Mercia invests £1.0million into OXGENE™

Mercia invests £1.0million as part of a £3.0million syndicated investment into OXGENE™ Mercia Asset Management PLC, the proactive, regionally focused specialist asset manager, is pleased to announce that it has completed a £1.0million investment into OXGENE™ (“OXGENE™” is the trading name of Oxford Genetics Limited) as part of a £3.0million funding commitment, alongside Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. OXGENE™ combines precision

Brothers raise funds for new sales leads software

A Newcastle tech start-up whose software helps sales staff to find and close new leads has raised £400,000 to further develop its product and expand its team. Allegrow has secured funding from the North East Venture Fund (NEVF), which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia, along with investment from

Masterclass: digital delivery of new business

Following on from Matt Comber’s initial webinar on the Digital Opportunity, in the latest video he explains how to set up a digital prospecting roadmap and gain a head start in the post-COVID-19 business environment.  Propecting is the number one fundamental in B2B sales – and digital allows you to prospect at any time. You

COVID-19: Financial support and tax tips

Malcolm Holloway of EFM and Lee Humble and Alastair Wilson of MHA Tait Wilson offer some straightforward financial advice to help businesses through these tough times. Banks like businesses to be methodical – if you are seeking funding, ensure you have a plan in place. It’s not enough to show that there is still demand

COVID-19: Five business books to see you through the crisis

COVID-19: Five business books to see you through the crisis. Following his previous webinar, Patrick Dunne reflects on where we are now, how to prepare for the future and the best business books to read in the meantime. After the initial shock and disruption, managers’ focus is shifting from surviving the immediate crisis to coming

Communicating with employees in a crisis

Fears about the future combined with the sudden switch to homeworking make this a challenging time for employees and managers alike. Streisan Bevan, a former Facebook executive who is now an operations partner at Mercia, offers some tips on how to connect with and manage staff working remotely: Understand how they feel – surveys show that

£1.8m will help cyber firm lead way in maritime sector

A cybersecurity company whose platform helps to safeguard transport and infrastructure systems has raised a further £1.8m to help it expand its business in the maritime sector. CyberOwl has secured funding from 24 Haymarket, Mercia’s EIS funds, and the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia as part of

Insights for NEDs from our Chair Summit

How do you stop a founder from dominating board meetings – or persuade an underperforming CEO to step aside? How can you help a business to grow rapidly with limited funds? And how do you achieve the right balance between strategy and operations? These were just some of questions raised at Mercia’s Chair Summit, which

How to be a high-performing Director

Five habits to help Boards maximise their performance and impact The immediate focus for any non-exec is naturally a strategic view of the business, or organisation, they oversee. But it is also critical for Directors to proactively manage their own well-being and performance habits.  Why is this the case? If we consider our evolution, humans were never