Given the granular complexities comprising construction blueprints, some firms organize their profit centers by navigating the margins of enterprise construction mismanagement. Construction claim conversion is currently undervalued, according to a…
Augusta Ventures, a specialist asset manager focussed on the litigation and disputes funding sector, has appointed SYZ Capital’s current Uncorrelated Strategies lead – Gian Kull – as its new Chief Investment Officer. The move follows Augusta’s closure of its third pool of funding in June 2021 which brought the firm’s AuM to £585m. This enabled the firm to continue to fund an unprecedented pipeline of opportunities in high value litigation and dispute scenarios.
In this episode, we sat down with Robert Hanna, co-founder of Augusta Ventures, the largest litigation funder in the UK by case volume. Robert discussed Augusta’s recent GBP 250 million fundraise, including how the company plans to invest its capital, how he envisions the global market for litigation funding will evolve post-COVID, and what the large funding round says about the viability of the litigation funding industry.
Augusta Ventures, the largest litigation and dispute funding institution in the UK by volume of cases, has provided financing to help the Consumers’ Association (known as Which?) launch an opt-out collective claim, litigated by Hausfeld, against Qualcomm, Inc. for over £480 million, on behalf of a class of around 29 million UK consumers.
Alleged underpayment was at the crux of a recently-overturned precedent ruling in Federal Court. UK-based legal funder Augusta Ventures had been ordered to pay more than $3 million in costs before it could proceed with a class action for underpayment at the Mount Arthur coal mine.
A case representing roughly 100,000 women and children targets African mining company Anglo American. With litigation funding provided by Augusta Ventures, the case will pursue claims that those living near the Kabwe lead mines were poisoned.
The UK’s Legal industry generated revenues of £2.79bn in June 2020. Whilst 3.6% down on June last year, that month was the highest billing June on record. June 2020 was the third best June in history for the UK’s legal industry, according to Office of National Statistics data released on 12th August.
Augusta, the UK’s largest funder of litigation by case volume today announces the appointment of Clara Segurola as Lead Economist.
The UK’s Legal industry generated revenues of £2.35bn in May 2020, 12% down on May last year. May 2020 was the lowest-earning month in four years, according to Office of National Statistics data released on 14th July.
The following was contributed by Matthew Pitchers, Head of Investment Valuation at Augusta Ventures.
I was in conversation the other day with a prospective user of our finance – a law firm who will remain nameless. The conversation was going well, very well in fact, until those seven words came up: “what is it going to cost me?”. I replied that our fee would be based on the higher of a multiple on the funds deployed or a set percentage of damages awarded. After a few seconds of silence which felt like an eternity, the response I got back was “that is very expensive, and I don’t think my client will go for it”.
The UK Legal Industry generated revenues of £9.34bn in the first calendar quarter of 2020, down 6.6% on the final quarter of 2019. And while there are usually falls between Q4 and Q1 due to seasonal factors, the drop this quarter was the highest in four years, a full one percentage point greater than the drop in the same period in the prior year. The final weeks of March cover the period when Covid-19 was beginning to impact the economy.
The following piece was contributed by Louis Young, Managing Director of Augusta Ventures.
The Legal Services industry, like many others, is today racing to come to terms with the implications of coronavirus. A range of impacts have been felt to date, including cases being put on hold, staffing concerns and critically, cash flow issues. With clients under pressure, bills aren’t being paid and pipeline looks increasingly uncertain. Alongside this, law firms have high fixed costs, particularly staff, so income is urgently needed.
Many law firms and even in-house counsel are feeling the pinch from court closures and delays due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Depending on how long this disruption lasts, many legal entities may find themselves scrambling to fund in-progress claims or take on new ones. As the risk of insolvency grows, maintaining healthy balance sheets is of the essence.
The UK Legal Industry generated revenues of £37.1bn in 2019, up 4.8% on 2018 – an all-time record, according to data released today by the Office of National Statistics. To put this in context, overall 2019 UK Services Industries turnover was £2.3tn, up 3.5%.
Leading Welsh commercial law firm Acuity Law has agreed a £10 million litigation funding facility with the UK’s largest litigation funder by volume, Augusta Ventures.
Augusta, the largest litigation and dispute funding institution in the UK – with £150m of capital and a team of 70 in London – today announces the appointment of James Foster as Head of Commercial and Bilateral Investment Treaties Arbitration. He will be based in Augusta’s London office from April 2019.
Augusta, the largest litigation and dispute funding institution in the UK – with £150m of capital and a team of 70 in London, today announces its expansion into the Canadian market with the opening of an office in Toronto. This complements Augusta’s existing operations in Sydney and London.
