High Court throws out Burford Capital's case against London Stock Exchange

'Speculative' conclusions

David Brenchley
clock • 2 min read

Claims that market manipulation had caused an artificial decline in litigation firm Burford Capital’s share price have been dismissed as “speculative” by the High Court, which threw out Burford’s attempt to obtain trading data from the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

Burford has been on the offensive ever since claims from US short-seller Muddy Waters surfaced in August, accusing the firm and now-former Invesco stockpicker Mark Barnett of "unethical behaviour". The law financer claimed a subsequent 56% share price plunge was artificially caused by "market manipulation in the form of spoofing and layering". Burford took the LSE to court as it attempted to gain access to trading data in order to prove this was the case, retaining expert Columbia University Professor Joshua Mitts, as well as to disclose the identities of market participants who trade...

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