Game Group to carry on trading after OpCapita steps in to buy business The Game shop on Oxford Street, London. All the company's stores closed last week but 333 will reopen under the OpCapita deal. Photograph: Sean Dempsey/PA Stricken retailer the Game Group, which went into administration last week, has been given a new lease of life by investment firm OpCapita. The firm will acquire Game's UK assets, retain its remaining 333 UK stores and safeguard more than 3,200 jobs. OpCapita has "no plans for any further store closures" the company said in a statement on Sunday, and will seek to rehire a "small number" of staff made redundant from Game's head office last week. Former Halfords Group chief executive David Hamid, now a partner at OpCapita, has been appointed chairman of Game. A chief executive is expected to be named shortly. Ian Shepherd held the role until last week, when he resigned with immediate effect after a two year battle to turn the company around. OpCapita acquired electricals retailer Comet from its owner Kesa Electricals last year for the nominal sum of £2. The financial terms of its Game acquisition have not been disclosed, although it is thought to have paid a nominal sum and taken on the company's debts. The UK operations of the video games retailer, which trades under the Game and Gamestation names, were taken over by administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers a week ago after over-expansion and competition from online gaming companies left the business unable to pay its creditors. Game owed £85m to six banks, including RBS, Barclays and HSBC. The lenders put forward an offer for the company in the hope of recovering some of the debt, but OpCapita beat them to the finishing line. The banks are thought to have rolled Game's loans into Baker Acquisitions, the company created by OpCapita to front the transaction. "This means that the Game brand will not be another one of the retail names disappearing from the high street in the current difficult climate," said PwC partner and Game Group administrator Mike Jervis. Last week, PwC stemmed further losses by closing 277 stores and making 2,104 staff redundant. Game collapsed owing £40m to suppliers, £20m to landlords and £10m in tax. Shareholders saw the value of their holdings reduced to zero. OpCapita's founder, Henry Jackson, a former investment banker, is making something of a comeback. His previous buyout venture, Merchant Equity Partners, bought MFI but failed to turn the furniture chain around. "We strongly believe there is a place on the high street for a video gaming specialist and Game is the leading brand in a £2.8bn market in the UK," said Jackson. We have assembled a strong team of experienced industry operators to implement the programme of operational change that is needed.