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Burford Capital Limited

BUR
29
Asset Management · Financial Services
Also trades as: BUR.L
Price
$4.31
+0.05 (+1.17%)
Market Cap
$944.2M
Winston Score
29
Winston is worried
Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.
Based on the IPO prospectus (annual filing). This score will refine automatically once the company reports its first quarters.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Good
Growth
Weak
Cash Flow
Weak
Stability
Mixed
Valuation
Mixed

Share count rising — dilution

+2.5% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 219.0M (2021) → 224.6M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Burford Capital is a finance company that pays for other people's lawsuits. When a business or individual has a strong legal case but can't afford the legal fees, Burford steps in and covers the costs. In return, Burford gets a share of the money if the case wins. This is called litigation finance, and Burford is the largest publicly traded company in this niche industry.

Burford makes money when cases settle or go to court and the client wins — it earns a portion of the payout, sometimes many times what it originally invested. The company operates globally, with major activity in the United States, United Kingdom, and international arbitration courts. Its size and track record give it an edge over smaller rivals, since law firms and corporations tend to trust larger, established funders. The biggest risk is that legal outcomes are unpredictable, cases can take years to resolve, and a string of losses could hurt returns significantly.

Score breakdown

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
57.0%
Premium pricing power — 57.0% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
24.7%
Excellent — 24.7% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
1.8%
Weak — 1.8% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
-28.0%
Shrinking sales (-28.0% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
-56.7%
Earnings shrinking (-56.7% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
N/A
Data not available

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
-46%
Weak — only -46% of profit becomes cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
-8.6%
Burning cash (-8.6%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.87
Moderate — manageable debt (0.87)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
0.58x
Dangerous — barely covers interest (0.6x)

Interest coverage below 1. Their profits don't cover the interest bill.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
28.7x
Growth-priced — P/E 28.7

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
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