Technology investor makes a bigger Impression

Technology investor Mercia Technologies has invested a further £1.5m into automotive supplier Impression Technologies.

The follow-on funding will be used to scale up the Coventry-based company’s commercial operations and support the development of its international sales.

Impression Technologies has a patented technology called Hot Form Quench (“HFQ®”) for pressing strong, lightweight aluminium components for the automotive sector. The process was initially researched at the University of Birmingham and subsequently developed and spun out of Imperial College.

Impression, which opened a new factory on the former site of the Jaguar factory in Lyons Park last October, is already supplying components to manufacturers including Aston Martin and Lotus Cars and says it is in discussions with a number of other global automotive brands.

Henley-in-Arden-based Mercia Technologies, which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market, focuses on the creation, funding and scaling of innovative technology businesses with high growth potential from the UK regions.

The investment is part of a £3m funding round with co-investor Touchstone Innovations. Mercia’s additional investment increases its ownership by eight percentage points to 26.4%.