Mercia Asset Share News (MERC)

(Sharecast News) - Mercia Asset Management announced an expanded role in bolstering regional business growth on Thursday, with the acquisition of two new fund mandates from the British Business Bank (BBB).

The AIM-traded firm said that under the 'Nations and Regions Investments' Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II initiative (NPIF II), it would manage a total of £153m in funds.

It said the first mandate, NPIF II - Equity YH LP, amounts to £100m designated for investments in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Managed by Mercia Regional Ventures, the fund aimed to stimulate equity investment in regional businesses.

The second mandate, NPIF II - Debt YH LP, worth £53m, would be focussed on providing lending support to businesses in the same region and would be managed by Mercia Business Loans.

Mercia noted that the additions followed Mercia's success in securing £207m in new BBB fund mandates in February, further consolidating its role in regional investment initiatives.

Mercia's team primarily based in Sheffield, Leeds, and Hull would handle the management and deployment of the funds, leveraging its existing infrastructure and regional presence.

In total, the five new BBB mandate awards represent a combined £360m in new funds under management for Mercia.

The company said it expected incremental annual revenues of about £4m from the mandates, factoring in revenue reductions as existing BBB mandates entered their five-year realisation phase.

"We recognise and thank the British Business Bank for the trust placed in all of us at Mercia," said chief executive officer Dr Mark Payton.

"This is a further strong vote of confidence in our investment track-record, which is built on our ability to successfully deploy the capital that is really needed to support exciting growth companies through our established regional footprints and networks.

"The combined £360m of new fund mandate awards is anticipated to result in £4m of net incremental revenue in our next financial year, supporting our naturally evolving strategic focus of growing our profitable third party fund management operations."

At 1418 GMT, shares in Mercia Asset Management were flat at 32.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.