Litigation Capital Management Limited (“LCM” or the “Company”): Interim results for the half year ended 31 December 2021

By John Freund |

Litigation Capital Management Limited (AIM:LIT), a leading international alternative asset manager of disputes financing solutions, is pleased to announce its unaudited interim results for the half year ended 31 December 2021, delivering a significant improvement on the prior year.

Operations

·US$150m Global Alternative Returns Fund (“GAR”), now fully committed and achieved within the two year mandated commitment period
·Completed US$200m first close of second Fund – Global Alternative Returns Fund II (“Fund II”) with targeted close of US$300m well progressed and expected to complete during FYH2
·Resolution of previously announced direct investment delivered strong returns with a ROIC of 261% and IRR of 199%1
·Portfolio of direct investments well progressed with three investments resolved and awaiting payment or resolution of appeals, four direct investments had final hearings and are awaiting judgment and four direct investments have or expect hearing dates scheduled before end of 2022

 KPIs

Total assets under management increased to A$343m at 31 December 2021 and A$386m by 8 March 2022
196 applications received during the period vs 266 in H121. A further 89 applications received in the two month period to 28 February 2022, demonstrates an acceleration in momentum and return to normal operating conditions
Investment commitments of A$25m during the period, down on the prior period commitment of A$67m which was skewed by a large construction portfolio investment which was consequently scaled down due to a sale and change in ownership of the funded party
Total invested capital during the period was A$31.5m vs A$39.7m in H121
Improved performance – cumulative 162% ROIC and IRR of 79% over the past 10 and a half years (inclusive of third party unless otherwise stated)

Financials

Gross profit of A$13.9m (H121: A$5.4m)
Adjusted profit before tax A$7.5m (H121: A$0.2m loss)
Statutory profit before tax of A$4.0m (H121: A$1.4m loss)
Cash of A$43.5m at 31 December 2021 (A$30.3m exclusive of third party interests)
Cash receipts from the completion of litigation investments of A$20.6m, up 94% on the prior year*
Total equity of A$94.3m*
 *exclusive of third party fund consolidation

Post period events and outlook

·Mary Gangemi, CFO, appointed to the Board bringing extensive and valuable experience
·LCM continues to build out the platform and extend both its own balance sheet commitments and fund management business.

metrics based on final AUD cashflows

Commenting on the results, Patrick Moloney, CEO of Litigation Capital Management, said:  “We have achieved great progress during the period despite disruption as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns and unprecedented restrictions in the areas we operate.

“I am pleased with the progress in our Fund Management business, which is now well established, with our first US$150m Fund now fully committed and the US$200m first close of Fund II with a final close target of US$300m by the period end. Equally, our portfolio of direct investments has performed well given the difficult external circumstances impacting our industry, with a number of ongoing investments resolved and awaiting payment, or awaiting judgment in the second half.

“As conditions normalise and with the core executive team now in place in our London office, LCM is now in a stronger position to grow both divisions, enabling us to access greater amounts of capital and facilitate the expansion of our portfolio of investments. The countercyclical nature of our industry suggests that economic and market conditions at present, represent a growing opportunity for the Company which will be realised over the long-term. We look to the second half and beyond with optimism and confidence.”

An overview of the interim results from Patrick Moloney, CEO is available to view on this link: https://bit.ly/LIT_H122_overview_video.

The accompanying results presentation is available on LCM’s website:

https://www.lcmfinance.com/shareholders/investor-presentations-results/

The Interim Financial Report is available at:

https://www.lcmfinance.com/shareholders/annual-reports-financial-reports/

Announcements

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Darrow Names Mathew Keshav Lewis As Chief Revenue Officer & US General Manager

By John Freund |

Darrow, the leading AI-powered justice intelligence platform, today announced the appointment of Mathew Keshav Lewis as its first Chief Revenue Officer and US General Manager. Lewis brings over 20 years of experience driving revenue and growth for high-profile legal and technology companies – including SaaS platform Dealpath, alternative investment platform Yieldstreet, and legal services pioneer Axiom Law – and will be responsible for helping Darrow scale as it continues an accelerated growth trajectory. 

"Mathew's arrival at Darrow opens enterprise-level deals to all plaintiff law firms, previously accessible only to a select few,” said Evyatar Ben Artzi, CEO and Co-Founder of Darrow. “His expertise from YieldStreet and Axiom empowers our partners to leverage AI, driving unprecedented growth and innovation.” 

Lewis, who will be based in Darrow’s New York headquarters, joins Darrow after serving as the first Chief Revenue Officer of Dealpath, a real estate deal management platform. He also previously held the role of Chief Revenue Officer and GM, Investments at Yieldstreet, where he drove record revenue and growth for the investment platform. 

“I’m delighted to join a team of tremendously talented individuals at Darrow, who have already disrupted the legal technology space and forged the path ahead,” said Mathew Keshav Lewis, Chief Revenue Officer & US General Manager of Darrow. “I am inspired by Darrow’s progress to date, and I look forward to working alongside Darrow’s growing team to expand the company’s footprint.”

This announcement comes at a period of rapid growth for the company, which completed its $35 million Series B funding round last year. Darrow currently works on active litigation valued over $10 billion across legal domains such as privacy, consumer protection, and antitrust. 

