Mercia Asset Management Share Discussion Threads

[p1nkfish] 19/8/2020 15:55

Merc management too cozy by half.

[p1nkfish] 19/8/2020 15:55

we need share peice moving developments,not BS.

[p1nkfish] 19/8/2020 15:54

Posted this stuff makes ZERO difference. All smoke.

[sev22] 19/8/2020 15:33

Latest Tweet
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[sev22] 18/8/2020 15:02

The agritech start-up using AI to boost crop yields (18th August 2020).

A start-up which aims to use cutting-edge technologies to help farmers improve crop yields has raised £250,000 from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).

The funding will allow Earth Rover to launch its first product, a ‘crop scouting’ system which predicts the size and timing of harvests. The Earth Rover system uses cameras fitted to a tractor to scan the plants and measure their growth as the vehicle passes through the fields on routine farm operations. The data is then analysed using artificial intelligence (AI) housed in a supercomputer on board the tractor.

Crop scouting is traditionally carried out by farmers walking the field. Earth Rover, which is based in Newport, Shropshire, aims to provide more accurate predictions to help them produce the right number of crops – enough to meet contracts with buyers while avoiding food waste that has to be ploughed back into the fields. It also helps farmers plan their harvesting labour requirements.

The system, which is suitable for high value crops such as broccoli and lettuce, is currently being trialled at Polybell Farm in Doncaster, one of the UK’s leading organic vegetable producers. Earth Rover will initially target growers in the UK and Spain, which has a year-round season. The company, which has been funded so far through angel investment and by a contract with the European Space Agency, is also working on robotic systems for herbicide-free weeding and harvesting.

The MEIF funding will be paid in two tranches over the next 12 months subject to commercial milestones and will allow the company to fund current trials and bring the product to market.

David Whitewood, CEO of Earth Rover, said: “Technologies such as AI and robotics have revolutionised manufacturing in recent years, yet agriculture has suffered from a lack of investment and still relies on traditional techniques. At a time when we face the challenge of feeding a growing population with limited land and labour supplies, it is time for agriculture to undergo the same transformation. At Earth Rover we aim to play a leading role in the digitisation of farming to make the industry more productive and sustainable.”

David Baker, Investment Manager at Mercia, added: “Vegetable growers routinely overplant crops due to the difficulty in predicting yields and the need to fulfil stringent contracts with supermarkets. This pushes up costs and means that much of the crop simply rots in the fields, creating additional carbon emissions. We believe Earth Rover’s system could help increase crop yields by 5 per cent and reduce costs by a similar amount. This funding will help the company to prove its value and launch into the market.”

Ryan Cartwright, Senior Manager at the British Business Bank, said: “This latest equity investment is a great example of the innovative Midlands’ businesses that the MEIF seeks to support. The funding will help Earth Rover as it begins to commercialise its technology and we’d encourage other start-ups within Shropshire and the Marches area to consider the options available through the MEIF.”

Mandy Thorn, chair of the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “This is a hugely exciting project which shows the Marches is at the cutting edge of innovation in agriculture and developing high-tech solutions which improve efficiency and sustainability. We are delighted that the MEIF has supported Earth Rover and look forward to this project going from strength to strength.”

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

[sev22] 18/8/2020 14:58

Biomass pioneer raises further funds after trials success (18th August 2020).

Nova Pangaea Technologies, the Redcar company which has found a way to use non-food biomass to make biofuels and other chemicals, has raised a further £900,000 from investors following successful trials of its technology.

The latest funding has come from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, the UK Government’s Future Fund and existing private investors, and will support the company in the run-up to a planned Series A investment later in the year.

As part of the latest investment, the company has strengthened its executive management team with the appointment of Neil Guilder as CFO, Dr Neil Hindle as CTO and Peter McGenity as CCO.

Neil Guilder has over 25 years’ experience as CFO of ambitious SMEs where he has led successful development financing and corporate growth. Dr Neil Hindle has over 20 years’ industry experience and will lead the technical development and operations of the REFNOVAÒ patented process. Peter McGenity has over 30 years’ international executive experience in renewable energy, ethanol and agri-processing and will drive the company’s commercial development.

