Burford Capital
Finance and professional services company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Burford Capital is a financial services company that provides specialized financing to the legal market. Founded in 2009, it offers financing to corporate legal departments and law firms engaged in litigation and arbitration,[3] asset recovery and other legal financing such as law firm equity investments.[4][5] It operates internationally with headquarters in Guernsey and is publicly traded on both the New York Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange.
 | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| LSE: BUR NYSE: BUR | |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founders | Christopher Bogart Jonathan Molot |
| Headquarters | Guernsey |
| Key people | Christopher Bogart (CEO)[1] Jonathan Molot (CIO) |
| Products | Litigation finance |
| Revenue |  US$413 million (2025)[2] |
| US$62.6 million (2025)[2] | |
| Website | burfordcapital |
History
Burford was founded by Christopher Bogart and Jonathan Molot in 2009 as a way to fund commercial litigation and arbitration.[6] Bogart had worked as general counsel for Time Warner and operated a venture capital fund, and Molot operated a firm that provided capital to companies at risk of litigation. Burford began as a small fund that initially helped corporate legal departments pay their lawyers' billable hours during litigation.[7]
Burford became publicly traded on the London AIM Stock Exchange[8] in October 2009 and issued further shares in a follow-on in 2010. In December 2016, Burford purchased Gerchen Keller Capital, another legal finance company.[7]
In 2019, Burford responded to a short attack by Muddy Waters Research[9][10] that claimed financial inaccuracies.[11] The same year, the company replaced its chief financial officer, the spouse of the chief executive officer.[12] On 12 August 2019, Burford alleged it had identified evidence consistent with “illegal market manipulation” of its shares in the run up to the short attack.[13]
Buford became listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2020.[14] It also acquired a 32 percent equity stake in the UK-based litigation firm PCB Litigation the same year.[15]
On 21 June 2021, Burford announced it had successfully been paid $103m USD, resulting from the enforcement of a judgment in the divorce suit between Russian businessman Farkhad Akhmedov and Tatiana Akhmedova.[16] Bloomberg reported the total settlement amount was £135m.[17] Burford Capital was successful in financing the enforcement of the judgment in the divorce litigation. [18][19]
Burford financed litigation surrounding the renationalization of YPF, where in 2023 $16.1 billion in damages was awarded against Argentina on behalf of two minority shareholders of YPF. Burford's share of the verdict was estimated at $6 billion, with Burford seeking shares in YPF as payment on the judgement.[20] On March 27, 2026, a U.S. Appeals Court overturned the decision against Argentina.[21]
In 2023, Sysco assigned its claims to Burford in anti-trust lawsuits for price fixing. Sysco originally brought the suits against chicken, beef, pork and turkey suppliers. Burford had funded $140 million of the litigation beginning in 2019 and was later in a dispute with Sysco over settlements with the suppliers. It sued Burford, alleging Burford was interfering with the settlements. Sysco had previously assigned a substantial portion of the claims in breach of its agreement with Burford.[22][23]
In 2025, Burford made a minority investment in Kindleworth, a London-based consultancy.[24]