Canadian law firm funder to lend over £50m to UK PI practices

A business created by Canada's top law firm financier has launched in England and Wales with plans to lend at least £50m to personal injury law firms during 2016.

SpectraLegal is the brainchild of BridgePoint Financial Group, a leading provider of litigation financing, which has supported more than 750 Canadian firms over the past 11 years.

Options for personal injury law firms in England and Wales to fund their practices have been in short supply in recent years amid caution from traditional lenders and the many reforms hitting the sector.

Since opening in the UK in October, SpectraLegal has approved in excess of £10m of loans to a handful of firms, including backing the expansion plans following Pure Legal's £13m acquisition of clinical negligence specialist firm Pryers in December. A further £30m of lending is in the pipeline.

Chairman and CEO, John Rossos, added: 'The legal market in England and Wales represents a huge opportunity for our business because of the similar legal structure and our proprietary expertise.

'We bring a deep understanding and appreciation of the market and far greater insight than other providers of capital. Our credibility is enhanced by the success of our clients in Canada and we expect to make the same impact on the British market that we have done in Canada.'

SpectraLegal is initially targeting personal injury firms operating on conditional fee and damages-based agreements through two types of financing facilities.

Its Costs Advance Facilities enables firms to draw down against expected costs awards in completed cases, releasing cash without having to compromise on costs claims.

Meanwhile, its WIP and Disbursements Facilities aims to help firms monetise WIP and disbursements to progress cases, subject to a minimum of £200,000 for each facility.

Steve Carter, SpectraLegal's chief operating officer, said: 'The combination of our secure position and market insight has really struck a chord with firms, with new applications coming in all the time. Law firms like the fact that our business is based on growing those with whom we do business.

'Unlike traditional investors, such as banks, we spend just as much time looking at the market as we do the firm's books. We delve deeper, make plans, organise and advise.

'Alongside this we've invested in a bespoke online platform that allows us to look at a wide range of factors, including how fee-earners and suppliers are performing. The result is a level of independent, proactive and granular analysis that firms may not have had access to previously.'