Mercia Asset Management Share Discussion Threads

[p1nkfish] 20/1/2019 10:29

I hold some. It's sad. Would love to see it perk up.
Just not convinced the current crew can deliver for shareholders.
Where's the proof?
They've had quite a while.

[p1nkfish] 20/1/2019 10:27

Wan, just be careful not to take any positive projections as future fact. It's a very tricky market sector, masses of players including L&G, Samsung and lots of others. Each think they will upset the apple cart. Very few will. Picking the winners is hard.

I'm not yet convinced Mercia management have "it".
Finding good stories is really easy.
Monetizing is a whole different ball game and so far Sci Warehouse has been it and a relative dud.

The idea of Mercia is great. Execution?
Proof is in the exit multiple, initial capital invested and holding period - the CAGR.

The share price languishes for good reason.
There is also the point about repricing options.
Anyone researching Mercia deeply can be put off quite quickly by what they did and still no near term sign they will get the share price to move.

[wan] 20/1/2019 09:16

Pinkfish...I accept competition exists, as it does for virtually all businesses, albeit I also accept that for a start-up/new technology offering, it's worth keeping an eye on the 'emerging' competition.

Faradion is only one company within Mercia's portfolio, but it is also termed as one of their emerging stars (there must be good reason for that!).

I note Faradion's industrial partner, Haldor Topsoe, is stating that through their partnership with Faradion, commercial scale production of sodium-ion cathode materials materials will begin next year, and pilot-scale batch sizes are available now. Interestingly, this sits alongside their cabolt-free cathode material for use in next-generation lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, which will also be production ready next year. This would imply, on the face of it at least, that the two technologies do not compete in the same way, and/or address different market segments?

Sodium-ion (Na-ion)
Through our partnership with Faradion, we are able to provide long-life sodium-ion cathode materials that feature a high energy density.

Commercial scale production of these materials will begin 2020, but we are already able to support customers with pilot-scale batch sizes.

Faradion is currently leading the field in sodium-ion battery technology, which is inherently more cost-effective than comparable lithium-ion technologies. Faradion’s sodium-ion technology provides an effective drop-in replacement solution for lead-acid batteries.



Collectively, Mercia owns over 50% of Faradion and the carrying value is £1.3m -

Faradion is pioneering the next generation of advanced, low-cost battery materials. These novel materials employ sodium-ion(Na-ion) technology which, when incorporated into batteries, will be virtually indistinguishable from the leading products currently on the market in terms of performance. They will, however, be available at a fraction of the cost.

In addition to the significant cost reduction, these next-generation materials will also be manufactured using more sustainable materials, since sodium is far more abundant than lithium and its salts are easier to obtain.

By bringing low cost, state of the art Na-ion technology to the market, the Faradion team are accelerating the introduction of emerging technologies such as stationary storage(on and off grid) and electric vehicles -

[p1nkfish] 07/1/2019 21:21

From the BusinessDesk today. When they use headcount increase as a measure of growth it's to take attention off the share price having languished. Usually not a good sign.

"Mercia invested £13.3m in Midlands businesses in 2018, up from £11.3m the previous year, which it said highlighting its role as one of the UK’s most active investors and a key source of funding for regional SMEs.

Mercia made investments in 22 companies in the region during the year, including Sigmavision of Bicester which has created a novel tyre scanner; Coventry-based Arc Vehicle, which has developed a new electric motorbike; Birmingham-based battery technology firm Aceleron, and Adapttech which has found a new way to fit artificial limbs.

Mercia, which is based in Henley-in-Arden, manages funds including the £23m proof-of-concept and early stage equity fund, part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund.

During the year, the group invested £59.7m in total throughout the UK, with over 90% of it going to businesses outside of London and the South East. It also increased its third party funds under management from £350.0m to over £400.0m at 31 December.

Growing by around 30% a year, Mercia now has over 80 employees in eight locations nationwide and partnerships with 19 regional universities including Birmingham, Aston, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, Coventry, Leicester, Keele, Warwick and Birmingham City University. According to recent reports from Beauhurst, Mercia is one of the top four investors in university spinout businesses and one of the UK’s top four most active venture capitalists specifically focused on innovation.

Mark Payton, chief executive of Mercia Technologies, said:
“Regional cities such as Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and Edinburgh are increasingly important technology hubs, however venture capital remains heavily focused on London. Mercia has offices in all of these locations and as these latest figures show, it is addressing this shortfall by sourcing and backing exceptional businesses across the UK’s regions. Building on a successful 2018, I expect Mercia to continue to scale its activities into 2019.”"

