Burford Capital LtdBUR
Burford Capital Ltd Commitments Disclosure
Financial commitments and contingent liabilities
The table below sets forth the maturity profile of the Group’s financial liabilities based on contractual undiscounted payments as of the date indicated.
| December 31, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | Leases | Debt payable | Debt interest payable | Other liabilities | Long-term incentive compensation payable | Financial liabilities relating to third-party interests in capital provision assets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026 | $ | 2,976 | $ | 218,641 | $ | 160,617 | $ | 60,379 | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2027 | 2,926 | — | 149,688 | 3,225 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2028 | 2,807 | 400,000 | 137,188 | 6,376 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2029 | 1,631 | — | 124,688 | 5,447 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2030 | 907 | 360,000 | 112,313 | 2,641 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thereafter | 2,796 | 1,175,000 | 174,938 | 3,951 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No contractual maturity date | — | — | — | 84,165 | 228,366 | 858,491 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total undiscounted cash flows | 14,043 | 2,153,641 | 859,432 | 166,184 | 228,366 | 858,491 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lease present value adjustment | (892) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lease liabilities | 13,151 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commitments to financing arrangements
As a normal part of its business, the Group routinely enters into financing agreements that may require the Group to provide continuing financing over time, whereas other financing agreements provide for immediate financing of the total commitment. The terms of the former type of financing agreements vary widely—e.g., in cases of discretionary commitments, the Group is not contractually obligated to advance capital and generally would not suffer adverse financial consequences from not doing so and, therefore, has broad discretion as to each incremental financing of a continuing capital provision asset, while in cases of definitive commitments, the Group is contractually obligated to advance incremental capital and failure to do so would typically result in adverse contractual consequences (such as a dilution in the Group’s returns or the loss of the Group’s deployed capital in a case).
The Group’s commitments are capped at a fixed amount in its financing agreements. In addition, as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Group had exposure to assets where the Group provided some form of legal risk arrangement pursuant to which the Group does not generally expect to deploy the full committed capital unless there is a failure of the claim, such as providing an indemnity for adverse legal costs. The table below sets forth the components of undrawn commitments as of the dates indicated (assuming the GBP/USD exchange rate of $1.3491 and $1.2529 as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively).
| December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Definitive | $ | 1,269,708 | $ | 962,808 | ||||||||||
| Discretionary | 793,533 | 1,032,433 | ||||||||||||
| Legal risk (definitive) | 47,235 | 41,318 | ||||||||||||
| Total capital provision undrawn commitments | 2,110,476 | 2,036,559 | ||||||||||||
Leases
Leases consist primarily of the Group’s leased office space in (i) New York, New York, United States, (ii) Chicago, Illinois, United States, (iii) London, United Kingdom and (iv) Singapore, Singapore, which the Group has determined to be operating leases under US GAAP.
The table below sets forth the components of lease costs for the periods indicated.
| Years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Operating lease cost | $ | 2,874 | $ | 2,678 | $ | 2,729 | ||||||||||||||
| Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities | 3,080 | 2,564 | 2,175 | |||||||||||||||||
The table below sets forth right-of-use assets, lease liabilities, weighted average remaining lease term and weighted average discount rate for the operating leases as of the dates indicated.
| December 31, | ||||||||||||||
| ($ in thousands) | 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Right-of-use assets | $ | 11,288 | $ | 12,796 | ||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities | 13,151 | 14,821 | ||||||||||||
| Weighted average remaining lease term (years) | 5.9 | 6.7 | ||||||||||||
| Weighted average discount rate | 6.6% | 6.6% | ||||||||||||
The Group’s leases have remaining lease terms of up to approximately 7 years. None of these leases have options to extend. One of these leases has an option for early termination which, if exercised, would shorten the remaining lease term by up to 3 years. The Group does not currently intend to early terminate this lease.
Legal proceedings
From time to time, the Group may be involved in various legal (including judicial, regulatory, administrative or arbitration) proceedings, lawsuits and claims incidental to the conduct of its business. Some of these proceedings, lawsuits or claims may be material and involve highly complex issues that are subject to substantial uncertainties and could result in damages, fines, penalties, non-monetary sanctions or relief. In addition, the Group’s business and operations are subject to extensive regulation, which may result in regulatory proceedings against the Group.
As of the date of this 2025 Form 10-K, having considered the legal merits of any relevant proceedings, lawsuits or claims and having received relevant legal advice (including any legal advice from outside counsel), the Group considers there to be no material contingent liability in respect of any such proceedings, lawsuits or claims requiring disclosure in the Group’s consolidated financial statements. However, given the potentially large and/or indeterminate relief that may be sought and the inherent unpredictability of legal proceedings, lawsuits or claims, it is possible that an adverse outcome in certain matters could have a material adverse effect on the Group’s business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity in any future period. In addition, there can be no assurance that material losses will not be incurred from claims that have not yet been asserted or those where potential losses have not yet been determined to be probable or possible and reasonably estimable.
Historical Timeline
| Fiscal Year | Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Feb 26, 2026 | Showing above |
| 2024 | Mar 3, 2025 | |
About Commitments Disclosures
Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.
Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.