A third-party litigation fund has listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in a move set to push specialist funding into the mainstream, with City firm Travers Smith bagging the lead advisory role.

Juridica Investments, which raised £78.4m from its initial public offering at the end of last year (21 December), becomes the first third-party litigation fund to list on London's junior stock exchange.

The recently-formed, Guernsey-incorporated fund will use the money raised by its placing to invest in a number of cases, claims and disputes over the next 18 months.

The company, which will use investment management arm Juridica Management to locate, select and manage investments, was founded by US lawyers Richard Fields and Timothy Scrantom.

Former Bar Council chairman and Matrix Chambers tenant Lord Brennan QC will chair the fund, which will initially invest primarily in the US but is looking to spread to the UK and other jurisdictions.

Travers corporate finance chief Spencer Summerfield advised new client Juridica on the float, with offshore giant Ozannes advising on Guernsey aspects of the deal. Cenkos Securities was the nominated advisor and broker.

Summerfield commented: "Juridica is a new client [that] we hope to work with again in the future. It will use the money raised to invest in litigation and is the first company of its kind to be listed on AIM."

The listing comes as the third-party litigation funding market moves a step closer to regulation, with the Civil Justice Council set to hold a meeting on the issue in February.

The meeting will cover options for regulating the emerging market, which has seen funders including IM Litigation Funding, Allianz and hedge fund MKM Longboat launch in the UK in recent times.

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