About Darrow: Founded in 2020, Darrow is a LegalTech company on a mission to fuel law firm growth and deliver justice for victims of class and mass action lawsuits. Darrow's AI-powered justice intelligence platform leverages generative AI and world-class legal experts and technologists to uncover egregious violations across legal domains spanning privacy and data breach, consumer protection, securities and financial fraud, environment, and employment. Darrow is based out of New York City and Tel Aviv. For more information, visit: darrow.ai

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Omni Bridgeway Releases Investment Portfolio Report for 3Q24

By John Freund |

Omni Bridgeway Limited (ASX: OBL) (Omni Bridgeway, OBL, Group) announces the key investment performance metrics for the three months ended 31 March 2024 (3Q24, Quarter) and for the financial year to date (FYTD).

Summary

  • Investment income of A$296 million FYTD; A$56 million provisionally attributable to OBL.
  • 23 full completions, 17 partial completions FYTD, with an overall multiple on invested capital (MOIC) of2.0x.
  • A$333 million of new commitments FYTD with a corresponding A$447 million in new fair value, on track to achieve our A$625 million target.
  • Pricing remains at improved levels, up 32% for the FYTD compared to FY23.
  • Strong pipeline, with agreed term sheets outstanding for an estimated A$212 million in new commitments.
  • OBL cash and receivables of A$101 million plus A$60 million in undrawn debt at 31 March 2024.
  • A$4.4 billion of possible estimated portfolio value (EPV) in completions over the next 12 months. 
  • Further simplification and enhancement of our disclosures as announced at the Annual General Meeting, comprising non-IFRS OBL-only financials and non-IFRS fair value on a portfolio basis and OBL-only basis.
  • These new disclosures and metrics, as well as a valuation framework for our existing book and platform, were presented at our investor day on 27 March 2024.

Refer to https://omnibridgeway.com/investors/investor-day.

Key metrics and developments for the Quarter

Income and completions

  • Investment income of A$296 million generated from A$193 million income recognised and A$103 million income yet to be recognised (IYTBR), with A$56 million provisionally attributable to OBL FYTD (excluding management and performance fees). 
  • During the Quarter, 11 full completions and 11 partial completions (excluding IYTBR), resulting in 23 full completions and 17 partial completions (excluding IYTBR) FYTD, and one secondary market transaction, with a FYTD overall MOIC of 2.0x.

New commitments

  • Our stated targets for FY24 include A$625 million in new commitments or equivalent value, prioritising value over volume to reflect potential for improved pricing of new commitments.
  • FYTD new commitments of A$333 million at 31 March 2024 (from matters that were newly funded, conditionally approved or had increased investment opportunities). 
  • The fair value associated with these commitments is $447million, 72% of the full year value generation target.
  • Pipeline of 37 agreed exclusive term sheets, representing approximately A$212 million in investment opportunities, which if converted into funded investments is a further 34% of our FY24 commitments target.  
  • In addition to the regular new commitments to investments in the existing funds FYTD, an additional A$11.5 million of external co-fundings were secured for these investments to manage fund concentration limits. OBL will be entitled to management fees as well as performance fees on such external co-funding.

Portfolio review

  • A$4.4 billion of EPV is assessed to possibly complete in the 12 months following the end of the quarter. This 12 month rolling EPV is based on investments which are subject to various stages of (anticipated) settlement discussions or for which an award or a judgment is expected. All or only part of these may actually complete during the 12 month period.
  • We anticipate replacing these final EPV metrics with fair value metrics by the end of this financial year.

Cash reporting and financial position

  • At 31 March 2024, the Group held A$100.7 million in cash and receivables (A$62.8 million in OBL balance sheet cash, A$2.0 million in OBL balance sheet receivables and A$35.9 million of OBL share of cash and receivables within Funds) plus access to a further A$60 million in debt.
  • In aggregate, we have approximately A$161 million to meet operational needs, interest payments, and fund investments before recognising any investment completions, secondary market sales, management and transaction fees, and associated fund performance fees.
  • Post Quarter-end and as per the date of this report, in anticipation of the expiry of the availability period of the debt facility, OBL has drawn down the A$60 million in undrawn debt and received the funds.

Investor day

The investor day presentation and Q&A which took place on 27 March 2024 can be viewed at https://omnibridgeway.com/investors/investor-day.

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Carpentum Capital Launches Aurigon Litigation Risk Consulting (LRC)

By John Freund |

The team around former Carpentum Capital has launched AURIGON LITIGATION RISK CONSULTING (LRC), a litigation funding intermediary based in Switzerland with a special focus on Latin America. 

Founder and Managing Director Dr. Detlef A. Huber comments: ”AURIGON LRC is combining two worlds, litigation finance and insurance. Both areas are increasingly overlapping. Insurers offer ever more litigation risk transfer products and funders recur to insurance to hedge their risks. Hence complexity and advisory requirements are increasing, especially in still developing markets like Latin America. With our team of lawyers and former re/insurance executives trained in Latin America, the US, UK and Europe we are perfectly suited to advice our clients in any stage of the funding process or in related insurance matters. Our goal is to become the preferred partner for litigation and arbitration funding projects out of Latin American jurisdictions and I am looking forward to this new adventure.”

ABOUT AURIGON

AURIGON Advisors Ltd. is operating as re/insurance consultancy since 2011 with a special focus on dispute resolution and auditing. With AURIGON LRC an intermediary for litigation funding has been launched servicing our clients out of Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Switzerland in Spanish, English, Portuguese and German. With our experience setting up the first Swiss litigation fund dedicated to Latin America (founded 2018), and in the insurance advisory area (since 2011), we are bringing together knowledge of processes and mindsets of the funding and the insurance world. 

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