British Business Bank increases Mercia’s mandate

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Mercia Asset Management PLC

("Mercia", the "Company" or the "Group")

British Business Bank increases Mercia's investment mandate by £54.3million taking Mercia's total AUM to c.£800million

Mercia Asset Management PLC (AIM: MERC), the proactive, regionally focused specialist asset manager, is pleased to announce that the British Business Bank ("BBB") has allocated an additional £54.3million to Mercia's two existing investment mandates from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund ("NPIF"). This takes Mercia's total mandates from BBB to £186.3million and the Group's total assets under management ("AUM") to c.£800million.

Mercia was first awarded investment mandates from NPIF in February 2017 across two funds; the £57.5million NPIF YHTV Equity fund and the £51.0million NPIF Y&H Debt fund. Since then, Mercia has been successfully deploying these funds to support regional businesses as part of its Complete Connected Capital business model. Of the new allocations, £23.7million has been allocated to the existing equity fund and £30.6million to the existing debt fund.

Mark Payton, Chief Executive Officer of Mercia, commented:

"The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is playing an important role in helping unlock the potential of small businesses across the North of England and we are delighted to build on our successful partnership through this increased allocation across both funds. Now is a particularly critical time for regional SMEs and these new allocations will help us support both existing and new portfolio companies.

"These additional funds, alongside the £38.2million recently raised for our Northern VCTs, takes our total AUM to nearly £800million, as we continue to progress towards our target of £1.0billion AUM. It is particularly encouraging that we have made this recent progress despite the current market backdrop, which I believe reflects continuing confidence by stakeholders in Mercia's experienced investment team and track record, including their ability to successfully source opportunities and deploy capital."

Ends

For further information, please contact:

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund 

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund ("ERDF") as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

About Mercia Asset Management PLC

Mercia is a proactive, specialist asset manager focused on supporting regional SMEs to achieve their growth aspirations. Mercia provides capital across its four asset classes of balance sheet, venture, private equity and debt capital: the Group's 'Complete Connected Capital'. The Group initially nurtures businesses via its third-party funds under management, then over time Mercia can provide further funding to the most promising companies, by deploying direct investment follow-on capital from its own balance sheet.

The Group has a strong UK regional footprint through its eight offices, 19 university partnerships and extensive personal networks, providing it with access to high-quality deal flow. Mercia currently has c.£800million of assets under management and, since its IPO in December 2014, has invested over £90million across its direct investment portfolio.

Mercia Asset Management PLC is quoted on AIM with the epic "MERC".