Stevens & Bolton has agreed a £15m preferred litigation funding facility with the UK’s largest litigation funder by volume, Augusta Ventures.
From its headquarters in Guildford, Stevens & Bolton handles complex and strategic work for its clients but appreciates the importance of value for money, commercial awareness and flexibility. In line with this, the preferred arrangement offers Stevens & Bolton’s clients competitive funding rates, with an optimised process to ensure effective decision making. Under the terms of the facility, Augusta will fund the full cost of pursuing claims, including legal fees, expert witness costs and other agreed disbursements. The arrangement also provides 'non-recourse' funding, ensuring claimants are not called on to repay if their claim is unsuccessful. Augusta only recovers its investment from any sums received from defendants.
Michael Frisby, Litigation Services Partner at Stevens & Bolton, said: "As a leading UK litigation law firm, we are assisting an increasing number of clients with their disputes, and this deal with Augusta differentiates us in the market across the South of England. We are delighted to now be able to help clients pursue meritorious cases regardless of whether they have the funds available to cover legal costs.”
Robert Hanna, Managing Director at Augusta, said: “We are excited to be working with the leading dispute firm outside of London, Stevens & Bolton, on providing funding for their clients. Augusta has built a strong reputation for enabling access to justice. We are looking forward to assisting Stevens & Bolton’s clients secure the funding they need to pursue claims.”
Stevens & Bolton has recently been recognised by the Legal 500 as the UK’s Dispute Resolution Firm of the Year (outside of London). The firm has one of the largest teams of lawyers in the South of England, independently recommended in 26 specialist practice areas by the leading independent legal directories and with widespread awards recognition.
Augusta has a market-leading reputation as the largest funder by volume of claims in the UK. It has recently raised £245m of capital from two global institutional investors and funds cases across the full range of sizes and types.
Michael Frisby