The British Business Bank has allocated an additional £54.3m to funds managed by Mercia Asset Management in the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).
This takes Mercia’s total mandates from the UK Government's economic development bank to £186.3m and total assets under management to £800m.
Mercia was first awarded investment mandates from NPIF in February 2017 across two funds; the £57.5m YHTV Equity Fund and the £51m Y&H Debt Fund.
Of the new allocations, £23.7m has been allocated to the existing equity fund and £30.6m to the existing debt fund.
Mark Payton, chief executive of Mercia, said: “The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is playing an important role in helping unlock the potential of small businesses across the North of England and we are delighted to build on our successful partnership through this increased allocation across both funds.
"Now is a particularly critical time for regional SMEs and these new allocations will help us support both existing and new portfolio companies.
“These additional funds, alongside the £38.2m recently raised for our Northern VCTs, takes our total assets under managment to nearly £800m as we continue to progress towards our target of £1bn.
" It is particularly encouraging that we have made this recent progress despite the current market backdrop, which I believe reflects continuing confidence by stakeholders in Mercia’s experienced investment team and track record, including their ability to successfully source opportunities and deploy capital."
