Game defeated in court fight with EB

Game has lost the first round of its battle to sever an agreement with US counterpart Electronics Boutique that costs the British retailer more than£4 million a year.

The UK computer games specialist attempted to end its links with the US business by proposing the termination of a management services agreement.

Under the existing deal, Game pays Electronics Boutique 1 per cent of its turnover in return for information about how well particular games titles are performing in the US.

Game has argued that it is entitled to end the relationship because of a change of control at Electronics Boutique.

But last week the High Court ruled that under the terms of the agreement, the arrangement still stands.

In a statement, Game confirmed it will appeal against the decision. A spokeswoman said: 'We can't really say anything because of the appeal, but there is not likely to be an outcome until into the New Year.'

Game believes it no longer needs US market information from Electronics Boutique. The UK retailer used to trade as Electronics Boutique but changed its name to Game earlier this year.

Game has 300 stores in the UK as well as a presence in France, Spain and Sweden. It is poised to expand aggressively next year, with 70 more stores planned across all markets.

The computer games market is one of the best-performing retail sectors in the UK at present, due to the launch of new consoles and software.