Virgin Play has moved into Portugal with the opening of a new Lisbon office designed to provide a more specialised service to the region.

The publishing and distribution outfit says the move is part of its overall strategy for international expansion, coming alongside its recent announcement that it will be moving back onto UK soil after an eight-year absence.

“We want to be able to grow as a third party Portugal distributor and offer better services to our affiliates, as well as publishing our own projects and licenses,” Francisco Encinas, managing director and board member of Virgin Play told MCV.

“Portugal is also an important part of the Iberian Peninsula and we believe that this deserves more attention.”

Currently the Lisbon operation employs four members of staff handling sales and marketing, supported by Virgin Play España in administration, finance, PR and logistics.

“We have just opened our doors, but have already struck deals with the major Portuguese accounts,” continued Encinas. “This means that we are able to satisfy all of the territory’s needs for our third party goods. On top of this, the new Portuguese office will  also be in charge of establishing our name in Portugal as a distributor and editor and will eventually become a leading company in the industry.”