Burford funds £4.5 billion UK housebuilder competition claim

Burford Capital has committed up to £29 million to finance a proposed UK collective action seeking as much as £4.5 billion from some of the country’s largest housebuilders over alleged exchanges of commercially sensitive information.

Consumer advocate Mark McLaren filed the claim on behalf of more than 700,000 people who bought new-build homes in Great Britain between October 2015 and June 24, 2026. The proposed defendants include Barratt Redrow, Bellway, The Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Vistry Group and Countryside Partnerships. Geradin Partners and Hausfeld are acting as co-counsel.

The proceedings allege that housebuilders exchanged information relating to prices, buyer incentives and sales activity, reducing competition and causing purchasers to pay inflated prices. Compensation is estimated at between £2.2 billion and £4.5 billion, or approximately £3,100 to £6,200 for each affected homeowner.

Burford’s commitment will fund the claim through HOCR Ltd., the special-purpose company established by McLaren to conduct the litigation. Expert economists Joseph Bell and Gunnar Niels of Oxera have been retained, alongside counsel from Monckton Chambers and Fountain Court Chambers.

The claim builds on a Competition and Markets Authority investigation into conduct between January 2022 and February 2024. The housebuilders accepted binding commitments in October 2025, including restrictions on future information sharing, compliance measures and a £100 million contribution to affordable housing. The proposed action seeks damages over a wider period beginning in October 2015 and will have to establish consumer loss independently of those regulatory commitments.

McLaren previously acted as class representative in an opt-out claim concerning new-car delivery charges that settled for almost £93 million in late 2025. His experience offers Burford an established representative for what could become one of the largest consumer competition claims brought before the tribunal.