About

Alex recently joined Mercia in 2022 and is an Investment Manager in Mercia’s PE funds where he is responsible for originating and transacting new investments into high-growth SMEs across the UK. He is based in the Manchester office.

Previous experience

Previously, Alex was a Manager in Grant Thornton’s M&A Corporate Finance team in Manchester, where he worked on a number of mid-market private equity, corporate and debt advisory transactions. He has experience across a number of sectors.

Alex is a Chartered Accountant, starting his career in Grant Thornton’s Audit team in the East Midlands.

He also has a BSc (Hons) in Financial Mathematics from the University of Nottingham.

About

Alex joined the Group in 2021 and is Investment Manager for the North East Venture Fund. He is focused on early-stage and technology investments and covers Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.

Previous experience

Alex is a Chartered Accountant (ACA) qualifying with Deloite and EY, working in their audit and advisory teams in Newcastle. Following this he moved to RG to work within corporate finance, advising on a wide range of transactions, including buy-side, sell-side, MBOs and Strategic Reviews, across a wide range of businesses in a variety of sectors. He has a range of experience, working with owner-managed businesses to large listed businesses, across the North, UK and internationally.

About

Jonny joined Mercia in 2021 and is responsible for sourcing, transacting, and managing investments across the UK within Mercia’s Direct Investment portfolio.

Previous experience

Jonny joined Mercia from Ardenton Capital, where he spent four years transacting new investments and providing portfolio support. Prior to this he spent three years within Grant Thornton’s Transaction Services team advising clients on acquisitions, re-financings, and IPOs. Jonny qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2015 and holds a degree in Law and Accounting from The University of Leeds.

About

Connie joined Mercia in 2021 as an Investment Analyst in our Yorkshire based equity team. She is primarily focused on sourcing and delivering deals for early and growth-stage businesses across Yorkshire, the Humber and Tees Valley for the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

Previous experience

Connie graduated from the University of Leeds in 2021 with a First Class Honours Degree in Mathematics.

About

Emma joined the Group in 2021 as a Fund Administrator for the North East Venture Fund (“NEVF”) and is based in the Newcastle office. She supports the Investment Team with deal preparation and completion, the maintenance of records, and the development, coordination and production of both external and internal reports.

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Previous experience

Emma completed a BSc in Mathematics at Newcastle University and prior to joiningMercia, worked in financial administration and customer service roles in the fields of tax advice and investments

 

 

 

About

Emily joined the Group in 2021 as Fund Administrator, working within the NPIF – Mercia Equity Team. She supports the Investment Team with deal preparation and completion, the maintenance of records and the production of both internal and external reports. Emily is based at Mercia’s Leeds office.

Previous experience

Emily graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2017 with a BA (Hons) degree in History. Prior to joining Mercia, Emily has gained experience in the finance sector, particularly working with SMEs. Emily began her first role in 2017 working with a Community Development Finance Institution (“CDFI”) in Cumbria as a business administrator, and went on to join a Bradford-based CDFI as a fund administrator in 2019.

 

 

 

About

Rob is an Investment Manager for Mercia’s EIS Fund with a focus on investing in early and growth-stage technology companies. Based in the North, Rob’s role includes portfolio support, deal origination and execution.

Previous experience

Prior to joining Mercia, Rob worked at Rickitt Mitchell, a Manchester based corporate finance firm which assists small and medium-sized businesses with acquisitions, raising investment, and sell-side transactions. Rob holds a BSc (Hons) in Maths and Physics from Durham University. Following university, Rob qualified as a certified chartered accountant (ACCA) with AlixPartners, where he worked within the Restructuring and Debt Advisory teams.

 

 

 

About

Kiran joined Mercia in 2021 as an Investment Manager within the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), focussing on investing into proof of concept and early-stage companies.

Previous experience

Before joining Mercia, Kiran spent the last three years at the Housing Growth Partnership, making equity investment alongside Midlands based start-ups and SMEs in the Real Estate sector. Kiran has also worked in Lloyds Bank’s Corporate Banking team, providing debt solutions to pan-sector commercial clients, prior to which he graduated with a degree in Business and Management and an MBA.

 

 

 

About

Joe joined Mercia in 2020 as an Investment Analyst in our Yorkshire based equity team. He is primarily focused on sourcing and delivering deals for early and growth-stage businesses across Yorkshire, the Humber and Tees Valley for the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

Previous experience

Joe graduated from Durham University with first-class honours in Economics and completed an internship with AJ Bell’s investment team.

 

About

Dan Joined Mercia in September 2020 as an Associate and is now an Investment Manager with a focus of investing in growing SMEs based in Yorkshire, Humber and Tees Valley for the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. Dan is involved in origination, evaluation and execution of new deals as well as supporting the current portfolio.

Previous experience

Prior to joining Mercia, Dan obtained a first-class undergraduate degree in Business Studies from the University of Liverpool which included a year working with Redmayne Bentley. Following university, Dan qualified as an ACA chartered accountant with RSM where he worked within the Business Advisory and Transaction Services teams.