Mercia has seen strong fundraising performance in the run up to the year-end across tax efficient VCT/EIS products as well as notification that several other mandates are to be extended; in total >£200m incremental AuM. In addition, FY26e outturn will be “materially ahead of current market expectations” which is the result of cost efficiency. Accordingly, we upgrade our FY26e EBITDA by 12%. We leave outer year forecasts unch for the moment although see upside. We reiterate our 65p 12m TP taking into account the tangible balance sheet (against which the shares trade at a 35% discount alone) as well as the high-quality fee-related earnings BUY. We see catalysts from the Mercia 27 strategy over the coming year.
