Hedge Fund says Burford Capital is Undervalued by the Market
Much of the information about litigation funders’ business models is cloaked in confidentiality, making it difficult to assess how the rest of the market values those funders who are publicly traded. However, a recent investor letter from a hedge fund offers insight into the way investors view the industry’s top funders. In Greenhaven Road Capital’s ‘Main Fund Q3 2023 Investor Letter’, the boutique hedge fund has included a spotlight on its top holdings which includes Burford Capital, the publicly traded litigation funder. In the investor letter, Scott Miller, the founder of Greenhaven Road Capital, highlighted Burford’s recent win in the YPF case against Argentina which resulted in a multi-billion dollar award being ordered. Miller notes that whilst Argentina is likely to attempt to avoid paying the full award and therefore Burford will likely end up taking a discount on their portion of the award, he still believes that “the returns should be eye-popping.” Miller also argues that “if Burford is going to be successful, a few massive cases like YPF will drive a significant portion of the returns.” He goes on to explain his firm has “spent significant energy looking at other cases that Burford has funded,” and through this research has come to the conclusion that “there is reason to believe that Burford has line of sight to another multibillion-dollar award where collectability is far less of an issue than with YPF.” Based on this research and on Burford’s previous successes, Miller concludes his analysis by saying that he believes “Burford is worth far more than the $13 per share Mr. Market has ascribed to it.”