Mills & Reeve advise on £3.1m syndicated investment

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, has invested £1.9million as part of a £3.1million syndicated round into University of Warwick spinout, Warwick Audio Technologies. 

Warwick Audio Technologies is a UK-based technology company specialising in the development of High Precision Electrostatic Laminate (HPEL) audio transducers for original equipment manufacturers. The company’s patented technology enables brand customers to create outstanding products, offering true Hi Resolution Audio reproduction while facilitating innovative design. 

HPEL transducers have performed well over the last 18 months, with Warwick Audio’s HPEL technology, a high-end headphone system called the Sonoma Model One, receiving positive reviews from both audiophile reviewers and leading figures in the professional recording industry. 

Mercia first began supporting Warwick Audio through its third party managed funds, before the spin out became a direct investment “Emerging Star” in December 2014. So far Warwick Audio has received £4.3 million of direct investment from Mercia. 

This new injection of funding will be directed towards continued product development of the Sonoma Model One and will also enable Warwick Audio to expand its reach into the automotive sector. 

The venture capital team at Mills & Reeve has been advising the Mercia Group for over a decade on its portfolio investments, fund creation and structuring work. 

Zickie Lim, partner and head of Mills & Reeve’s venture capital team, said: “Mercia has a strong reputation for investing in ground-breaking technologies and this investment is no different. We’ve worked closely with the group over the past ten years and this new investment in Warwick Audio continues their strategy of helping some of the most exciting companies achieve real success and build solid foundations to deliver value to shareholders and fantastic products to market.”