Mercia triples turnover as it continues expansion drive across the North

The firm said it invested £5.7m in three new and six existing direct investment portfolio companies and grew turnover from £700,000 to £2.9m in the six months to September 30.

Two of the new companies Mercia directly invested are York-based Concepta, which is developing women’s health diagnostic products, and Sheffield-based sureCore, an ultra-low power memory design firm.

In addition, the firm invested £11.5m into 58 companies, including nine in Yorkshire, through its managed funds, including Finance Yorkshire.

The value of the group’s direct investment portfolio was £46.6m, up from £29.2m during the same period in 2015. Managed funds grew from about £22m to £228m.

The company is focused on growing its number of Yorkshire investments following its acquisition of Barnsley-based Enterprise Ventures in March.

Mercia chief executive Mark Payton said: “Enterprise Ventures gave us the footprint to deliver our ambition of expanding across the North and we will continue to build on what we are doing.

“Over the second half of the year I expect our portfolio to grow and for us to add new businesses, including a number from Yorkshire.”

Talking about the fallout from Brexit and the US election, Mr Payton said: “In these challenging conditions, corporates continue to turn to technology to achieve scale, cost efficiencies and productivity gains. This trend should support the ongoing development of the companies within Mercia’s portfolio.”

Mercia, which employs 60 staff in Yorkshire, Warwickshire, the Midlands, North West and Scotland, reported a post-tax profit of £1.1m compared to an £800,000 loss the previous year.