Luminor supports board game seller Brain Games with a quarter of a million euros

Luminor Bank has granted 250,000 euros to Brain Games, a seller, distributor, and publisher of board games. The funding is intended to increase working capital to enable the company to develop and achieve its business objectives.

The company's core business is the distribution of a variety of globally popular board games in the Baltic market, including localisation and sales to wholesale and retail customers. Brain Games offers several thousand different products.

"Brain Games is a well-known and popular Latvian brand that has successfully developed in the Baltic market and does not stop there. Every year the company increases its turnover, expands its sales channels, introduces e-commerce solutions, and diversifies its product range. For this reason, Luminor Bank has supported the company's further growth, as its performance so far has been very convincing and with a clear business development strategy," says Ilze Zoltnere, Head of Luminor Corporate Banking in Latvia.

Brain Games is a family-owned company with 100% Latvian capital. In 2019, the company acquired New Media Publishing, a Lithuanian board game retailer, becoming one of the market leaders in the Baltics. The group also includes a retail business in Estonia.

"Brain Games' vision is to make board games one of the most popular hobbies among the Baltic population, so we are actively working to expand the range of games we offer and to engage customers in meaningful family or friend time. We believe that everyone can find a board game that excites them. Our observations show that during the pandemic, when entertainment options were limited, people rediscovered board games and resumed playing them with their families, something they may not have done since childhood. Following the lifting of national restrictions, we have seen a rapid growth, as games can now be played in a wider circle. In the first half of this year, our group turnover has increased by more than 70% compared to the same period last year. The funding from Luminor will allow us to offer our partners and store visitors an even wider range of quality products in all three Baltic languages," says Lana Grasmane from Brain Games.

In addition to sales, Brain Games organises game-related events for educational institutions, youth organisations, and corporate clients, and since last year has also supported winners of school olympiads and scientific research projects with prizes. Brain Games' sister company, Brain Games Publishing, works on bringing new games to global markets and is already well-known in those markets for a variety of board games, including ICECOOL, which won the board games industry's top prize in 2017 as the best board game of the year for children. From 2021, Brain Games is also a participant in the new Folded production facility, which will enable the production of quality board games and puzzles right here in Latvia.