Mercia Fund Management

Mercia Fund Management is a venture capital fund manager who works in partnership with pioneering British businesses that offer proven commercial traction; providing strategic support and capital to build on their current success whilst driving future growth.

Our focus on disruptive technological advances combined with the utilisation of significant UK government tax reliefs (EIS& Seed EIS) and portfolio balancing, allows us to deliver a risk managed strategy without compromising capital growth.

MFM is the result of a successful management buyout that took place in January 2010 from WM Enterprise. WM Enterprise was established in 1982 as a venture capital provider. In 2000 Mercia Fund 1 was established as a seed fund providing support and capital to spin out projects from the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick. In 2007, Mercia Fund 1 was enlarged and its university base expanded to cover 8 universities. Also in 2007, Mercia Fund 2 was established. Mercia Fund 1 (circa £9.5m) is an evergreen fund, investing at seed level in early stage projects from its university partners. Mercia Fund 2 (circa £5m) is a private fund that invested in later stage businesses; this fund finished making new investments in January 2012. Mercia Growth Fund 1, a unique hybrid SEIS / EIS fund, was raised in 2012 reaching circa £2m in size. MFM is an FCA authorised and regulated fund manager under FSMA (FRN: 524856).

MFM has a strong contractual relationship with a number of significant Universities (including the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick). This relationship not only gives MFM early access to investment opportunities but is a source of technological expertise for due diligence, technology evaluation and development, and grant support to the portfolio where appropriate.

MFM combines senior-level experience in operational management with proven expertise in structuring and managing unquoted investments. Team members have been directly involved in financing, building and managing companies and will work extensively with the executive management team of each investee company in order to drive value creation, control risk and deliver profitable exits.

Mercia Fund Management will typically make an initial investment offer of between £50,000 and £250,000 of venture capital, but has the capacity to follow its money at subsequent investment rounds, up to an overall limit of £1 million of venture capital per company. Later rounds of financing will usually involve syndication with other venture capital investors.