Wales' first legal litigation fund launched

THE first ever legal litigation fund, where decisions on backing cases will be made by lawyers rather than financiers, has been launched in Wales with £50m of financial firepower.

- SION BARRY

New North Litigation Capital Ltd has secured a facility from alternative asset manager Pollen Street Capital.

The £50m will be deployed to fund the legal costs of litigation cases mainly in the £1m to £30m damages bracket. Many will be business to business cases, but could also be on behalf of an individual or a group of people in a class action.

New North is wholly-owned by Cardiff-based law firm Capital Law.

Its senior partner Chris Nott is chief executive of the new venture.

Day-to-day operations are also being driven by fellow Capital Law partners Andrew Brown, as chief investment officer, and Guto Llewelyn, as head of new business. Between them, they have 80 years of legal experience.

While there are established investors financing litigation, many are focused on large damages claims well above £30m. New North, under its new lawyer driven model, will look to finance cases UK-wide.

Over the next five years, it could potentially fund around 100 cases from its fund. An investment committee, chaired by Mr Nott, will quickly assess the merits of cases brought to them by other lawyers acting on behalf of clients - mainly businesses seeking damages.

New North sought financial backing from investors in both the UK and the US before securing a new senior credit facility from London-based Pollen Street Capital, which has assets under management of more than £6bn.

Capital Law has a strong track record in commercial litigation, having closed over 400 claimant cases since 2001 with a 95% win rate.

Mr Nott: “This is a product of many years' work in what has been very much a team effort.