Assets under management increase at Warwickshire-based Mercia

Published by

Nicky Godding

Mercia, the the Henley-in-Arden based regional asset manager, has reported an increase of assets under management. In its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March, released today, it reports assets under management of around £940 million, an increase on the previous year of 17.5 per cent.

Revenues increased by more than 50 per cent to £19.2 million.

Mark Payton, Chief Executive Officer of Mercia, said:

"In the year to 31 March 2021 Mercia performed strongly. Our venture capital activities - both managed funds and held directly - had their strongest year so far, our debt team completed a record number of transactions and our private equity portfolio has returned to growth.

"The Group is now strongly cash generative with adjusted operating profits supporting our progressive dividend policy. This, coupled with the robust performance of our direct investment portfolio, has taken NAV [Net Asset Value] per share to 40.0 pence and the interim and proposed final dividends for the year to 0.4 pence per share in total.

"Mercia's hybrid 'funds-first' regional investment model, combined with our local presence and excellent team, is now delivering in a sustainable manner. As is often the case, this success has been many years in the making and I would like to thank all those that have supported us as we have grown to become the leading provider of connected capital and support to thriving regional businesses. It is a great pleasure and privilege to work with all of them."

Highlights included £15.4million net invested into 19 portfolio companies, including new direct investments into Sense Biodetection and MIP Diagnostics. The sale of The Native Antigen Company in July 2020 generated total cash receipts of £5.2million and a realised gain of £1.8million; Sale of Clear Review in October 2020 generated total cash receipts of £1.0million and a realised gain of £0.5million and the sale of Oxford Genetics in March 2021.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.