News: IMF UPDATE 1-Institutional funds file 100 mln stg damages claim against Tesco, page-4

Yes we did Guardian article below:

Who are the specialist investors behind the £100m Tesco case?
Claim is backed by Bentham Europe, a litigation funder that recently came under control of hedge fund Elliott Management


Paul Singer, president of Elliott Management. Singer’s critics have described him as a ‘vulture capitalist’. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters
Simon Bowers
@sbowers00
Tuesday 1 November 2016 05.16 AEDT Last modified on Tuesday 1 November 2016 10.20 AEDT

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The £100m claim faced by Tesco is being backed by the litigation funder Bentham Europe. These funders are specialist investors who provide financial backing to claimants they believe to have a good chance of being awarded damages in a legal dispute.

Many claimants are only able to get costly or high-risk cases into court by using financial backing from litigation funders. In return, the investors can receive a conditional fee or a percentage of any eventual settlement. Funders often also insist on taking a leading role in managing cases.

Among the most established litigation funders is the Australian firm IMF Bentham. What was its European joint venture business, Bentham Ventures, is bankrolling large claims against the carmaker Volkswagen and Tesco – both are lawsuits being brought by shareholders after recent scandals.

Tesco faces £100m claim from investors over accounting scandal

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In June, however, IMF Bentham sold its 50% stake in Bentham Ventures to its joint-venture partner, Elliott Management, a US hedgeIn fund founded and run by Paul Singer.

Singer’s critics have described him as a “vulture capitalist”, and Elliott is well-known for taking high-risk stakes in distressed companies, or businesses embroiled in litigation.
Singer’s appetite for investing in areas of risk and controversy has seen his funds buy up defaulting sovereign bonds issued by Peru, Congo-Brazzaville and Argentina – investments that have attracted much criticism.

The 72-year-old has a fortune estimated at $2.2bn (£1.8bn) by Forbes and has been a major donor to Republican election campaigns in the US over many years. Most recently, he backed Senator Marco Rubio’s failed attempt to become the Republican presidential candidate.

Even though Bentham Ventures is now ultimately controlled by Elliott and has severed ties with IMF Bentham in Australia, it has not changed its name. The litigation fund is registered in the Netherlands, but many decisions are made from its Bentham Europe offices in London by a team led by the chief investment officer, Jeremy Marshall, a British lawyer with more than 20 years’ litigation experience.