Mercia Technologies PLC, the national investment group focused on the funding and scaling of innovative technology businesses with high growth potential from the UK regions, is pleased to announce that one of its third party managed funds, the RisingStars Growth Fund, has completed a further cash realisation from Blue Prism Group plc, representing to date a 55x return on the Fund’s original investment.

Blue Prism, a global leader in Robotic Process Automation, listed on AIM in March 2016 at 78.0pence per share, with a market capitalisation of £49.0million. Today, the UK-based software company is valued at in excess of £600.0million. The aggregate cash return to date for the Fund totals £49.1million which provides a 55x return on the original £900,000 invested. This excludes the potential value of the remaining 4.9% stake still held in Blue Prism by the Fund.

Blue Prism is located in one of Mercia’s core investment regions in the North West of England and received initial investment from the Fund (which is managed by Enterprise Ventures Limited, a Mercia wholly owned subsidiary). The investment is led by Julian Viggars, Head of Technology Investments at Mercia, who has been personally involved with Blue Prism since the early seed rounds in 2004.

As with many of Mercia’s managed funds, the Group will benefit from a modest profit share/carried interest. Mercia does not have a direct stake in Blue Prism as the Fund’s investment occurred prior to Mercia’s acquisition of Enterprise Ventures.

As part of this realisation, £49.5million has been returned to the Limited Partners. This includes £26.2million to the UK Government – 2.6x its original investment – managed through the British Business Bank, the UK government’s economic development bank.

Julian Viggars, Head of Technology Investments at Mercia Technologies PLC, said:

“Our support of Blue Prism illustrates the use of patient capital at its best as it was identified by our team at an early stage in 2004. Blue Prism’s market capitalisation has risen by more than 12x since listing, generating significant returns for the Fund which has retained a holding and we will remain a supportive investor as the company continues to grow its market leading position. This is an excellent example of Mercia’s Complete Capital Solution delivering significant shareholder returns through the identification of exciting technology investment opportunities with growth potential.”