Litigation Capital Management bosses say Burford woes will not dampen sector September 10, 2019 The management of litigation funder Litigation Capital Management (LCM) said today that the negativity around fellow funder Burford Capital would not dampen the sector, as they announced their debut London results to the stock market. Last month Aim-listed Burford was savaged in an attack by shortseller Muddy Waters which criticised its governance and its use [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown drops Burford Capital after Muddy Waters short attack August 30, 2019 Hargreaves Lansdown has sold its holdings in Burford capital following a short attack on the litigation funding firm by US short-seller Muddy Waters earlier this month. The investment supermarket has dropped Burford from its Select UK Growth, Select UK Income and Select Global funds, said fund manager Steve Clayton in a statement on Hargreaves’ website. [...]
Muddy Waters accuses Burford Capital of deceiving investors August 27, 2019 Shortseller Muddy Waters blasted litigation funder Burford Capital again today, saying the company “is not worthy of an Aim listing, let alone a US one”. The shortseller’s first attack on Burford earlier this month wiped 40 per cent from the company’s share price. Today Muddy Waters reiterated its criticism of Burford’s conduct in relation to [...]
Fresh blow for Woodford as suspended fund’s holdings take hit August 23, 2019 Neil Woodford has suffered his third setback of the day after it was announced that his suspended Equity Income Fund (EIF) significantly underperformed its industry benchmark. Link Fund Solutions, which is managing EIF’s suspension, said the fund had declined 11.15 per cent between 3 June and 21 August. By contrast, the fund’s industry benchmark – [...]
Burford Capital ditches finance chief in response to activist pressure August 15, 2019 Under-fire litigation funder Burford Capital today announced it would appoint a new chief financial officer and seek a US listing following last week’s attack from shortseller Muddy Waters. Burford said its chief finance officer Elizabeth O’Connell will be replaced by Jim Kilman, formerly vice chairman of Morgan Stanley Investment Banking, with immediate effect. O’Connell is [...]
Muddy Waters says Burford has ‘same illness’ that doomed Enron August 13, 2019 Muddy Waters redoubled its assault on litigation funder Burford Capital today, accusing the company of having the “same illness” that brought Enron down. The activist shortseller accused Burford of “addiction to mark-to-model gains financed by debt”. In mark-to-model or fair value accounting, unrealised gains are included on a company’s balance sheet. Muddy Waters said: “We [...]
Financial Conduct Authority looking into Muddy Waters short attack on Burford Capital August 12, 2019 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said it is making “wide-ranging enquiries” into the circumstances surrounding the publication of a shortselling report on Burford Capital by Muddy Waters. US shortseller Muddy Waters launched a short attack on the litigation finance company last week, tweeting that it would shortly be announcing a new short position before [...]
Burford Capital alleges ‘market manipulation’ ahead of Muddy Waters short attack August 12, 2019 Burford Capital said it has identified evidence consistent with “illegal market manipulation” of its shares in the run up to a short attack on the company by Muddy Waters. The litigation finance company said it had analysed trading data from the 6 and 7 August with the help of a market manipulation expert, and had [...]
Window slams shut on litigation funder floats after Burford Capital’s terrible week August 11, 2019 The attack by shortseller Muddy Waters on Burford Capital last week has slammed shut the window on other litigation funders looking to go public. Muddy Waters criticised Burford’s use of fair value accounting – the inclusion of unrealised gains – and accused the funder of “aggressively marking” the value of the cases on its books, something Burford denied. The Aim darling-turned-lame-duck lost [...]
Going for broke(rs): Student takes job hunt to Moorgate station for his big break in finance August 8, 2019 A university student trying to get his start in London’s financial district took matters into his own hands this week when he spent 11 hours stood outside Moorgate station holding a placard asking the capital’s brokers to give him a chance. “It’s not where I’m coming from, it’s where I’m going,” read Imperial College London [...]