Burford Capital Reports ‘Record’ First Half, Shares Drop (1)

Burford Capital’s share price fell as much as 9% on Thursday after the litigation finance company reported a record first half for profit and commitments to invest in new lawsuits but a research firm questioned its cash balance.

Burford said its adjusted pretax profit rose 41% from the prior first-half period to $231 million as its total assets rose 37% to $2.3 billion. Its core litigation finance business—investing in standalone disputes and portfolios of lawsuits—allocated $381 million to new investments in the first half of the year. That was up 47% from the prior year period, and driven in large ...