San Francisco Frontiers - Warhammer maker Games Workshop enters London's top stocks index

The company's share price has soared more than 45 percent since the beginning of the year, giving it a £4.7 billion ($5.9 billion) valuation, and promoting it to London's main index as part of the quarterly market reshuffle.

Miniature fantasy figurines that consumers can assemble and paint to use in boardgames are at the heart of Games Workshop's business activity.

Its boardgames that span medieval and futuristic universes have generated a community of avid fans, with hundreds of different products sold in around 4,500 stores.

"It's such a rich universe," explained one fan, Andy Boichat, an oil trader working in London, who had come to visit a Games Workshop store in the city centre.

He told AFP that he's been painting miniatures since childhood, with Warhammer being his favourite, and says he spends several hundred pounds a year on them.

In its 2023-2024 fiscal earnings, the company reported a net profit of £151 million and £526 million in revenue -- all without taking on debt.

All Games Workshop's products are created and produced in-house, without third-party involvement, which helps the company boost margins.

The prospect of developing its licenses has also peaked investor interest, especially as the popularity of fantasy universes like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones has remained strong across the world.

"Games Workshop looks to have significant untapped potential in its intellectual property and fantasy worlds," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

"Globally, it has only just begun to explore market opportunities," he added.

- 'Huge market' -

An agreement signed between Games Workshop and Amazon in 2022 aims to make films and series based on its futuristic Warhammer 40,000 universe -- its golden goose.

Both companies agreed a deadline of December 31, 2024 to finalise the "creative guidelines" for the project, with news of the agreement expected before then.

The project involves actor Henry Cavill, known for his roles in Superman and The Witcher.

Licensing revenues were boosted this year by "Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2", a video game developed by publisher Focus.

The brutal and bloody game, which plunges futuristic soldiers into a space war against aliens, has 4.5 million players, making it one of the biggest video games of the year.

Founded in 1975 by three gaming enthusiasts, Games Workshop still designs its figurines in its headquarters in Nottingham, in the centre of England.

Its subsequent expansion into pop culture spans books and over more than 50 video games including strategy games as well as racing and sports games.

A huge network of stores around the world, including 500 in its own name, and passionate in-store staff have helped fuel its success, according to analysts.

The stores "recruit new players and customers from an early age", said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"The science fiction and fantasy market is huge and Games Workshop keeps fans entertained every step of the way," she added.

Y.Gomez--SFF