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Hausfeld & Co LLP: Confirmed – Collective Action Seeking More Than £1.5bn from Apple Set for January Trial

By Harry Moran |

Dr Rachael Kent’s over £1.5bn collective action against Apple for alleged overcharging in relation to the Apple App Store will go to trial on 6 January 2025. The Competition Appeal Tribunal has confirmed the trial will run for eight weeks, with the first week reserved as a reading week. Hearings will commence on 13 January 2025 at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, Salisbury Square House, 8 Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8AP.

The claim, which seeks compensation for millions of UK consumers and businesses, alleges that Apple breached competition law by abusing its dominant position through its conduct relating to its App Store. According to the claim, Apple has excluded competition and charged unfairly high commissions of up to 30% on app and in-app purchases (including subscriptions) made on iPhones and iPads.

Dr Kent has issued a revised Trial Hearing Notice, available here, which confirms the trial schedule and provides further information about the case. For more information on the claim, visit www.appstoreclaims.co.uk/Apple. Class members are encouraged to check the website for updates about the claim, including access to Tribunal orders and further guidance. The Notice can also be found in the “Documents” section of the claim website.

For those interested in observing the trial, it will be open to the public both in person and online via the Tribunal’s website. A “Watch Now” link will be available under the Diary section on the Tribunal’s homepage (www.catribunal.org.uk) on the trial commencement date.

Further information on the claim

The legal claim applies to purchases made on many popular apps on iPhones and iPads, including Fortnite, YouTube and Tinder. It does not apply to apps providing “physical goods or services that will be consumed outside of the app”. These include Deliveroo and Uber, which are not required to use Apple’s payments system or pay Apple the disputed 30% commission on every purchase of and/or within their apps.

Affected app purchasers, on whose behalf the collective action is brought, will not pay costs or fees to participate in this legal action, which is being funded by Vannin Capital, a global litigation funder. The action is insured, which means that class members have no financial risk in relation to the claim.

Dr Kent is represented by Lesley Hannah, Sofie Edwards, Kio Gwilliam, Emma Poland, Jonathan Amior, Natalie Jukes, Jake Henderson, Abigail Masters and Kazi Elias at law firm Hausfeld & Co. LLP, with barristers Mark Hoskins KC and Matthew Kennedy from Brick Court Chambers, and Tim Ward KC, Michael Armitage and Antonia Fitzpatrick from Monckton Chambers

About Hausfeld & Co. LLP

Hausfeld is a leading international law firm specialising in competition law, with significant expertise in all aspects of collective redress and group claims.

About the author

Harry Moran

Harry Moran

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Announcements Comercial Legal Innovation

Sentry Expands Free Funding Market Search for Litigators

By John Freund |

Sentry Funding’s free tool enabling litigators to instantly search the funding market on behalf of clients has been expanded.

Sentry’s free ‘decision in principle’ feature enables lawyers to evidence to clients that they have conducted a broad market search, even if funding is not ultimately taken out.

Having deployed £125m in funding across a range of case types, Sentry now has access to an even broader funding marketplace, covering 34 global jurisdictions. Finance is provided by 13 funders, five of which are members of the Association of Litigation Funders.

With the recent addition of Sentry’s first US-based funder, the US offering will now be expanding over the next few months. 

A faster process

Sentry has deployed the latest technology to make the search for funding even easier. 

  • The intuitive application process now only asks questions relevant to previous answers, saving lawyers time.
  • The commercial marketplace has been redeveloped with 63 new data points added to the funder criteria matrix - improving the accuracy of case / funder matching
  • Sentry has also begun building out its AI capabilities, starting with an automated auditing tool for live case progression audits. 

Tom Webster, chief executive officer at Sentry Funding, said:

‘By broadening our reach and speeding up the process, we’re making it even easier for lawyers to raise funding. We’re also giving litigators an easy way to show clients they have fully researched the market, rather than just approaching one or two funders. 

‘The service is free to use, so even if clients decide they do not ultimately want funding or if none is available for that case, for the lawyer, it makes sense to use our “decision in principle” feature, so they can put evidence on file that they did check the market.’

Sentry Funding is an SaaS (software as a service) technology provider that gives solicitors access to a diverse marketplace of litigation funders. It works with solicitors, funders and third-party providers to ensure claimants are getting the most efficient service for their funding needs. 

The Sentry Portal also acts as a case management system that runs a transparent digital case file for solicitors, funders, after-the-event insurance providers, barristers, cost lawyers and other relevant third parties.

Announcements Comercial

NorthWall Capital Hits €2.9 B AUM on Private Credit Momentum

By John Freund |

NorthWall Capital has rocketed past €2.9 billion in assets under management after pulling in an additional €1.6 billion of institutional capital in 2025 alone. The London-based alternative credit manager says the surge reflects allocators’ intensifying hunt for scaled, multi-strategy platforms as Europe’s banks retrench and borrowers seek bespoke sources of credit.

A press release from NorthWall Capital details first-close totals across four distinct strategies. The flagship Credit Opportunities fund secured €731 million—already eclipsing its prior vintage—while the newly launched Senior Lending vehicle raised $503 million, translating to roughly $750 million of deployable firepower once leverage is applied. Asset-Backed Opportunities collected €252 million for collateral-rich loans in sectors underserved by traditional lenders, and the specialist Legal Assets platform locked down $169 million to extend the firm’s law-firm lending programme.

Founder and CIO Fabian Chrobog said the fundraising validates “the consistency of our approach” and NorthWall’s ability to craft solutions that resonate with investors and counterparties alike. With headcount slated to hit 40 by year-end, the firm plans to lean further into complex, situational credit born of bank deleveraging, regulatory shifts and sponsors’ need for certainty of execution.

Announcements Comercial People Moves

Victory Park Expands Legal Credit Leadership with Maleson Promotion

By John Freund |

Victory Park Capital (VPC), a global alternative asset manager specializing in private credit, has announced that Justin Maleson will expand his role to Managing Director, co-heading the firm’s legal credit investment strategy. The promotion underscores VPC’s ongoing investment in its legal finance capabilities and follows Maleson’s initial appointment in 2024 as Assistant General Counsel.

An announcement from Victory Park Capital details Maleson’s new responsibilities, which include sourcing, analyzing, and managing investments across legal assets, while maintaining oversight of the firm’s legal operations. He joins Chad Clamage in co-leading the strategy, working alongside team members Hugo Lestiboudois and Andrew Pascal, under the continued oversight of VPC CEO and founder Richard Levy.

Maleson brings a strong background in litigation finance and commercial law to the position. Before joining VPC, he served as a director at Longford Capital, where he specialized in originating and managing litigation funding transactions. His earlier tenure as a litigation partner at Jenner & Block further deepened his exposure to complex legal matters, equipping him with the expertise needed to navigate the nuanced legal credit space.

VPC’s legal credit team emphasizes an asset-backed lending model, prioritizing downside protection and predictable income streams. The firm aims to capitalize on inefficiencies within the legal funding market by leveraging its internal expertise and broad network of relationships. With Maleson’s appointment, VPC signals its intent to further scale its legal credit strategy, positioning itself as a key player in the evolving legal finance sector.

Maleson’s elevation comes at a time of increasing sophistication in litigation finance, where experienced legal minds are playing a pivotal role in portfolio construction and risk management. As VPC bolsters its leadership, the move may foreshadow further institutionalization of legal asset investing and heightened competition in a maturing market segment.