Dev tax break loan firm Altara hands out £1.5m

Altara Games has provided more than £1.5 million to British developers seeking tax relief during its first six months.

The company was founded by Ella Romanos last year to provide a helping hand to studios who prove their eligibility for the games industry tax breaks.

The breaks were introduced in 2014 after seven years of campaigning by games industry trade bodies UKIE and TIGA and award financial relief to games proved to be ‘British’ in origin or concern by a BFI cultural test.

Altara offered loans beginning at £70,000, extending up and beyond £500,000.

"We started this company to provide what we believed was crucial support for UK studios to help them grow and develop new titles, and to enable them to use the tax relief to their advantage as much as possible,” said Romanos.

"I believe our approach of fast turnaround and genuinely understanding the realities of game development has helped us to ensure our loans are suited to industry needs."