Lifecycle of a case

Harbour works with you from beginning to end.

Your first contact with Harbour is typically with one of our case originators. These experienced professionals are tasked with identifying suitable investment opportunities where we can add value. They will quickly determine whether we can invest in your proposition and if so, conduct initial due diligence and agree pricing terms with you. Once terms are agreed, they undertake further investigations with you, and prepare a detailed written submission for our investment committee.

Once an investment is approved, it is allocated to a dedicated case manager. They work with you to sign up and then monitor the investment to conclusion. They are your point of contact over the life of the dispute.

Harbour’s investment team comprises litigators with wide-ranging experience from in-house and private practice, and finance professionals.

422386One of our case managers (all of whom are former litigation lawyers) will be appointed to your case. They will receive updates on its progress and may also wish to speak with the legal team from time to time. Your case manager will always be on hand to provide an additional view on matters that arise during the course of the litigation or arbitration, but we respect the fact that the claim belongs to the claimant, and not to Harbour. The claimant, with the benefit of their legal teams advice, makes all the key decisions, including whether to settle the claim, and how much for. 7Initial ContactNDAInitial AssessmentLetter of Intent and PricingInvestment CommitteeFunding AgreementCase ManagementConclusion51
Working with us

The litigation funding market is increasingly crowded but Harbour stands out as one of a handful of providers who are reliable, commercial and pragmatic in their approach.

— Paul Worth, Joint Head of Litigation Eversheds Sutherland

You are dealing with professionals who both understand the ups and downs of litigation, but also have the commercial awareness of which cases are likely to work for them.

— Richard Leedham, Mishcon de Reya

Often in funding matters, timing and responsiveness is vital. I have always found the Harbour team alive to these issues, and committed to prompt turnaround.

— Chambers and Partners 2022

They operate at the Rolls-Royce end of the market, funding serious cases with staff who can actually add value in the context of litigation. It's very useful to have a litigation funder who does not back seat drive. They bring very useful and objective solutions.

— Chambers & Partners 2020

They have real depth of experience in funding group claims, better than other funders for the UK. Real experts in that area.

— Chambers & Partners 2020

Harbour are like royalty. Very, very good, very polished and very sophisticated. They give you a very quick turnaround, and get cases in and out the door. The thing I like about them is that when they are not interested, they give you a quick no.

— Chambers & Partners 2020

They are experienced and know their market, which really helps when they are in front of clients. They also have a track record with which many of the newer funders struggle to compete.

— Paul Worth, Joint Head of Litigation Eversheds Sutherland

Harbour is not afraid to talk about out-of-the-box commercial agreements and to bring in other high-end firms who can add value to the process in Australia. Sophisticated and high-end funding, very complex cases. Love their thinking and their ingenuity.

— Chambers & Partners 2020

We don’t see Harbour as just funders – we see them as business partners – and that we are in the case together to get the best result for the clients (or the class).

— Johnson Winter & Slattery

Impeccable reputation in the marketplace.

— Chambers & Partners 2019

Never met a funder so involved – they work hand in glove with their clients.

— Chambers & Partners 2019

Early on, thought-through decisions are reached about cases which means minimum frustration for clients. As cases progress the team are always willing to discuss any aspect while maintaining the correct distance.

— Richard Leedham, Mishcon de Reya

They listen to what you say, then form their own view and put in a realistic contingency to use if needed.

— Chambers & Partners 2019

The perfect funder needs to be somewhere between a traditional lawyer and a hedge fund manager. It’s essential to have a legal understanding yet to be very commercial.

— Ben Williams, King & Spalding

Case studies

Sotheby’s

A professional negligence claim against Sotheby’s for its alleged failure to identify the true provenance of a painting sold at auction.

Pioneer Iron & Steel

A claim in Hong Kong by the liquidator of Pioneer against its sole former director and shareholder in relation to the ownership of valuable company assets. 

Roadchef

A claim by Roadchef employee members of their employee benefits trust against the trustees of another Roadchef trust in relation to the misappropriation of share options by the former Chief Executive of Roadchef.

Our team

We have a diverse group of people, all of whom understand what is required to progress a case. All have specialist litigation and arbitration experience in numerous jurisdictions. They have the creativity and problem solving capacity to take your case to completion.

Meet everyone

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