Therium adds to London Investment team with the hire of Ben Smyth
Global litigation funder, Therium Capital Management, announced today that Ben Smyth has joined the firm’s investment team as an Investment Officer. Ben joins Therium following a decade at UBS Investment Bank, where he was most recently Head of Benelux and Nordics within the bank’s Financial Institutions Debt Capital Markets (DCM) advisory group. In this role, Ben advised some of the largest Banks and Insurance companies in Northern Europe, on optimisation of their liability profile. Prior to UBS, Ben was an Associate Director at ABN AMRO Bank N.V, where he was responsible for DCM across Benelux, UK and Ireland. His career to date has seen Ben originate, structure, and execute multiple credit transactions globally, spanning Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Ben was awarded a distinction, Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP University and graduated with a first class (BA Hons) degree in Economics from Durham University. Neil Purslow, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Therium, said: “We are delighted that Ben is joining our high calibre investment team. Ben’s investment banking experience and strong financial knowledge will complement our highly experienced investment team who each handle all aspects of the funding process.” Ben Smyth said: “I am very excited about joining Therium’s top quality investment team. My role will encompass origination, negotiation, due diligence and case management – which is unique amongst the leading global litigation funders. This approach accounts for Therium’s high standing in the market and the low rate of turnover of staff in its investment team, and it will allow me to build enduring relationships with clients. I look forward to helping Therium build on the firm’s impressive track record and strong reputation, with the support of a fantastic leadership team whose focus on top quality execution is relentless.” About Therium Capital Management: Therium is a leading provider of investment capital to the legal industry and one of the largest, having raised over $1 bn since 2009. With investment teams in the UK, USA, Australia, Germany and Norway, Therium has funded litigation and arbitration claims exceeding $40 billion including many of the largest and most high profile funded cases in the UK and internationally, including arbitrations under rules of the LCIA, ICC, UNCITRAL, LMAA, AAA, CIETAC, ICSID, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and the Energy Charter Treaty. Therium has been Top Ranked by Chambers and Partners and Leaders League with investment officers across the UK, Europe, USA and Asia Pac recognised as leading individuals in litigation finance. Last year to mark the firm’s tenth anniversary, Therium Access was launched as a not-for-profit venture to fund a wide range of access to justice projects and cases – supporting the most vulnerable in our society and helping to bridge the widening justice gap. With its own board composed of eminent figures from the legal community and a dedicated grants officer, Therium Access has made over £1.3 m in financial commitments over the last 18 months to over 26 different organisations. As the first initiative of its kind, Therium has been shortlisted for several awards for launching this ground-breaking initiative, including the FT Innovative Lawyer Awards 2019 and the Lexis Nexis Awards 2020. Therium also invests in AI and software projects to accelerate the advancement of the industry. As a founding member of both the ALF, ILFA and the Litigation Funding Working Group, Therium is also committed to shaping the future of legal finance and setting high standards for the industry.
