Mercia Fund Management, which is now known as Mercia Fund Managers or Mercia is part of Mercia Technologies PLC. It is a UK-based

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

fund manager Fund may refer to: * Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money, or other values such as effort or time, for a project, a person, a business, or any other private or public institution ** The process of soliciting and gathe ...

. The company provides venture capital to businesses focused on innovative technologies. Mercia offers investment under the

Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) was launched by the United Kingdom government on 6 April 2012 in order to encourage investors to finance startups by providing tax breaks for backing projects they may otherwise view as too risky. SEIS ...

(SEIS) and the

Enterprise Investment Scheme The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is a series of UK tax reliefs launched in 1994 in succession to the Business Expansion Scheme. It is designed to encourage investments in small unquoted companies carrying on a qualifying trade in the United Ki ...

(EIS), both investment-based tax-reliefs, operating one of the largest such combined funds in the United Kingdom. Startups in which Mercia has invested have gone on to earn awards for their innovations. Allinea Software was a 2011 Red Herring Global 100 winner and Molecular Solar earned the 2011 Lord Stafford Innovation in Development award. In April 2021, Mercia co-authored a report on UK-India Energy Opportunities with think tank Bridge India and law firm Howard Kennedy.

History

Mercia Fund Management was co-founded by Mark Payton as a venture capital fund manager in 2010, after a buyout of WM Enterprise. Based in the United Kingdom, Mercia provides venture capital primarily to start-up businesses focused on innovative technologies. These startups are usually in the very early stages of development and often have yet to earn revenue. Mercia is led by Mark Payton, its managing director. Mark is a member of the Faculty of Science Engineering and Computing Advisory Board,

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

. Mercia was initially set up to manage one of WM Enterprise's portfolios, the Mercia Fund 1, which was aimed at providing seed capital for innovative projects emanating from the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

and the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

. The Mercia Fund 1 has since expanded its portfolio to other universities. Mercia Fund Management, now an independent firm, currently collaborates with eight universities within the

West Midlands region The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists ...

of England, in addition to other unaffiliated startups, supporting technology innovations in a variety of sectors as well as a number of businesses that are not technology based. Mercia has

Financial Conduct Authority The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulation, financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The ...

authorisation. The fund is supported by shareholders including Forward Group, a private equity fund.

Funds

Mercia Fund Management distributes and manages several funds including options under the UK's

SEIS The seis is a type of Puerto Rican Jíbaro dance music closely associated with the décima. It originated in the latter half of the 17th century in the southern part of Spain. The seis is influenced by Spanish, African, and Taino cultures. The ...

and

EIS Eis or EIS may refer to: Education * Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne, in Australia * Educational Institute of Scotland, a trade union * Ekamai International School, in Bangkok, Thailand * English for Integrated Studies, a program in T ...

options. ;Mercia Growth Fund The Mercia Growth Fund was the first of Mercia's funds offered to retail investors. The Mercia Growth Fund was launched to take advantage of the

and

tax incentives, under the UK's Finance Act. The

is invested into startup businesses while the

is targeted at already established businesses looking to expand. The SEIS and EIS tax incentives provide income tax relief and removes capital gains tax, under certain conditions. The Mercia Growth Fund was invested in two separate rounds: the Mercia Growth Fund 1 was launched in 2012 and the Mercia Growth Fund 2 was launched in 2013. ;Mercia Technology Seed Fund The Mercia Technology Seed Fund invests in businesses with a viable technological concept but which may lack adequate revenue. ; Mercia Digital Fund Mercia Digital Fund (like Mercia Growth Fund 1, 2 and 3) is a 'hybrid' EIS and SEIS fund, launched in August 2014.

Startups

Mercia has invested in startups in various fields. It invested in Oxford Genetics Ltd (a UK based DNA engineering company), in Warwick Audio Technologies from

Warwick Ventures Warwick Ventures is a University technology commercialisation office of the University of Warwick, in Coventry, United Kingdom. History The company was set up as an academic department within the University of Warwick by Ederyn Williams in ...

of the

and in LM Technologies. The fund manager has also invested in Allinea Software, which was a winner in the Red Herring Global 100 and Molecular Solar, also from Warwick Ventures, which got the Lord Stafford Innovation in Development award, both in 2011. In June 2014, Abzena was the first Mercia Fund Management company to be listed on a public stock exchange.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Mercia's official website
Venture capital firms of the United Kingdom Companies based in Birmingham, West Midlands British companies established in 2010 Financial services companies established in 2010