Pogust Goodhead secures $65m top-up from hedge fund backer

Pogust Goodhead has secured additional funding from US hedge fund backer Gramercy.

The fresh financing - a $65 million credit facility, according to the Financial Times - was announced on the weekend and comes after a recent leadership shake-up that saw co-founder Tom Goodhead replaced as CEO amid reported "tension" with Gramercy.

In a statement, the firm said the funding was a "clear endorsement of our current litigation", and provided the resources "to support our unrelenting mission to deliver justice." The firm also confirmed that Goodhead, who is currently "on leave of absence", remains on the board and that COO Alicia Alinia has taken over as interim CEO, joining the board along with two new directors - former Dentons chief Howard Morris and ex-Cadwalader litigator Joseph Moreno.

Around the same time as the leadership changes, turnaround consultant and former DLA Piper restructuring partner Huw Dolphin replaced Goodhead as the "person with significant control" of the firm. He now has the power to appoint and remove directors, according to Companies House filings.

Cash pressures

The new financing will ease pressure at Pogust Goodhead. Gramercy agreed a $552 million funding deal with the firm in 2023, in what's understood to be the largest single litigation finance deal ever. However, it has since grappled with a high monthly cash burn and long lead times on complex cases.

It is currently representing more than half a million claimants in the landmark £36 billion class action against Slaughters-advised BHP over the 2015 Mariana dam collapse in Brazil - the biggest group action in UK legal history.

Although the liability trial ended in March (with the judgment still pending), the second stage proceedings to determine damages are not scheduled to start before October 2026. BHP and joint venture partner Vale reportedly made a $1.4 billion offer to settle the case in June, but no settlement was reached.