Games Workshop to hand out £20m to staff as Warhammer maker continues to build

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Games Workshop staff are set for a £20 million windfall after the tabletop miniatures giant reported strong sales and profit growth.

The Nottingham-based maker of the popular Warhammer series will distribute the bonus payments, drawn from profits, “on an equal basis to each member of staff”.

The company said the payout recognises employees’ contributions to the robust financial performance achieved in the year ending June 1st.

It is increase from the £18 million shared amongst staff the previous year, and significantly more than the £11 million distributed two years prior. Full-year results are expected soon.

Games Workshop does not disclose how many staff it employs, but it is thought to have some 1,500 people working at its Nottingham base and more globally.

It ran nearly 550 stores at the end of the last financial year selling Warhammer products that customers can collect, paint, and play games with.

Games Workshop said it expects revenues for the latest financial year to be at least £560 million, up from £495 million the year before.

Pre-tax profits for the year are estimated to be at least £255 million, up from £203 million last year.

The company joined the ranks of the FTSE 100 index last year, just under 50 years after founders Ian Livingstone, Steve Jackson and John Peake set up the company in in 1975.

Warhammer figurines made by Games Workshop (Games Workshop)

A fast-growing chunk of its new cash is coming from video game adaptations.

Two new games around the Warhammer 40,000 sci-fi universe launched in the second part of last year, making up the bulk of a 140% increase in licensing revenue.

In December, Games Workshop also struck a deal with Amazon to allow it to adapt the product for film and television.

While it did not give figures on the deal, chief executive Kevin Rowntree said: “We own what we believe is some of the best under-exploited intellectual property globally.”

The proceeds from the Amazon deal were not included in these interim results as it was struck after December 1.

The anticipation around the launches also helped get more customers through the door, with a new record for core sales, which rose 12%.

“It’s fair to say our results were helped by some of the excitement around media and licensing product launches,” Mr Rowntree added.