Nova Pangaea patented REFNOVAÒ technology converts materials such as woody residues, wheat straw and sugar cane and uses them as a basis to create biofuels and other chemicals, helping to produce additional revenue for farmers and reduce dependence on fossil fuels without using land or crops suitable for food.

It completed its demonstration plant at Redcar in December 2019 and following successful trials, gained its first international customer in March this year. The latest funding round brings the total raised to £3m with a full series A funding to come later this year.

Sarah Ellerby, CEO at Nova Pangaea Technologies said: “It’s been a transformative six months for Nova Pangaea as we continue to accelerate our commercial offering and move towards a potential Series-A financing. This oversubscription of existing shareholders and support from Future Fund is a key indicator of the level of commitment from our shareholders to execute on the high-level of commercial interest in our technology. With the executive team in place, we are now in a position to execute the growth plan.”

Simon Crabtree, Investment Manager with Mercia, said: “Nova Pangaea’s technology has the potential to help break our reliance on oil and create hundreds of jobs in the years ahead. The technology has already been successfully trialled and this latest investment will allow the team to collect more data to prove its effectiveness as it looks to target the global marketplace.”

Grant Peggie, Director at the British Business Bank, said: “NPIF continues to provide vital funding to Northern businesses across the region. We are pleased to continue this support, and are proud to work in partnership the Thames Valley Combined Authority and with Mercia and our other fund managers to make a real impact on the small business community, creating jobs and supporting innovation to unlock the North’s potential.”

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

[bisiboy] 13/8/2020 11:29

woodford & invesco still showing on stockopedia with holdings do we think this is still the case?

[p1nkfish] 12/8/2020 15:31

Volume proceeds lrice.
Today now close to 3x average.

[p1nkfish] 12/8/2020 14:06

3% share register needs addressing. It looks relatively weak but that can change with results. Too much in hands < 3%.

[dennisbergkamp] 12/8/2020 13:57

As soon as one of my other punts pay off, I'll add here - this feels like a good long term play, pinks notes taken into account

D

[sev22] 12/8/2020 13:34

New games payment platform will accept real money (12th August 2020).

A company which has developed a new payment system for the games industry has secured a further £200k investment from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).

Transaction Technologies’ new platform will target the multi-billion-dollar market for in-game downloads. PlayerLands, as it is known, allows players to buy virtual goods within games and is one of the few systems that will accept payments in real money rather than cryptocurrencies.

The platform provides a secure payment system that makes it easy to buy and sell virtual products online and for developers to set up their own stores, market their goods and manage their businesses.

The latest funding round will allow the Derby-based firm to finalise and launch its platform, while creating four new jobs in Derby for developers and customer service staff.

Transaction Technologies was set up by serial entrepreneurs Alex Booth and Nick Gillett (pictured). Booth has worked as a consultant in the gaming industry while Gillett is a games industry journalist and former Guardian columnist who has successfully exited previous start-ups. Having secured an initial £200k investment from MEIF to build the platform, the entrepreneurshave now successfully integrated it with the leading payment systems and are in discussions with a number of games developers.

Nick Gillett said: “The games business, and especially the highly social world of server-based games, have been growing rapidly for years. We make it easy for developers and server owners to monetise their services, leaving them to concentrate on making the best entertainment.”;

Sandy Reid, Investment Director at Mercia, added: “Online gaming is an exciting sector that has grown significantly during the global lockdown. Transaction Technologies is filling a gap in the market for a secure and professional payment system. We are pleased to further support the business with this latest investment which will allow it to launch PlayerLands and to capitalise on the favourable market conditions.”

Lewis Stringer, Senior Manager at the British Business Bank, said: “The MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund was set up to support start-ups across the region looking to get a business idea off the ground initially and then, grow with further investment. Transaction Technologies is a good example of this, with the MEIF initially providing funding to help the firm develop its platform and now supporting a second round of funding enabling it to launch to market.”

Sajeeda Rose, CEO at D2N2 LEP, said: “Our area has a thriving creative & digital industry and I’m pleased to see continued investment by the Midlands Engine Investment Fund into innovative businesses such as Transaction Technologies which can help drive our economic recovery by creating high-skilled jobs in our region.”

