Quentin Pak of Burford Capital comments on Singapore’s recent announcement that it is expanding the framework of third-party funding in the country, noting that it is a welcome sign that major hubs in Asia are opening up to the benefits of legal finance. Read more.
A long-standing legal dispute over the renationalisation of Aerolineas Argentinas has resurfaced in the United States, with a Washington DC court being asked to enforce a $325 million award issued against Argentina. The petition was filed by Titan Consortium 1 LLC, who acquired an interest in the case from Burford Capital in 2018 for $107 million. After an arbitration tribunal rendered an award in favour of the claimants in 2017, Burford decided to sell its stake in order accelerate cash recovery and be able to reinvest the capital. It reported a gain of $94.2 million on the case after investing $12.8 million into the matter.
Burford Capital has provided an update on its business performance for the six months ended June 30, 2021. The company saw $500+ million in new commitments, with a continuance in its trend towards funding larger and more complex new matters. Of its 14 new case investments, none had commitment levels under $5 million while six were $20 million or above. COVID has continued to impact the company, however, with an estimated 43% of cases incurring COVID-related delays, ranging from court date postponements to delays in the provision of discovery to slower settlement activity given the absence of a looming trial date to engender settlement. Optimistically, Burford believes that, due to how it often prices deals, ultimate returns may actually increase because of the passage of time.
Andrew Lundberg of Burford Capital reports that of the more than 400 Covid insurance cases that US trial courts have issued merit rulings on to date, approximately 85% of the cases have favoured the insurers.
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