A business pioneering the securitisation of litigation funding today reported a quadrupling in pre-tax profits as it announced plans to harness technology in dispute resolution. 

Greater Manchester-based ME Group Holdings announced pre-tax profits of £13.1m on a turnover of £36.45m in the year ending March 2020. It also announced a partnership with a related investment company, Forbes Ventures, to offer what it says is the first securitisation of UK consumer litigation funding. 

ME Group claims to provide an end-to-end platform for complex consumer disputes. Its proprietory technology enables solicitors to determine whether consumers have a valid case, for which it then provides funding. 

Rob Cooper, chief executive of ME and Forbes, said: 'Litigation funding is a fast growth UK alternative asset class which is receiving increased interest from global investors.'

Cooper said that the company is forecasting double digit growth during the next 12 months as it develops next-generation technology to facilitate the resolution of complex financial disputes. 'The lockdown underscored the value of technology for the dispute resolution industry, which would have ground to a halt without it,' he said. 'Technology will become the norm for dispute resolution, not least because law firms and the public they serve have seen how technology both improves the quality of the customer journey and is much cheaper to use.'   

ME is one of several funders attempting to predict the outcome of cases with computer software. Last week, funding giant Therium Capital Management announced a tie-up with litigation analytics startup Solominic.