 31 January 31 January 31 January
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Revenue 606,660  576,586  645,118  801,306  1,491,914
Gross proﬁt 174,656  176,516  174,355  217,743  369,577
Operating proﬁt before 
goodwill amortisation 
and non-recurring costs 34,187  29,796  11,198  32,965  82,340
Operating proﬁt 17,808  29,796  8,223  32,965  75,192
Proﬁt on ordinary activities 
before taxation 18,308  29,021  5,415  29,493  68,362 
Proﬁt on ordinary activities 
after taxation 10,637  19,893  2,737  21,140  47,179
Dividends per share 2.00p 2.20p 2.53p 2.93p 4.40p
Earnings per share – basic 2.95p 5.74p 0.81p 6.25p 13.79p
Earnings per share before 
amortisation of goodwill 
and non-recurring costs – basic 6.63p 5.74p 1.69p 6.25p 15.88p
Number of owned stores at end 
of year (including concessions) 491  567  659 782 1,140
Average number of employees 4,214  4,614  5,000  5,148  7,959
Net assets 141,380  152,000  144,686  157,336  203,922
Cash generated from operations 36,121  33,276  63,119  43,596 191,973
¹Amounts previously reported under UK GAAP . Designed and produced by Merchant. Type origination by cont3xt ltd. Printed by Folium Press.
DIRECTORS AND ADVISERS
Directors
Peter Lewis Non Executive Chairman
Lisa Morgan Chief Executive
David Thomas ACA Group Finance Director and Deputy Chief Executive
Christopher Bell Senior Non Executive Director
Jean-Paul Giraud Non Executive Director
Ishbel Macpherson Non Executive Director
Secretary
Vivienne Hemming ACIS
Registered ofﬁce
Unity House, Telford Road, Basingstoke RG21 6YJ
Stockbrokers
Deutsche Bank AG London, Winchester House, 1 Great Winchester Street, London EC2N 2NT
Principal Bankers
National Westminster Bank PLC, Solent Corporate Business Centre, Notebeme House,  
84 High Street, Southampton SO14 2NT
Independent auditors
BDO Stoy Hayward LLP , 55 Baker Street, London W1U 7EU
Registrars and transfer ofﬁce
Capita Registrars, The Registry, 34 Beckenham Road, Kent BR3 4TU THE GAME GROUP PLC
Unity House
Telford Road
Basingstoke, Hampshire
RG21 6YJ
Tel: +44 (0)1256 784000
Fax: +44 (0)1256 784093
www.gamegroup.plc.uk
www.game.co.uk
www.gamestation.co.uk
www.gameplay.co.uk