Burford Capital (BUR) earns a living by providing litigation finance for companies that have neither the money nor the time to pursue a course of civil redress. Operating predominantly in the US, Burford has consistently generated strong returns, thanks to a high level of due diligence before financing a case and a high success rate, as its interim figures show.
Operating profit increased by 56 per cent to $28.4m (£18.2m), which included Burford's largest recovery to date. This case generated $61m gross proceeds on a $25m investment, giving a return on invested capital of 144 per cent. To help build up a future revenue stream, Burford committed $81m to new investments in the first half; that is a third more than in the comparable period last financial year.