Mercia Asset Management : Completion of Acquisition

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS RESTRICTED AND IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

23 December 2019

Mercia Asset Management PLC

('Mercia' or the 'Company')

Completion of Acquisition

Mercia Asset Management PLC (AIM: MERC), the proactive, regionally focused specialist asset manager, is pleased to announce that, further to the announcements made on 3 December 2019 and 20 December 2019, it has today completed the Acquisition of the venture capital trust ('VCT') fund management business of NVM Private Equity LLP.

It is therefore expected that admission will become effective in respect of the 16,800,000 Initial Consideration Shares at 8.00 a.m. on 27 December 2019 and as a result, the issued share capital of the Company will increase to 440,109,707 Ordinary Shares. The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in treasury.

The above figure may be used by Shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

The definitions referenced in this announcement remain with the same as those from the announcement published at 7.01 a.m. (UK) on 3 December 2019, unless otherwise stated.

Commenting on completion of the Acquisition, Dr Mark Payton, Chief Executive Officer of Mercia Asset Management PLC, said:

'I'd like to welcome all of our new shareholders and the VCT investment team to Mercia. We also look forward to serving all shareholders of the three NVM VCTs and thank their respective boards of directors for placing their faith in us.

Less than six months ago Mercia's free float was c.23%. Today it is c.69%. This is just one of the many positive outcomes arising from the Placing and Acquisition and we look forward to updating all Mercia shareholders as our newly enlarged Group progresses.'

For further information, please contact:

Mercia Asset Management PLC	[phone]
Mark Payton, Chief Executive Officer
Martin Glanfield, Chief Financial Officer
www.mercia.co.uk
Canaccord Genuity Limited (NOMAD, Joint Bookrunner and Joint Broker)	[phone]
Simon Bridges, David Tyrrell, Richard Andrews
N+1 Singer (Joint Bookrunner and Joint Broker)
Harry Gooden, Peter Steel, James Moat	[phone]
Buchanan Communications	[phone]
Chris Lane, Vicky Hayns, Stephanie Watson
www.buchanan.uk.com

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 has c.£500million 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'.