Burford Capital, a finance firm focused on law, has raised GBP175 million (approximately USD225 million) through an oversubscribed issue of bonds on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange by Burford Capital PLC, its financing subsidiary.
The bonds will pay interest at an annual rate of 5 per cent and mature on 1 December 2026.
This new capital will permit Burford to continue growing its legal finance business, which already stands at more than USD2 billion invested and available for investment.
In addition to using the proceeds of the GBP175 million bond issue in its investment activities, Burford intends to repay early the USD43.75 million of loan notes due 2019 created as part of the December 2016 acquisition of Gerchen Keller Capital.
Christopher Bogart (pictured), Burford’s chief executive officer, says: “We are delighted with the strong response to this bond issue, which has well exceeded both our previous issues and continues to provide us with a flexible and immediately accessible capital base to address the attractive opportunities we see.
“Law firms and corporate clients are coming to us with needs which have evolved far beyond the single-case financing model on which this industry is founded – although that remains a core area of our business. This additional long-term capital will enable us to continue to meet the global demand for Burford’s services and further solidifies our position as the industry leader with the industry’s lowest cost of capital.
“We appreciate the ongoing support of our investors through our debt and equity, which together enable the further expansion of our business. We look forward to demonstrating Burford’s further potential.”
