Business:
Fenchurch Legal
Sector:
Litigation Disbursements Funding
Investment Type:
Debt
Investment Goal:
Income
Business Overview
Fenchurch Legal is a specialist litigation disbursements financier providing innovative and flexible funding solutions to UK law firms. All borrowers are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, and loans are a highly diversified portfolio of claims which are all protected by ATE (After the Event) insurance.
Since its founding, Fenchurch has established key relationships with both law firms and ATE insurance brokers that have helped build its existing clientele and loan book, which is funded by a combination of institutional funding and HNW investors.
Fenchurch Legal’s founders have extensive experience within the wider corporate lending market, specifically areas of direct lending underserved by banks.
Most banks do not lend to law firms for the disbursements on litigation cases as they are unfamiliar with the market and cannot offer the flexibility or fast funding solutions the law firms require.
This experience enabled the company to identify a growing demand in the UK market for smaller ATE claims litigation financing. Fenchurch recognized that the competition was offering a poor service and this presented an opportunity to create an offering with simple pricing and drawdown models. It frees up capital to use to allow law firms to develop their business, rather than being tied up in litigation cases. Law firms are then able to take on a greater amount of cases.
The business model sees loan capital provided to law firms to fund disbursements for small-ticket litigation cases that are fully insured by an ATE policy. The insurance policy is the key investment protection here, ensuring that whether the underlying case wins or loses, Fenchurch gets repaid in full.