Litigation funder loses judicial review challenge to collective settlement

10/06/26

R (Innsworth Capital Ltd.) v. Competition Appeal Tribunal [2026] EWHC 1393 (Admin)

The judicial review proceedings brought by litigation funder Innsworth challenging the structure of the £200m settlement of the collective proceedings brought by Walter Merricks CBE against Mastercard have been dismissed by a Divisional Court. The Court (Males LJ and Morris J) held that the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s conclusions on the just and reasonable return for the funder were well within the wide powers conferred upon it as an expert and specialist tribunal. The Court refused permission to Innsworth to reopen the ground seeking to challenge the distribution of residue to the Access to Justice Foundation in preference to the funder, a ground on which Linden J had previously refused permission to proceed at a hearing in February 2026.

The judgment is here.