UK Litigation Funder Augusta’s Employees Bolt for Omni Bridgeway

Five Augusta Ventures employees from the investment team, including one person from the executive level, are leaving the litigation funder to go to Omni Bridgeway, according to three people familiar with the matter.

UK-based litigation funder Augusta saw significant layoffs earlier this year, according to one of the employees who was among those let go and another who has since left. Both declined to be named. As of late September there were 15 employees listed on the company website, down from 38 in December 2022.

Omni Bridgeway is a global litigation company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange that employs nearly 200 staff, according to its website. The company said earlier this year that funding requests for lawsuits increased about 30% compared with 2022.

The moves away from Augusta highlight the precarious side of the $13.5 billion litigation finance industry, in which outside investors pool money into lawsuits in exchange for a portion of any award that results from cases. Entrants in the growing investment space sometimes find—to their disappointment—that payoffs can be few and far between.

“It’s just a risky sector,” said Marc Carmel, the managing member of McDonald Hopkins’ Chicago office and co-head of its litigation finance group. “The market for really good cases is certainly finite.”

Augusta did not respond to several requests for comment.

Augusta commenced operations in London in 2013 and previously claimed in a 2018 press release that it has financed more cases than any other litigation funder in the UK. Augusta’s website lists offices in London, Sydney and Toronto, but there is only one employee on their website in Sydney and none in the Toronto office.

One of the company’s founders, Louis Young, was previously the CEO of another litigation funder, Normandy Capital Management. The other, Robert Hanna, said on Augusta’s website that he previously co-founded hedge fund asset firm Mako Investment Managers.

In September 2019, Augusta raised $115 million from an unnamed US investment manager. Since December 2020, two employees of PIMCO have been listed as directors in Augusta’s financial filings. Representatives from PIMCO declined to comment.

In 2021, Augusta completed its third round of fundraising for £250 million and included investors such as Magnetar Capital, Northleaf Capital Partners, and Beach Point Capital Management.

According to an audit of the funder, conducted by BDO in 2021, an unnamed company acquired control of Augusta’s Australia assets through the purchase of 100% of the share of capital for a total of £769,660.

There has been more movement in the industry over the past six months than in any other six-month period, said Carmel, whose firm conducts reviews of potential clients for funders as well as provides strategic litigation finance advice. That includes funders doing layoffs and people leaving established companies to start their own firms.