Despite raising over \u00a31\u202fbillion in committed capital, Therium’s aggressive bets in high\u2011risk cases, from the Sabah $15\u202fbillion arbitration to the Post Office scandal, have yielded paltry returns, exposing systemic vulnerabilities in the litigation funding industry.<\/p>\n
Manila, Philippine – An investigation by KnowSulu highlights how Therium, once
\na litigation funding powerhouse, is scaling back and transferring liabilities
\namid mounting losses, a cautionary tale for third\u2011party legal finance.<\/p>\n
Big Capital, Bigger Risks<\/b><\/p>\n
Therium amassed over \u00a31\u202fbillion
\nin committed funding from institutional investors over the past decade. But
\nthese \u201ccommitted\u201d sums are
\nlong\u2011term investments, locked into a few protracted, high\u2011stakes cases,
\nexposing millions to single-case downfall.<\/p>\n
Litigation Funding Mechanism Under Scrutiny<\/b><\/p>\n
Funders back legal claims in exchange for a multiple\u2011of\u2011capital
\nplus a percentage of recoveries. For instance, Therium structured returns as 3\u00d7
\nthe investment plus 20% above \u00a3100\u202fmillion
\nin the HSBC\/ECU case. Yet, when claims fail, funders can even be on the hook
\nfor pre-investment costs, highlighted in recent UK rulings.<\/p>\n
Showcase Failures<\/b><\/p>\n
Post
\n Office Horizon<\/b>: Therium invested around \u00a324million. After reimbursement of its stake,
\n funders, and legal fees in the \u00a358million settlement,
\n claimants received just \u00a312million collectively,
\n barely breaking even.Sabah
\n Arbitration<\/b>: Over $20million
\n already spent on a $15billion
\n claim tied to Sulu heirs, yet enforceability remains uncertain, and
\n returns are far from assured.<\/p>\n
Regulatory Shifts: PACCAR Fallout<\/b><\/p>\n
The 2023 UK Supreme Court\u2019s PACCAR decision reclassified
\nmany litigation finance deals as damages\u2011based agreements (DBAs), subject to
\nregulation capping recovery at 50% and limiting eligible parties to licensed
\nlawyers. That has invalidated or weakened many funder agreements.<\/p>\n
Funders pivoted to investment\u2011multiple models, yet courts
\nare scrutinizing even small DBA\u2011style clauses. Therium v Bugsby Property is now
\ntesting whether they can strip such clauses and still secure payment.<\/p>\n
Facing legal uncertainty, concentration risk, and lacklustre
\nreturns, Therium has scaled back operations and transferred portfolios to
\nFortress Investment Group. Internal sources indicate the firm now focuses on
\nmanaging legacy cases rather than launching new ones.<\/p>\n
What This Means for the Industry<\/b><\/p>\n
While litigation finance broadens access to justice,
\nespecially in group suits, its viability hinges on balancing social impact with
\ninvestor returns. As UK courts reclassify agreements, enforcement grows murky,
\nand big\u2011ticket deals underperform, the model\u2019s future credibility is at stake.<\/p>\n
Read full article:\u00a0https:\/\/knowsulu.ph\/unforeseen-consequences\/theriums-gamble-how-big-money-still-breeds-big-losses-in-litigation-funding<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Despite raising over \u00a31\u202fbillion in committed capital, Therium’s aggressive bets in high\u2011risk cases, from the Sabah $15\u202fbillion arbitration to the Post Office scandal, have yielded paltry returns, exposing systemic vulnerabilities in the litigation funding industry. Manila, Philippine – An investigation by KnowSulu highlights how Therium, once a litigation funding powerhouse, is scaling back and transferring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24235,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philippines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24234,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24233\/revisions\/24234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiajournaux.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}