SPECIALIST asset manager Mercia Asset Management has invested £26m to date across Scotland’s regions and is looking to increase this investment activity into 2023.
Headquartered in the Midlands, Mercia is keen to add to the strong, diverse portfolio it has built in Scotland.
Recent key investments include £1.3m in Edinburgh online brand protection specialist SnapDragon, £2.8m in Edinburgh University spinout, Motherwell health tech Invizius, and £4m in Dundee independent insurtech Broker Insights.
Mercia also has strong links with universities throughout Scotland, backing successful spin-outs including Dxcover, from University of Strathclyde, whose platform enables early detection of cancer.
Last week Dxcover announced a successful funding round led by existing investors including Mercia, which raised a total of £9.7m through Series A investment and grant funding.
Co-founder and CEO Dr Mark Payton says Scotland has particular strengths in key hubs such as Health Tech, Digital and Software, Gaming, Clean Tech and Life Sciences, with new and developing businesses across Glasgow, Edinburgh and the central belt, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness.
Ambitious Scottish entrepreneurs, with support from investment firms such as Mercia, are creating new jobs and providing local supply chains and indeed their local economies with a timely boost to counter the negative effects of the cost of living crisis and high inflation.
Dr Payton commented: “With circa £1.4bn in assets under management today, grown from circa £30m since 2014, we are a high-growth business ourselves and appreciate the needs of others as they seek to fulfil their own growth aspirations.
“We invest for the long term providing hands on support alongside the right form of capital at the right time.
“This allows us to see past the immediate economic headwinds, as we seek to back innovative solutions for today’s challenges.
“We benefit from extensive pools of capital, over 500 portfolio companies and an extensive pool of expertise internally.”
Dr Payton co-founded Mercia with the intent of addressing the regional investment and talent gaps across the UK.
He added: “We are not a company that invests funds lightly. We take a long-term view as we back businesses that are, or have the potential to be, leading lights within the sectors they operate.
“We are very much open to business and if you are a start-up looking for the first investment, a high-growth business looking for scale-up capital or a profitable business looking for private equity or debt finance – please get in touch.”
