This week it has hired a lawyer and economist for its London office.  The company, which boasts a number of legal glitterati as shareholders, aims to take on 20 new cases a month by the end of 2015. In its first year, it has committed £8m to 36 cases and established partnerships with over 40 law firms. It now has over £50 million available in working capital to fund new cases. While other funders focus on a handful of multi-million pound investments in big cases, Augusta says it  invests between £10,000 and £600,000 in a broad range of commercial litigation matters.

Legal backers

The company is backed by private funds, a Canadian family office and Metric Capital Partners, a pan-European private capital fund manager whose partners include former Clifford Chance managing partner Peter Cornell. Augusta’s shareholders include David Cheyne, former senior partner of Linklaters, and Martyn Bowes, ex-head of real estate financing at Barclays. It has also formed a case review panel led by former head of dispute resolution at Speechly Bircham, Stephen Dobson, former High Court Judge, Sir Raymond Jack QC, Baker & McKenzie’s former Global Dispute Resolution head, Nick Pearson, and barrister Richard Davis of Hogarth Chambers.