Mercia Asset Regulatory News (MERC)

1 April 2015

Mercia Technologies PLC

£3.5m investment in leading e-procurement platform, Science Warehouse, increases Mercia's stake

Mercia Technologies PLC (AIM: MERC, "Mercia"), a Midlands based leader in the funding and commercialisation of technology businesses in the UK, has invested a further £3.5 million in Science Warehouse Ltd ("Science Warehouse") to increase its stake from 45% to 63%.

This latest round of funding will allow the business, which already has a profitable business model with 90% recurring revenues, to further increase its growth trajectory and international expansion.

Established in 2000 as a spinout from the University of Leeds, Science Warehouse delivers a cloud-based procurement, catalogue and spend analysis platform with a highly intuitive user interface, giving the customer control of the purchasing cycle from requisition to payment. It offers a network of over 25,000 suppliers and an online catalogue of over 17 million products and services optimised for e-procurement, ranging from office and scientific supplies to catering and travel.

Its solutions include tools such as product and price comparisons, contract compliance monitoring, and benchmarking, which help organisations control their expenditure and deliver year-on-year bottom-line savings.

With an impressive range of top tier clients, including Russell Group universities across the UK and leading NHS trusts as well as a number of private sector clients, Science Warehouse has a strong platform from which to accelerate its growth.

Mark Payton, Chief Executive of Mercia Technologies PLC, said:

"Science Warehouse is a highly disruptive business with an industry leading platform. We are delighted to continue our support as it looks to expand further within the UK and to scale up for overseas growth.

"We believe there is a significant market opportunity for Science Warehouse's leading platform and this latest investment from Mercia will help to drive expansion and further build on its extensive customer base."

David Hames, Founder and Executive Chairman of Science Warehouse Ltd, said:

"Science Warehouse offers its customers a unique value proposition, combining a best-in-class SaaS solution with data management services, delivering better decision-making and substantial cost savings.

"With full supplier reach, we streamline buyer-supplier interactions and remove inefficiencies from the supply chain.

"There are exciting market opportunities for Science Warehouse both in the UK and overseas. This latest investment from Mercia recognises the considerable potential for us to expand our business in key markets and capitalise on the fast-growing interest in our solutions."

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Note to editors

Mercia Technologies PLC

Mercia creates, funds and develops technology businesses nationally with an emphasis in the Midlands and the North of the UK. It brings technology transfer, company formation, incubation, commercialisation and investment, to technology ventures.

Mercia has a well seeded portfolio and pipeline of investments. The Group has a direct investment in 12 operating companies and access to a portfolio of 39 businesses through its third party funds, managed by its wholly owned subsidiary Mercia Fund Management.

Mercia's shares started trading on AIM on 18 December 2014.

Science Warehouse Ltd

Science Warehouse is a leading provider of on-demand procurement and managed catalogue solutions that deliver purchasing efficiencies and control, spend visibility and drive savings. Science Warehouse helps organisations to achieve full procurement control by collating all of their preferred suppliers for indirect goods and services in a single, easy-to-use web-based application. Its product suite integrates seamlessly with any finance system and the managed catalogue engine at its core accelerates procure-to-pay programmes.

Continuous customer-driven product development ensures that the solution evolves in line with market needs. Science Warehouse counts some of the world's leading research and teaching organisations amongst its customers as well as businesses of all sizes in sectors as diverse as construction, life sciences and manufacturing.