[p1nkfish] 07/1/2019 18:56

Not convinced they can extract value here. Just waiting for the next repricing of options, lower. The market is not convinced.

[p1nkfish] 23/12/2018 15:32

Worth a read on some of the competition to Faradion and serious money heading into research.

[p1nkfish] 18/12/2018 09:01

I hope so wan but there's a great deal of competition in new battery chem, electrode etc. Backing the winner is no small feat.

US, China, Korea are heavily involved before even considering the likes of JM and small Oxis in the UK & yet to see the outcome of Dysons Sakit3.

I wouldn't be starting a new battery tech company personally or putting money into one. Just my 2c.

[wan] 18/12/2018 08:24

As per my post back in April, Faradion is only one company within Mercia's stable, but I have a hunch that Faradion will prove to be an excellent investment.

[redartbmud] 18/12/2018 08:03

At the rate they are going, executive share options will be priced at Zero plus free packets of breakfast cereal for life. Execs fill your boots, then watch the share price decline.

[p1nkfish] 18/12/2018 07:27

If it takes a long time I hope they don't reprice options again or do an exit at Sci Warehouse type of multiples.

[p1nkfish] 18/12/2018 07:25

Grow is doing all the right things. Merc are just plodding. Needs a catalyst to gain interest.

[spectoacc] 18/12/2018 06:56

Shares outperforming the market ;)

[turbocharge] 17/12/2018 20:24

Not much interest on this BB,,,

[turbocharge] 07/12/2018 15:57

I thought I'd top up!

[spectoacc] 07/12/2018 15:03

IC still say cheap (c.40p NAV forecast) but wasn't a full-on tip.

[turbocharge] 07/12/2018 14:50

Some buying action, not sure what's prompted it

[turbocharge] 03/12/2018 10:43

Might as well post the results:

Mercia Technologies profit grows 35% as management fees boost revenue

Technology company investor Mercia Technologies booked a 35% rise in first-half profit after it collected more performance fees and cut expenses.

Net profit for the six months through September grew to £1.9m, as revenue increased 8.7% to £5.3m.

Net assets per share rose to 41.3p, up from 41.1p on-year.

'The commercial progress being made across the portfolio is accelerating, 'chief executive Mark Payton said.

'With Mercia's increasing scale, we are now seeing a greater number of attractive investment opportunities for our managed funds, which bodes well for the future direct investment pipeline as we seek to build a sustainable investment model.'

'We therefore remain confident in our ability to deliver strong returns for shareholders and fund investors alike over the medium term.'

[cheshire man] 03/12/2018 10:34

Double post

[cheshire man] 03/12/2018 10:34

Same here Wan and looking to the long term I'm happy to hold onto this one

[wan] 03/12/2018 08:20

From my viewpoint, there is not much to dislike in the Results. And the potential from the portfolio of direct investments appears weighted to, at the very least, further solid progress.

[p1nkfish] 29/10/2018 20:06

Haven't tracked down a revenue figure yet but it does look a good one.
Rev was $3m on crunchbase but can't see the date for the figure.

[turbocharge] 29/10/2018 16:24

Mercia Technologies makes £2m direct investment in W2 Global Data Solutions

Technology business investor Mercia Technologies said it had made a new £2.0m direct investment into identity verification service provider W2 Global Data Solutions.

The investment was part of a £3.0m funding round alongside the Development Bank of Wales.

Mercia said it now had a direct equity holding of 17.4% in W2 following on from initial funding rounds by Mercia's third-party managed funds.

Founded in 2011 by chief executive Warren Russell, W2 had consistently achieved over 100% year-on-year revenue growth and now employed 42 people, Mercia said.

[weatherman] 29/10/2018 08:24

Looks like a potentially good investment, growing 100% y-o-y apparently, but not much detail.

[p1nkfish] 22/10/2018 10:26

Agreed wan. The annoyance is the float price, with options. As soon as a company reprices options lower it screams they have reduced ambitions.

If IPO WANT to mop-up MERC would be a decent target.

[wan] 22/10/2018 10:09

P1nk...I cannot disagree with your criticisms, but they are based a short term view. However, I too would be willing to accept a takeover if the mediocre performance continued (which arguably should narrow the significant discount), but it might only take one decent exit, or a particularly high profile fund raise in a portfolio company to change the performance and importantly sentiment.