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Omni Bridgeway funds first international arbitration seated in Hong Kong

HONG KONG, 4 June 2020:  Proceedings have been filed in Omni Bridgeway Limited‘s, (ASX:OBL) first funded international arbitration in Hong Kong since the Special Administration Region amended its Arbitration Ordinance (Cap. 609) to permit third party funding (effective February  2019).


The funded proceedings are being administered by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) under its 2018 Administered Arbitration Rules. Omni Bridgeway will finance the claimant, who is advised by leading Canadian firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Further details of the dispute are confidential.

In June 2017, Hong Kong amended its Arbitration Ordinance to expressly state that the torts of maintenance and champerty in Hong Kong, which have historically prevented third party funding, do not apply to third party funding of arbitration and related proceedings. A Code of Practice was published in December 2018 and came into effect in February 2019 to provide guidance on the standards and practices that third party funders are expected to follow.

Cheng-Yee Khong, who heads Omni Bridgeway’s Hong Kong office said: “Omni Bridgeway has a long and successful history of funding insolvency related litigation in Hong Kong; however, the legal framework historically prevented us from funding other forms of dispute resolution. Since the legislative reforms in 2019, we have experienced increasing demand for funding in Hong Kong arbitration matters and this case represents one of the many strong prospects in our current pipeline. As Hong Kong is a leading global hub for international commercial arbitration, this demand has come from a range of jurisdictions including China, Japan, Korea, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, EMEA, USA and Canada. Many of these applications have come from sophisticated corporate users of arbitration, seeking to take advantage of the risk and cost management benefits of arbitration funding.”

The Borden Ladner Gervais team is led by partners and internationally recognized arbitration counsel Robert J.C. Deane and Craig Chiasson. Robert Deane said: “The opportunity to access financing for Hong Kong-seated arbitrations has been a significant and very positive development for our clients, especially in the current economic climate. It has allowed them to seek redress for the wrongs they’ve experienced in a way that makes good sense from a commercial and risk management perspective. We look forward to continuing to work with Omni Bridgeway on behalf of clients based in Canada and also around the world.”

Sarah Grimmer, Secretary-General of HKIAC, said: “The availability of third party funding for arbitration and related proceedings in Hong Kong is a welcome development for users. HKIAC introduced provisions in its 2018 Administered Arbitration Rules to address issues that arise in respect of third party funding; namely, a limited disclosure requirement by the funded party, a confidentiality carve-out to allow information sharing with funders or potential funders, and in relation to the fixing and allocation of costs. HKIAC has seen several cases involving third party funders and expects more ahead.”

This news complements other recent developments for Omni Bridgeway in Asia, including the merger of the IMF Bentham and Omni Bridgeway operations globally.

ABOUT OMNI BRIDGEWAY

Omni Bridgeway is a global leader in dispute resolution finance, with expertise in civil and common law legal and recovery systems, and operations spanning Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, the UK and the US. Omni Bridgeway offers dispute finance from case inception through to post-judgment enforcement and recovery. Since 1986, it has established a proud record of funding disputes and enforcement proceedings around the world.

Omni Bridgeway is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:OBL) and includes the leading dispute funders formerly known as IMF Bentham Limited, Bentham IMF and ROLAND ProzessFinanz. It also includes a joint venture with IFC (part of the World Bank Group). Visit omnibridgeway.com to learn more.

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Announcements Commercial 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 Commercial

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 Commercial 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.