Litigation Capital Management Limited (LON:LIT) expects to see a significant rise in insolvencies and court cases following the coronavirus lockdowns.
The litigation funding specialist said it is already seeing an uptick in enquiries as the impact on businesses starts to be felt.
LCM had received 522 applications in the year to June, it added, or a 25% increase over the previous year.
Global economic conditions and industry forecasts suggest there will be a significant increase in insolvency events, said LCM, leading to an increase in applications.
COVID-19 has led to the global financial markets experiencing high volatility, it added, and there is a strong correlation historically that dispute levels rise during such periods of instability.
LCM carries out single-case funding, corporate portfolio funding and claims acquisitions.
The direct investments portfolio has current capital commitment of US$95mln, it said, spread across 23 separate investments.
Two of these are corporate portfolios, it added, where it had made four resolutions in building, construction and aviation this year.
LCM launched a third-party fund in March, where 47% of the US$150mln raised has been committed across 47 projects.
UK court cases had now started to go virtual, said LCM, though there had been some delays in Australia, which had affected revenues but would have a minimal impact on earnings in the year to June.
Patrick Moloney, chief executive, said: "I am pleased to report that LCM has continued to deliver a consistent performance, reflected in our nine-year portfolio ROIC of 134% and cumulative portfolio IRR of 78%.
“In keeping with the counter-cyclical nature of the industry, LCM has observed an increased demand in fund applications and investments throughout the final quarter, and we are well-placed to capitalise upon further increases going forward.
“With court and arbitration proceedings beginning to be run virtually, in line with new working conditions, we are confident in opportunities in both established and nascent markets that we operate in."