Business
Direct investment Tozaro raises £6.0million
Mercia Asset Management PLC announced that its direct investment, Tozaro Limited, a UK biotech company, has successfully raised £6.0 million to advance the commercialisation of its Smart Polymer™ technology. Mercia led this funding round with a £1.3 million direct investment and contributions from its managed funds, resulting in Mercia holding an 11.9% fully diluted stake in Tozaro. The capital will be used to enhance the production of viral vectors for advanced cell and gene therapies, addressing current inefficiencies in manufacturing critical components for life-saving treatments. Disclaimer*
About this update from Mercia Asset Management Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\nRNS 16 February 2026\nMercia Asset Management PLC\n \n(\"Mercia\" or the \"Company\" or the \"Group\")\n \nMercia direct investment Tozaro raises £6.0million\n \nMercia Asset Management PLC (AIM: MERC), the regionally focused, private capital asset manager with c.£2.0billion of assets under management, is pleased to announce that Tozaro Limited (\"Tozaro\"), a UK-based biotech company and one of the Group's direct investments, has completed a £6.0million funding round to support the commercialisation of its Smart Polymer™ technology.\n \nThe funding round was led by Mercia through a combination of direct investment (£1.3million) and investment by its third-party managed funds, alongside participation from existing third-party co-investors. Following this funding round, Mercia holds a fully diluted 11.9% direct investment in Tozaro.\n \nThe new funding will initially enable focus on improving the production of viral vectors used in advanced cell and gene therapies (\"CGT\"). These vectors are critical components in manufacturing life-saving treatments, where current production methods face significant challenges around efficiency, scale and cost.\n \nMark Payton, Chief Executive Officer of Mercia Asset Management, commented:\n\"There are over 70 CGT products currently on the market with over 3,400 more in development* within a segment growing rapidly, valued at over $10bn today and forecast to grow to over $100bn by 2034**. Growth, however, in this exciting new generation of biological therapeutics is ...