Sunday 27 October 2019 2:11 pm

Revolving door spins at London litigation funder Augusta Ventures

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 14: A commuter waits for a train at Brixton Underground sign on February 14, 2012 in London, England. London’s underground rail system, commonly called the tube, is the oldest of its kind in the world dating back to 1890. It carries approximately a quarter of a million people around its network every day along its 249 miles of track and 270 stations. The network has undergone several years of upgrade work and refurbishment in preparation for the Olympic Games which take place this summer. During this time the tube is expected to carry millions of visitors to and from the Olympic Parks. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Litigation funder Augusta Ventures has launched a new team to back consumer class actions, but has also shed more than 10 per cent of its London workforce in a recent round of cuts.

The funder said that despite cutting eight staff in London, it has grown overall, adding 11 new employees in recent months.

Its new consumer claims division, which is led by head of structured projects Ed Yell, is intended to cash in on an expected upswing in consumer group actions such as the one Volkswagen is facing from disgruntled car owners in connection with its emissions rigging scandal.

Augusta co-founder Louis Young said the growth of group actions would keep companies which transgress consumer rights on their toes.

“Companies need to be much more alert,” he said. “You throw a handful of sand at something and it doesn’t hurt. Mix that handful of sand into a ball with some cement and hit them with it and it can hurt. That’s what you are getting here.”

New hires for the team include investment managers Matthew Pitchers from Deloitte and and Katherine Woodfine from Puma Investments.

Separately, the funder has also made a recent round of cuts, slashing eight staff from a London office which according to its website now has 58 staff.

“As the market develops our business grows and changes to meet the needs of our clients. We have streamlined operational processes in some areas while continuing to recruit additional expertise to the business in areas that we had not envisaged would be in such demand 12 months ago,” Young said.

Augusta has recently examined the option of a stock market flotation. However, the recent short seller attack on Aim-listed funder Burford Capital – which suffered a 40 per cent share price drop after questions were raised over its accounting policies – has lessened the prospect of further listings in the space.

Last month Augusta raised $115m (£93m) from an unnamed US investment manager.