With the recent surge in consumer class action applications, those who broker the deals between law firms and litigation funders find themselves in a unique position.

Without the input of such intermediaries, it would be impossible for opt-out group lawsuits to reach the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) in London.

Individual consumers are powerless to take on the might of multinational corporations, with the average legal fee budget for such cases stretching to £23.4million.

As expensive and lengthy collective consumer rights claims edge closer to being heard at the CAT, the spotlight falls more intensely on funding brokerage companies.

Brokers are also involved in arranging for after-the-event (ATE) legal expenses insurance, ensuring that if the representative consumer group does not win its case against a powerful multinational it will not be left with an impossible bill.

In contrast to the U.S., changes to U.K. law governing opt-out class actions mean that the loser has to pay the other side's legal costs, a measure brought in to discourage frivolous claims.

This puts specialist brokerage firms at the heart of a complex dynamic, one which directly influences which class actions can actually proceed.

Another element of the process which is expected to prove crucial as the untried class action process plays out is the distribution of funds to members of the group following judgment.

The changes to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 have created a role for companies that specialise in allocating damages to potentially millions of claimants.

Here we lift up the bonnet, and break down the constituent parts and players of the opt-out class action process, and discover more about who's really benefitting from the class action boom.

'We're here to help'

In November last year, it was announced that Factor Risk Management had brokered funding and ATE insurance for Leigh Day's case against U.K. water and sewerage companies, which secured a "significant" funding package from legal finance experts Bench Walk Advisors.

This is expected to be the first environmental class action before the CAT.

Factor Risk's co-founder and director Tom Davey says the company exists "to help people manage dispute risk", alleviating the biggest financial concern in cases for which law firms will bill over £1 billion in legal fees in the coming years.

Though Davey happily concedes that there is a profit motive for funders, he is insistent that some are equally geared towards acting in the public interest.

"What they are saying to consumers and their representatives is if you are going to take a group action against a well-financed, large corporation you could be bled dry," he says. "They are saying, 'Here we are – happy to help'.

"That motivation is twofold: one the profit motive and two providing a service that levels up the litigation playing field, which enables ordinary people to have redress through the courts against larger enterprises."