The parent company of listed City firm Rosenblatt Limited has created a litigation funding business to cater for the expected surge in cases following the coronavirus crisis.

LionFish Litigation Finance, a subsidiary of RBG Holdings, will fund complex high value cases for law firms, individuals, insolvency practitioners and corporates, across a variety of sectors. Rosenblatt, which specialises in dispute resolution, will provide assessment and advisory services to the funder on litigation risks.

RGB Holdings said the nascent business will be well placed to take advantage of the expected increase in litigation cases on the back of the current economic turmoil and the increased demand for affordable financing and de-risking strategies.

The funder will be led by managing director Tets Ishikawa, who has joined from insurance company Acasta Europe Ltd.

Nicola Foulston, chief executive of RBG Holdings plc, said: ‘Financing legal cases is not new to the legal industry, however, LionFish’s key differentiators are our ability to swiftly manage high risk complex matters and, where required, restructure them for the UK market.’

Earlier this week, international firm Fieldfisher challenged third party funders with a ‘more competitive’ insurance policy for damages-based agreements. Having introduced a litigation funding service for commercial claims last year, the firm has devised a DBA insurance policy that will guarantee a proportion of the firm’s unbilled work in progress and disbursements at the end of the case.