Mercia Fund Managers has been awarded the 拢27 million Venture Fund to support businesses across the North East region.
The fund makes up part of the 拢120m North East Fund, which is supported by The European Regional Development Fund.
The Venture Fund will be investing in rounds up to 拢1m, with additional funding potentially coming from Mercia鈥檚 other funds, and will be targeted at businesses at any stage of their development with a particular focus on innovative businesses.
Mercia will be opening a new office in Newcastle 鈥� its ninth office in the UK 鈥� and the fund will be available to SMEs across Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.
Mercia is already active in the North East region with recent investments including Newcastle-based digital VR specialists Luminous Group聽and AI software sales company Refract.
鈥淭he North East has much to offer and we are thrilled to have been awarded this latest fund, which will be an invaluable source of funding for the development of innovative businesses,鈥� Mercia CEO Dr Mark Payton said.
鈥淭he investment team will be led by Ian Wilson, an experienced fund manager and existing Mercia employee who has strong links within the region.
鈥淎ddressing the imbalance of available capital in the UK regions is a key strategic focus for Mercia and with a strong track record of supporting businesses with high growth potential, we look forward to sourcing and scaling the next generation of emerging stars and working with the North East Fund and other partners from the region.鈥�
This follows a succession of contract wins for Mercia amounting to in excess of 拢200m, which includes the recent award of a 拢23m Proof-of-Concept and Early Stage Equity Fund, part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, 拢108m of the British 老九品茶 Bank鈥檚 Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, the first closing of EV Growth II with initial commitments totalling 拢45.1m and 拢11.8m in Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) capital.
Andrew Mitchell, chief executive of The North East Fund Limited, said: 鈥淢ercia is one of the leading early-stage investors in the UK.
鈥淭hey have a breadth and depth of expertise which will make a real difference to the venture capital sector in the North East.
鈥淲e are delighted to welcome them to the region.鈥�
The chief investment officer of tech investment group Mercia Technologies聽recently decided to step down.