The Yorkshire designer behind a new luxury bedding brand has raised £100,000 from NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, to help expand her business. Sophie Platts’ company Floks specialises in sustainable bedding including duvets, pillows and mattress toppers, all made from British
Secure Empty Property (SEP) – a Lancashire-based business that provides specialist security services to landlords and site owners – has been acquired by The Clearway Group for an undisclosed sum. The sale provides an exit for Mercia Ventures and its client fund, the North West Fund for Venture Capital, which backed SEP at its inception
Netacea, the Manchester-based cybersecurity business, has secured a further £4.4m investment from Mercia Asset Management PLC to support its continued growth. The funding comes from PLC’s own cash, and several of its funds under management including Northern VCTs and NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF). Mercia
Cyacomb, a digital forensics company whose technology can detect and block harmful online content, has raised a further £3.8m from Scottish National Investment Bank, Mercia Ventures, Scottish Enterprise, Par Equity and the MacLeod Trust. The Edinburgh-based firm has developed safeguarding software that is used by law enforcement agencies around the world and is 100 times
A Sheffield IoT start-up that helps manufacturers to maximise productivity and reduce energy use has raised £1.8m from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, Mercia’s EIS funds and private investors. The funding will enable FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics to further enhance its machine
A Bristol estate agent has hit the acquisition trail with the backing of Mercia’s SME Loans fund. Bristol Property Centre Estate Agents, which is situated in the Redland area of the city, has acquired Temple Homes Property in nearby Montpelier in a deal that will almost double the size of its managed property portfolio. The
An ecommerce platform that enables companies to set up an online store in a fraction of the time it takes to build a traditional website has raised over £1.5m to help establish it as a leader in the business-to-business market. Shopblocks has raised funding from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia
Laverock Therapeutics, established in 2021 to commercialise the gene editing induced gene silencing (GEiGS®) platform for all human therapeutic applications, has raised £13.5m in a funding round backed by Mercia Ventures. This investment – which was led by Calculus Capital and also included Eli Lilly and Company, Maven Capital Partners, Eos, UK Innovation & Science Seed
Mercia Asset Management is pleased to announce the appointment of Jocelyne (Jo) Bath as Chief Operating Officer. Jo’s impressive career trajectory includes transformative roles at OXGENE, where she transitioned from COO to Managing Director following its acquisition by WuXi AppTec. Her pivotal tenure at Orange Business Services early in her career is also noteworthy –
Mercia’s Northern Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) have launched a new share offer of up to £60m to enable them to pursue new investment opportunities while providing scale-up funding for existing portfolio companies. The fundraise – which consists of a £42m share offer divided equally between the three VCTs, with an £18m over-allotment option – builds