Mercia Asset Regulatory News (MERC)

Mercia Asset Management PLC

("Mercia")

nDreams makes continuing commercial progress

Mercia Asset Management PLC (AIM: MERC), the proactive, regionally focused specialist asset manager, is pleased to announce that its direct portfolio company nDreams Limited ("nDreams") has signed a contract with a leading global games publisher, to develop content for the rapidly expanding location-based entertainment ("LBE") virtual reality ("VR") market.

This latest contract win follows the announcement in November 2019 of a major VR contract award with a leading global company, and further underscores Mercia's confidence in nDreams as it continues to consolidate its position at the forefront of global VR game development and publishing.

The global LBE VR market is poised to grow by $1.5billion during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of nearly 36% during the forecast period, and predicted to make up c.11% of the VR industry1.

Mercia currently holds a 36.4% fully diluted stake in nDreams.

Patrick O'Luanaigh, CEO and founder of nDreams, said: "We're delighted with this new contract. This, along with the contracts we signed last year and winning the Game Critics Award at E3, demonstrates the confidence that the major players are showing in nDreams as one of the highest quality VR studios in the world. We're also increasingly excited about the growth of the VR market; we're on track to double last year's revenue this financial year. Furthermore, with headsets like the Oculus Quest and Valve Index sold out for months ahead and multiple VR games now selling over 1million copies each, the VR market is growing extremely well."

Julian Viggars, Chief Investment Officer of Mercia Asset Management PLC, said: "Alongside the growing home market, we are now seeing growth within the LBE VR market, with many new VR games and experiences appearing in arcades and shopping centres around the world. nDreams has once again demonstrated the leadership team's ability to identify new opportunities, including joint solutions to drive growth, but importantly deliver both the requisite high-quality content and fully immersive consumer experience."

Ends

For further information, please contact:

About Mercia Asset Management PLC

Mercia is a proactive, specialist asset manager focused on supporting regional SMEs to achieve their growth aspirations. Mercia provides capital across its four asset classes of balance sheet, venture, private equity and debt capital; the Group's 'Complete Capital Solution'. The Group initially nurtures businesses via its third-party funds under management, then over time Mercia can provide further funding to the most promising companies, by deploying direct investment follow-on capital from its own balance sheet.

The Group has a strong UK regional footprint through its eight offices, 19 university partnerships and extensive personal networks, providing it with access to high-quality deal flow. Mercia currently has c.£775million of assets under management and, since its IPO in December 2014, has invested over £90million across its direct investment portfolio.

Mercia Asset Management PLC is quoted on AIM with the epic "MERC".