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Flying High: LCM Lands Portfolio Funding Deal with Aviation Company

June 21, 2019

Flying High: LCM Lands Portfolio Funding Deal with Aviation Company

One of LCM’s key areas of focus since its IPO has been the origination and execution of corporate portfolio transactions. The recent announcement of a portfolio funding partnership with a major aviation company, in which LCM will finance 38 worldwide disputes and contractual claims arising from the operations of the company for an initial 5-year rolling period, underscores the funder’s commitment to its corporate portfolio funding strategy. The transaction was led by Executive Vice Chairman Nick Rowles-Davies, who leads LCM’s EMEA team, comprised of some of the most experienced practitioners in the industry at corporate portfolio funding. Thanks to Rowles-Davies’ leadership and the team’s expertise, this is the second corporate portfolio transaction funded by LCM in past 12 months, and the first originating from the global cooperation agreement with a leading international law firm announced in March. The first of LCM’s portfolio transactions was announced in October 2018, and was in the building and construction sector. LCM remains one of only a handful of funders to have completed such a transaction type. The funder also currently has eight other portfolio deals in the pipeline. Perhaps no better evidence could be proffered of litigation funding’s growing awareness and understanding amongst corporate clients – at least within certain capital-intensive industries. As Rowles-Davies puts it: “Everyone has heard of ‘litigation finance,’ but they don’t necessarily understand what it entails. To many, it still means bringing big claims against corporates and they don’t appreciate that it is a form of financing that can support a company by monetizing its legal assets, removing the risk of litigation, increasing EBITDA and keeping costs off the balance sheet. Some sectors are certainly more aware of the benefits available through the use of litigation funding and these are typically businesses in sectors that are high-volume, low-margin; for example, aviation, construction and outsourcing.” By financing multiple claims at once, funders like LCM reduce their risk profile, which results in a more attractive pricing structure for the client than when cases are funded on a one-off basis (one-off cases carry binary risk, therefore the cost of capital is higher). On this latest transaction, LCM has maintained the optionality to extend the number of cases it will finance, as well as the cumulative size of the financing available. “When we are structuring corporate portfolios for our clients, we look to be as flexible as possible and try to directly address the problem that they are looking to solve by providing a bespoke solution,” Rowles-Davies adds. “This provides businesses with complete optionality as to how they fund their disputes, moving to a position of using funding out of choice, rather than necessity. This is totally different from a single case situation where often a distressed and impecunious party is being funded.” London-based law firm Clyde & Co. helped arrange the funding partnership between LCM and the unnamed airline. This type of arrangement underscores the win-win nature of a partnership between a dedicated funder and an individual law firm. According to Rowles-Davies, this type of partnership “is not that common, but I suspect we will see more arrangements like it as funding becomes more widely used.” Rowles-Davies is quick to point out, however, that LCM has relationships with multiple law firms, and that agreements such as its partnership with Clyde & Co. don’t guarantee exclusivity. “This is about picking your partners carefully – we want to work with people who understand how LCM operates and what we’re looking for, and it takes time to develop that understanding.”

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Global Funding Dynamics Are Reshaping Australian Class Action Risk

Australian companies face a class action landscape increasingly shaped by events beyond their borders, according to new analysis warning that overseas litigation, foreign regulatory activity, and global litigation funding flows now operate as leading indicators of claims that later emerge at home. For boards and executives, the message is that domestic precedent alone no longer defines exposure.

As reported by Corrs Chambers Westgarth, plaintiff firms are explicitly modeling Australian claims on foreign proceedings — in one instance announcing it was "investigating how an Australian claim could be run" following a U.S. technology ruling. The pattern spans medical products, automotive, and technology, with expansion anticipated into privacy, data, cyber, and climate-related disputes.

Foreign regulatory enforcement frequently acts as the catalyst. When overseas regulators scrutinize issues such as PFAS contamination or particular medications, Australian plaintiff firms often follow, leveraging the country's flexible consumer protection framework to build comparable claims.

Litigation funding plays a central role in this dynamic, with capital moving across jurisdictions to balance risk and return. The analysis notes that recent Australian court decisions — including rulings on common fund orders and confirmation of soft class closure — are expected to attract greater global funding capacity, potentially increasing both the volume and the resourcing of claims.

The practical takeaway for senior decision-makers is to monitor international developments proactively. Understanding overseas litigation strategies, regulatory priorities, and funding trends has become essential to anticipating exposure before Australian proceedings materialize.

Commercial

Which? Advances £3 Billion Funded Class Action Against Apple

The UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal has certified a £3 billion collective claim against Apple, allowing one of the country's largest consumer actions to proceed toward trial. The case, brought by consumer group Which?, alleges that Apple abused its dominant position in the iOS ecosystem by unlawfully favoring its own iCloud service over competing cloud storage providers.

As reported by The Global Legal Post, the tribunal certified the proceeding on June 25, 2026, sweeping in roughly 39 million UK consumers who used iCloud between November 2018 and June 2026. The opt-out structure means eligible UK residents are automatically included, while non-UK residents from the relevant period may opt in by October 8, 2026. Successful class members could recover up to £77 each, with trial scheduled for October 2028.

Which?, acting as class representative, has the backing of Litigation Capital Management's UK subsidiary, which is funding the claim. Notably, the tribunal dismissed Apple's objections to that funding arrangement — a point of continued significance as UK courts refine the rules governing third-party finance in the wake of the PACCAR decision.

Apple rejected the allegations, stating that it "rejected any suggestion that our iCloud practices are anti-competitive" and pointing to "plenty of alternatives to choose from." The certification marks another milestone for funder-backed collective actions in the UK, where well-capitalized consumer claims against major technology platforms continue to test the limits of competition law.

Commercial

Pogust Goodhead Secures $150M and Quinn Emanuel as BHP Damages Battle Looms

Pogust Goodhead has lined up fresh capital and elite co-counsel for the next phase of its landmark claim against mining giant BHP over the 2015 Mariana dam collapse in Brazil — one of the largest group actions ever brought in the English courts. The firm announced $150 million in new funding from Gramercy Funds Management, with an initial $85 million tranche, alongside a strategic partnership with U.S. litigation powerhouse Quinn Emanuel.

As reported by The Global Legal Post, Quinn Emanuel will join as co-counsel for the quantum phase of proceedings, led by partner Justin Michelson and beginning in October 2026. The injection of funding and firepower comes as the case shifts from establishing liability to determining how much BHP must pay claimants.

The litigation has already cleared significant hurdles. In November 2025, Justice O'Farrell ruled BHP "strictly liable" for the Fundão dam failure, and the Court of Appeal rejected BHP's bid to challenge that finding in March 2026. Pogust Goodhead has secured an interim costs award of roughly £43 million, with claimants awarded 90% of their Stage 1 costs.

The road ahead remains long. The Stage 1 quantum trial is set for October 2026, with further proceedings on causation, loss, and damages scheduled across 2027 and closing submissions expected in March 2028. Damages assessments could extend well beyond 2030, underscoring both the scale of the claim and the staying power that third-party capital provides.