Press releases
NorthWall announces successful exit from investment in Pogust Goodhead, retaining ongoing partnership stake
3rd October 2023
NorthWall Capital’s €178 million investment refinanced following investment by Gramercy
London, UK – October 3, 2023: NorthWall Capital (“NorthWall”), a leading credit investment firm delivering private capital solutions to counterparties in Western Europe, announces the exit of its investment in global law firm Pogust Goodhead following a $552 million investment by Gramercy Funds Management LLC (“Gramercy”).
The investment partnership between Pogust Goodhead and Gramercy will refinance NorthWall’s €178 million financing relationship with the law firm. Following the transaction, NorthWall will retain an ongoing partnership with Pogust Goodhead with substantial exposure to the firm and future potential upside.
NorthWall’s partnership with Pogust Goodhead began in 2021 and over the course of three investments expanded to €178 million. Most recently, in July 2022, NorthWall provided an incremental £100 million funding partnership to Pogust Goodhead, which was understood to be the largest investment made in a UK claimant law firm at the time. These investments were made through a combination of NorthWall’s flagship European Opportunities and dedicated Legal Assets investment strategies.
The financing facilities provided by NorthWall have helped Pogust Goodhead to establish its position as one of the leading global law firms in environmental litigation and supported it in pursuing international consumer claims against some of the world’s largest corporations including BHP Billiton, Vale, Volkswagen, and British Airways. In addition, the partnership with Pogust Goodhead supports NorthWall’s investment thesis that it is possible to generate attractive risk- adjusted returns whilst having a positive societal impact through ESG-investments, in this instance by providing consumers with access to justice in the form of claims seeking redress against large-scale corporate wrongdoing.
NorthWall’s relationship with Pogust Goodhead is evidence of the firm’s focus on building long- lasting, scalable partnerships with exceptional counterparties which are leaders in their respective field, as well as its expertise in structuring lender-friendly capital solutions with downside protection and significant upside potential at realization. Furthermore, the partnership demonstrates NorthWall’s ability to identify differentiated investment opportunities in Europe which possess a credit-like risk profile and no correlation to credit markets, including those with a strong ESG component.
“Our highly successful partnership with Pogust Goodhead is illustrative of our investment approach at NorthWall. We look to support high-quality counterparties by structuring and executing scalable capital solutions, which also provide us with the opportunity to generate attractive, uncorrelated returns for our investors and partners. In addition, at NorthWall, we place enormous value on looking to achieve positive societal outcomes through ESG-focused investments. We retain enormous conviction and commitment to the European credit opportunities and fast-growing legal assets spaces and continue to assess a number of attractive investment opportunities in
— Fabian Chrobog, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of NorthWall Capital
“We have been delighted to support Pogust Goodhead and its clients over the past almost three years. This was a groundbreaking and innovative funding partnership that complemented our broader credit investment portfolio and cemented our team’s leadership in the ESG-focused legal assets space. During that time, Pogust Goodhead has secured a number of landmark judgments and settlements with some of the largest global corporations, empowering victims of corporate wrongdoing to seek redress and Pogust Goodhead to establish its position as the leader in complex ESG-focused multi-jurisdictional litigations. We look forward to continuing to support Pogust Goodhead as it continues to fight on behalf of millions of individuals.”
— Alexander Garnier, Founding Partner and Portfolio Manager of NorthWall Capital