£110 million Comet Group judgement in favour of funded party largest ever claim successfully brought under the UK’s 1986 Insolvency Act
LitigationCapital Management Limited (AIM:LIT),an alternative asset manager specializing in dispute financing solutions internationally, is pleased to announce positive progress on two investments within its portfolio. Successful Judgment in investment in English court litigation As announced on 23 June 2021, LCM entered into an agreement to provide a finance facility to Geoffrey Carton-Kelly, a partner of FRP Advisory (“FRP”), additional liquidator of CGL Realisations Ltd (In Liquidation), formerly known as Comet Group Ltd (“Comet”). This investment forms part of LCM’s Fund I portfolio of investments. In November 2022, judgment in the High Court was awarded in favour of Mr Carton- Kelly (the funded party) for approximately £110m. This judgment is understood to represent the largest ever (by value) preference claim successfully brought under the UK’s 1986InsolvencyAct. The Defendant to the proceeding has obtained permission to appeal the judgment, which will delay the maturity of the investment, but will be paying the judgment amount into court. This investment has been significantly de-risked from both a merits and recovery risk perspective. The financial performance of this investment is protected against the passage of time by way of an increasing multiple of invested capital. The size of the investment made by LCM is within the median range for an investment within Fund I. Clarification of press report on an LCM investment Following recent press speculation, the Company is providing an update on a further Fund I investment involving claims against Poland under both the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and the Australia-Poland Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), which has now been heard by an Arbitral Tribunal. Following completion of the hearing, the Arbitral Tribunal will render an Award in due course. There is no specified date for an Award to be rendered and there is no certainty as to what the outcome of that Award will be. Revenue recognition In line with LCM’s revenue recognition, the Company will only recognise revenue associated with these matters at the point in time it has more certainty on the final outcome, including following any appeal where relevant, or when there is more clarity around the recovery of funds. We remain confident that with respect to the awards set out above these will generate returns in line with management expectations, notwithstanding that, the timing within which each award will be realised remains uncertain. The Company generally expects the duration of investments to increase to between 36 – 42 months. Patrick Moloney, CEO of LCM, commented: “We are pleased with the significant progress on these key investments. The successful judgment in the High Court of England demonstrates LCM’s strength in project selection and we look forward to reporting further once each of these investments has reached a conclusion.” About LCM Litigation Capital Management (LCM) is an alternative asset manager specialising in disputes financing solutions internationally, whichoperatestwobusiness models. The first isdirectinvestments madefromLCM’s permanent balance sheet capital and the second is third party fund management. Under those two business models, LCM currently pursues three investment strategies: Single-case funding, Portfolio funding and Acquisitions of claims. LCM generates its revenue from both its direct investments and also performance fees through asset management. LCM has an unparalleled track record driven by disciplined project selection and robust risk management. Currently headquartered inSydney, with offices in London, Singapore, Brisbane and Melbourne, LCM listed on AIM in December 2018, trading under the ticker LIT.
