Grant Options & PDMR Dealings

RNS Number : 4497F

Mercia Technologies PLC

28 July 2016

 

For immediate release

28 July 2016

Mercia Technologies PLC

("Mercia" or the "Company")

Grant of Options and dealings by Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibilities ("PDMRs")

Mercia Technologies PLC (AIM: MERC), a Midlands-based investment group, building, funding and commercialising technology businesses across the UK, announces that options (the "Options") over a total of 4,515,000 new Ordinary shares with a nominal value of 0.001p pence each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") were awarded yesterday pursuant to the 2014 Mercia Company Share Option Plan at an exercise price of 51.25p per Ordinary Share (being the closing mid-market price of an Ordinary Share on 26 July 2016). The Options will, subject to the satisfaction of the performance condition, vest in three equal tranches on the third, fourth and fifth anniversary of the date of grant of the Options.

The Options represent, in aggregate, 2.11% of the existing Ordinary share capital of the Company and have been issued to a number of employees of the Company, including all four Executive Directors and two further PDMRs. 

Following the grant of these Options, the PDMRs hold the following Ordinary Shares and options:

PDMR	New Options	Total number of options	Interest in existing issued Ordinary Shares
Dr. Mark Payton*	400,000	1,400,000	6,622,863
Martin Glanfield*	400,000	1,400,000	260,760
Matt Mead*	400,000	1,400,000	43,121
Jonathan Diggines*	400,000	400,000	803,571
Julian Viggars	300,000	300,000	160,714
John Simpson	200,000	200,000	241,071

*Executive Directors.

Following these grants, the Company has a total of 8,935,000 unvested options pursuant to the 2014 Mercia Company Share Option Plan, equating to approximately 4.18% of the existing issued Ordinary share capital of the Company.

For further information, please contact:

Mercia Technologies PLC Mark Payton, Chief Executive Officer Martin Glanfield, Chief Financial Officer www.merciatechnologies.com	[phone]
Cenkos Securities plc Ivonne Cantu / Mark Connelly (NOMAD)	[phone]
Buchanan Sophie McNulty, Victoria Hayns, Stephanie Watson www.buchanan.uk.com	[phone]

About Mercia Technologies PLC

Mercia is a national investment group focused on the creation, funding and scaling of innovative businesses with high growth potential from the UK regions. Mercia employs 60 people across six offices and it has one of the largest university networks in the UK with 18 university partnerships across the Midlands, the North of England and Scotland. These partnerships provide access to high quality, regional deal flow which accounts for approximately one third of Mercia's investments.

Mercia's 'Complete Capital Solution' enable it to scale businesses via its third party funds (with more than £220.0million under management) and then over time Mercia identifies its 'Emerging Stars' which it can provide further capital to using its own balance sheet.

Mercia focuses on sourcing and scaling businesses across four sectors: Digital & Digital Entertainment; Life Sciences and Bio-sciences; Software & the Internet and; Electronics, Materials & Manufacturing/Engineering. 

In a recent report (Source: Beauhurst, The Deal, 2015/16), Mercia was found to be the fifth most active investor in the UK and the fourth most active in technology.  Since its IPO in December 2014, the Company continues to seek early stage third party investment opportunities and it has directly invested over £24.0million across its portfolio of Emerging Stars. In addition to providing its direct investments with the required capital, Mercia also supports the management teams to build towards exits that will realise incremental value for Mercia shareholders over the medium term.

 

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