Litigation funder Juridica raises £35m on AIM
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Litigation funding group Juridica has raised £35m through a secondary placing of more than 30 million ordinary shares on AIM.
The Guernsey-registered company said it had seen a significant increase in demand for litigation funding, particularly in the US, with the recession kick-starting a global rise in litigation.
The company, which originally raised £80m through listing on AIM in December 2007, said it had made profits of $5.19m though the completion of two US cases in 2008 and anticipated five more cases to complete within the next two years.
Richard Fields, company co-founder and co-principle of Juridica's investment management arm, said the company was committed to becoming a UK leader in its field despite most of its cases coming from the US.
"We looked at 24 cases in the UK last year and took on only two," said Fields, adding that UK lawyers were more risk averse to outside funding.
Travers Smith head of corporate finance Spencer Summerfield advised Juridica on its admission to aim while nominated adviser Cenkos Securities turned to Latham & Watkins partner Nigel Campion Smith.
