LONDON, 02 December 2013: Metric Capital Partners (“MCP”), the European private capital group, today announced the completion of its investment in Augusta Securities Limited (“Augusta” or the “Company”), a financial services company focused on the provision of funding for commercial litigation cases in the UK.
Augusta is an independent financial services company offering innovative solutions to the small and mid sized litigation funding market. The Company is led by an experienced management team, with significant previous experience in the UK litigation funding and asset management space.
Augusta provides litigation funding through a flexible and innovative model for small and medium sized commercial litigation matters in the UK, differently from traditional litigation funders which typically focus on large corporate cases. Augusta seeks to create a diversified portfolio of smaller cases generating sustainable returns to shareholders while improving the equality of access to justice by enabling smaller claimants to pursue commercial cases through the courts.
The Company benefits from good relationships with a large number of leading law firms in the UK and abroad, as well as from a strong commercial partnership with AmTrust (NASDAQ: AFSI), an A-rated global insurance group.
MCP’s investment, through a credit instrument with equity participation, backs the expansion and further development of the business.
Giovanni Miele, Partner of MCP, commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with the management team of Augusta and believe that the Company is well placed to capture the growth in the UK litigation funding market through the roll-out of its flexible and more equitable litigation funding products. We are firm believers that litigation funding is a positive contributor to the integrity of the UK legal system and are excited to become active participants in the market through this investment.“
John Sinik, Managing Partner of MCP, further commented: “The Management Team has built a very strong platform serving a market with attractive dynamics and we look forward to supporting their efforts to expand nationally and internationally. The investment in Augusta is our 10th commitment since launching our fund in 2012 and is consistent with our investment philosophy of providing credit instruments with meaningful upside participation”.
David Cheyne, former Senior Partner of Linklaters and Senior Advisor to Augusta, added: “We are confident of the positive impact of our model on society and with MCP as a financial partner, given their experience and
strong support, we will continue to expand the reach and availability of our product. I am also particularly delighted that Peter Cornell, Partner of MCP and former Managing Partner of Clifford Chance, will put his experience at the service of Augusta as our newly appointed Chairman.”
Launched in September 2011, MCP is an independent private capital group which invests in European small and medium-sized firms by providing debt and equity solutions to support the execution of strategic transactions including MBOs, MBIs, growth/development capital, refinancing and rescue financing.
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For further information please consult:
Giovanni Miele, Partner, Metric Capital Partners, Tel: +44 (0) 203 540 1555