Esports teams owner and developer Guild Esports will go public through the London Stock Exchange.

Through doing so, the UK-based company will be the first esports organisation to become public via the LSE. One of Guild's founding shareholders is former professional footballer David Beckham.

Esports has grown in popularity over recent years, providing a great opportunity within the market. Worldwide, competitive gaming tournaments attract a huge crowd, some of which rival real-life sporting events such as Wimbledon and Tour De France.

The money generated through shares will be used to grow Guild Esports further, and to bring in new players.

Growing opportunity

"The growing global popularity of esports has enabled several existing franchises to monetise their activities through sponsorship, retail, merchandising, apparel & product licensing, new media & mobile, broadcasting and tournaments," said Guild Esports executive chairman Carleton Curtis.

"Guild will be the first esports franchise to join the London stock market, which will provide us with the caché, credibility and capital to fulfil our ambition to become one of the world's top ten esports franchises within three years."