Not enough Mercia's out there

10 years on the market, Mercia’s Mark Payton still has the zeal

Hello Rainmakers

We’re opening up that debate again. Are the regions starved of investment?

And what does it take to get venture or private equity funding?

We bring you a punchy, no-holds-barred, and challenging interview conducted at pace, this morning, with Dr Mark Payton, CEO of Mercia Asset Management.

We’re also mega excited about the Rainmakers conference next year, where we have come news below about the first wave of speakers we are revealing today. With more exciting news to come on Thursday.

Mark Payton is on a roll.

The chief executive and founder of Mercia Asset Management has been doing this for ten years, but it doesn’t show. 

From his office in Henley-in-Arden in leafy Warwickshire, he’s doing the rounds of investor roadshow presentations, interviews with media, and briefings to analysts, the staple diet of any leader of a listed business.

But this one is different. As a venture and private equity investor, it’s a rare beast. That it does so from the Heart of England, not London, makes it all the more unique.

“And I'm afraid today, just as it was 10 years ago, there is still a lack of other Mercia’s out there,” he says with customary zeal. 

“Very often we're the first investor. Very often we're driving the initiative. The good news is that our track record means we can attract capital to those businesses.” 

He also believes that the reason so few other venture and private equity businesses have achieved anything like the same scale is down to the hard yards in building a regional network that brings opportunities to his team to invest into.

“You've got to find those businesses. So being based in London and doing desktop research to see what happens to be in Preston or Manchester or Leeds will not get you those great deals. You have to be physically there.