Burford Capital, the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law, today announced that it has successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), becoming the first ever legal finance firm to be publicly traded in the US and the first dual listed company in the legal finance industry.
Burford’s listing not only marks a milestone in its own history, it also brings increased visibility and accountability to the global commercial legal finance market. Legal finance is increasingly relevant given economic pressures that make businesses eager to contain costs, conserve cash and maximize profitability, and as commercial disputes typically rise following a downturn, the need for finance will increase.
Since its launch in 2009, Burford has achieved notable success in identifying and monetizing legal claim assets—the core skillset of legal finance. It has worked with Fortune 500 companies as well as 93 of the AmLaw 100 and 89 of the 100 largest global law firms, providing financing for fees and expenses associated with commercial disputes as well as monetizing claims and awards, and has built a $4 billion portfolio. A recent example of Burford’s activity is the $75 million monetization of a pending claim for a Fortune 100 company that enabled it to optimize cashflow and offload legal expense risk.
Burford shares started trading on the NYSE at 9:30 AM ET today.
Christopher Bogart, CEO of Burford, commented: “This is a proud moment for me, Burford’s co-founder Jonathan Molot, and indeed for the whole Burford team. Our NYSE listing exemplifies our culture of excellence, innovation and providing solutions to clients as the leading global finance and asset management firm focused on law. We are, once again, at the forefront of our sector, and our listing is evidence that legal finance is a sophisticated tool that plays an important role in the legal landscape. Our new listing will increase the pool of investors able to invest in Burford’s shares while more broadly raising our profile in the US capital markets, which may in time lower our cost of capital. For our clients, this listing gives them further proof that working with us means partnering with a gold standard finance firm that is open and transparent about its operations.”