VR Education Holdings plc – the holding company of the Waterford start-up Immersive VR Education – has begun trading on the London and Irish stock markets. The listing represents the first initial public offering for an Irish tech company on the Irish Stock Exchange’s Enterprise Securities Market since 2005.
Trading in the group’s ordinary shares commenced on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange and on the ESM Market of the Irish Stock Exchange. As part of the admission process, the company raised £6 million (€6.7 million) before expenses, through an oversubscribed placing of 60,000,000 new ordinary shares at a placing price of 10p – implying a market capitalisation circa £19.3 million (€21.6 million).
Founded in 2014 by husband and wife team of David and Sandra Whelan, Immersive VR Education’s Engage platform gives educators and corporate trainers the ability to create virtual and augmented reality lessons using tools provided either by the group or third parties.
David Whelan, CEO, said: “The AR/VR market is growing at a fast rate; as hardware becomes more affordable, this growth will undoubtedly gain further traction and we are at the forefront of this.
“As a VR software and technology group operating in the niche education sector, we provide students, educators and corporate trainers with a real alternative to attending brick and mortar institutes; benefits include cost-savings and course completion rates amongst others.
“Having raised £6 million and with the support of our new shareholders, our focus is now on strengthening our network of educational institutions and corporations, which already includes the likes of Oxford University and the BBC, and building our sales team to roll-out and position Engage as the go-to platform of choice for digital education and simulated training globally.
“Furthermore, we aim to strengthen our portfolio of compelling content, replicating the success of our revenue generating, award-winning experiences including Apollo 11 VR and Titanic VR, whilst also helping others to create content for their own lessons.”
Immersive VR Education previously raised €1.3 million from a number of investors, including Suir Valley Ventures, Kernel Capital Venture Funds and Enterprise Ireland.
The company employs 21 at its Waterford offices in a variety of roles including animators, artists, researchers, marketing, and developers.
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