Alpina invests in VR business Virtalis

Financial details of the transaction remain undisclosed, though Alpina typically invests €7.5-15m per deal, which can increase to a total of €30m including co-investment.

Under its new ownership model, Virtalis will undertake an international expansion strategy.

Following the deal, the company's founders David Cockburn-Price and Andrew Connell will retain a stake in the business and continue in their director roles. Virtalis has also appointed as its senior software sales executive Christian von Stengel, formerly Oracle's head of software-as-a-service, application strategy and sales.

Alpina is currently investing from its 2013-vintage Alpina Partners Fund, which held its final close on €140m in February 2016 and has a lifespan of up to 12 years. The vehicle recently acquired Munich-based software developer Gefasoft.

Debt
Santander's growth capital team provided debt facilities to support the transaction.

Company
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Sale, Cheshire, Virtalis is a developer of virtual reality software and hardware. Its software products include Visionary Render, VR4CAD and GeoVisionary, while the business also manufactures ActiveWorks display systems.

Virtalis has additional offices in the US, Germany, Finland and Malaysia. Its products are used in marketing, education, manufacturing, training and maintenance.

People
Virtalis – David Cockburn-Price (founder, managing director); Andrew Connell (founder, technical director).

Advisers
Company – LGB Corporate Finance, Angus Grierson (corporate finance); BBS Law (legal).
Equity – MJ Hudson (legal); AC Christes & Partner (financial due diligence); Smith & Williamson (tax).

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