Burford Capital Share Discussion Threads

[nickoftime] 21/8/2019 21:17

The thing is....all litigation funders are very protective of their FV model and their legal position and the potential future actions they plan to take in order to get the best result. Given the length of time these cases are live, there will be lots of information that is too sensitive to disclose publicly (ie. to the other side). Obviously once a case has completed more info can be disclosed, and thus you can make an informed assessment of the quality of the management team.

[henchard] 21/8/2019 20:40

adnan17, I fully agree with you. Investors and would-be investors really need to see a bit more of what's inside the box. I think it would increase market confidence no end if BUR went down the greater detail of disclosure route you suggest.

[meanwhile] 21/8/2019 20:38

Is nobody on this site interested in gravy?

Now just come on.

[adnan17] 21/8/2019 20:26

winsome - yes on page 33 of 2018 Annual Report they highlight 4 cases. 2 wins and 2 losses.

However, it is very high level. Would be good if they went in greater detail. I.e. the process for selecting the case. How they allocated a fair value as the case progressed (i.e. court decisions that led to a fair value increase)? How long it took to complete? How much was drawn down? How much could have been drawn down? Why the case was settled/won/lost. If it was lost, what lessons can they learn from it.

So maybe a full page on each case. I think this would give greater clarity to the naysayers.

[winsome] 21/8/2019 18:54

mf / adnan,

If I remember right, they provided end to end examples of four of their cases in the FY19 report

[gettingrichslow] 21/8/2019 17:08

Believe it or not that is one of Meanwhile’s more useful posts...he has certainly got more to offer when it comes to gravy than when it comes to shares.

[pal44] 21/8/2019 16:22

mm dropping this one before close !

[mad foetus] 21/8/2019 16:01

One of the points I made which probably got lost in the noise is that when you analyse BUR's investments, they have only once made a loss on a portfolio, and that was in the very early days. The irony of all the noise about Napo is that it was a perfect illustration of the benefits of moving from single case to multi-case funding. Given that portfolio funding is their biggest single sector (62% of the balance sheet), it is pretty obvious that risk has been systematically reduced by the management. Which is one of the reasons why I continue to believe this is fundamentally mispriced.

[williamcooper104] 21/8/2019 15:53

The cross-x concept is good as can secure investment against a few solid cases and fund a couple of high risk/high return

[stentorian] 21/8/2019 15:47

BUR may have a taut NDA with clients like Hausfeld which precludes BUR shouting from the rooftops. However, Hausfeld are clearly free to promote their services (utilising BUR's capital) to prospective clients - clearly to help land these clients their web site goes into a lot more detail about their successes.

[stentorian] 21/8/2019 15:02

MF, The Hausfeld web site is quite revealing:


One of the actual case studies


Interesting how they piggy-back EU decisions - see EU link.
"Action for damages

Any person or company affected by anti-competitive behaviour as described in this case may bring the matter before the courts of the Member States and seek damages. The case law of the Court and Council Regulation 1/2003 both confirm that in cases before national courts, a Commission decision that has become final constitutes binding proof that the behaviour took place and was illegal. Even though the Commission has fined the cartel participants concerned, damages may be awarded without being reduced on account of the Commission fine.

The Antitrust Damages Directive, which Member States had to implement in their legal systems by 27 December 2016, makes it easier for victims of anti-competitive practices to obtain damages. More information on antitrust damages actions, including a practical guide on how to quantify antitrust harm, is available here."

[adnan17] 21/8/2019 14:51

MF - I did email Burford suggesting that as I do agree it will help restore confidence.

I.e. are they able to provide details of cases that have concluded. What the end to end process was. How they assessed the case before taking it on? How they changed fair value as the case progressed? What the legal nuances were of the case, etc? Obviously only for those cases which have no confidentiality disclosure clauses. In addition do it for cases that they have won and lost.

[ozzmosiz] 21/8/2019 14:45

stock price is super stable today

[mad foetus] 21/8/2019 14:29

Would be good to know more about that case. I feel more granular details on underlying cases would help build confidence.

[stentorian] 21/8/2019 13:23

adnan17, The first announcement on the tie-up with Hausfield in Germany saw an investment by Burford of e30m. Then a second announcement saw "additional and substantial financing from Burford". VW was a part of the portfolio. It was also a long time ago 2 December 2015.

[adnan17] 21/8/2019 11:51

From a business point of view it makes sense:

Fund the smaller party (who has the stronger claim) to go after the bigger guy who has deeper pockets. The payouts are larger and Burford can take a bigger cut of the pie.

[adnan17] 21/8/2019 11:45

A point that hasn't got much interest in recent days is the Volkswagen case.

1. This is the statement from Burford on 8th August

"Similarly, the Volkswagen matters are also active litigation matters (and part of a diversified and crosscollateralized portfolio) and we can't comment on them. However, any dispassionate observer of the VW litigation
would not be taking the view that its current posture is "recovery-killing", as the report suggests, with VW having
already paid more than $30 billion in settlements related to the subject matter of this litigation."

2. These are all the lawsuits against Volkswagen (

3. Given that Volkswagen has already settled on a number of points. Any further settlements could be huge for Burford.

[chimers] 21/8/2019 10:28

Just Holler...

[chimers] 21/8/2019 10:27

What else ya got?