Tom Gray, Partner at Knights plc, provided legal advice to the fund.

The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

[p1nkfish] 12/8/2020 09:59

I'm think a much, much better growth punt by a big margin to a boring FTSE250 tracker and not so bleeding edge as to need a PHD to understand the holdings and business model.

[p1nkfish] 12/8/2020 09:57

Depends on your time frames. Look at 2yr weekly & 5yr weekly.
1 yr daily is a different kettle of fish.

If momentum builds here it has probably turned but a consistent uptrend is not yet in place imho.

I think it is turning but TA depends on the time frames.
Already held but recently looked over portfolio again and did some digging and some are maturing and others coming along nicely so added a fair amount.

There is an old "Shares" video on YouTube that I re-watched too as a reminder.

Sci Warehouse exit was rubbish but I think better to come and diverse.

[sev22] 12/8/2020 09:09

From a technical analysis point of view the stock is now a 'strong buy' having just moved through the 100 day moving average of 20.3p.

[wan] 12/8/2020 09:08

I have the management on a 'very' short fuse!

That aside, and given the wide array of vaccines in development, with over 200 candidate vaccines in development, and 15 in clinical trials already (see article below). One of Mercia's portfolio companies, OXGENE, might be receiving increased enquiries. OXGENE's expertise in DNA design and engineering, cell line development, upstream and downstream processing, and industry-leading automation, is thus likely to have received at least some interest from vaccine developers.

OXGENE
Ryan founded Oxford Genetics in 2011 with the aim to revolutionise DNA design, optimisation and assembly to enable molecular engineering to fulfil its promise in synthetic biology and medicine. Ryan has a first class degree in Genetics and a Ph.D. from Oxford University.

He is an experienced genetic engineer with extensive knowledge and practical insight working with bacterial, botanical and mammalian recombinant expression systems.

Ryan's research interests in synthetic biology and molecular engineering include vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases and cancer. He was inspired to create Oxford Genetics after observing that inefficient DNA design and assembly often limit scientific progress.


Our discoveries and processes enable pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies unparalleled performance in developing new commercially viable drug therapies and vaccines.


Even an announcement of involvement in coronavirus vaccines would be positive for the share price (given reactions elsewhere!).

The following vaccine article provides for an excellent read -

This coronavirus vaccine would be two breakthroughs in one

By STEPHEN BURANYI

Tuesday 11 August 2020

[p1nkfish] 12/8/2020 08:24

The downtrend since Jan 2015 has been unrelenting. That is a drag on sentiment and has not been helped by management attitude to PIs.

[p1nkfish] 11/8/2020 17:45

20.5p - need to break through with a bit of oomph and then trend is set to change imho. Today was interesting.

[p1nkfish] 11/8/2020 16:47

Looked over holding periods and in next 2 years should be some exits imho or at least a few reaching some maturity.

[p1nkfish] 11/8/2020 16:47

Looked over holding periods and in next 2 years should be some exits imho or at least a few reaching some maturity.

[waterfall city] 11/8/2020 16:00

I wonder if Simon Thompson will change his mind on Mercia, a IC recommendation would move the price. Although i think proving the portfolio value via profitable exits is what will ultimately drive the price here.

[sev22] 11/8/2020 15:11

Just a reminder that we saw four Directors adding to their personal stakes in Mercia less than two weeks ago.

[p1nkfish] 11/8/2020 15:11

It's turning. Have been buying for that reason. Still have a beef with a few things but downside looks reasonable vs potential upside.

Spotlight on management. If they screw up at this point there is no hope for any of them/us.

[nocton] 11/8/2020 14:33

"I have inexplicable feeling this is going to move up soon. Soon could be weeks or a couple of months."
Nothing changed there then! This share is always 'jam tomorrow'.

[wan] 11/8/2020 14:27

I have a reasonable stake here, but waiting to see if management can actually deliver a tangible and positive effect for 'all' shareholders via material exit/s, which should result in a significant 'jump' start to a re-rating, which might have legs.