Shares in Burford Capital fell today after a Dubai court refused to hand over possession of a £353 million superyacht named Luna to a divorcee of a Russian oligarch.
Tatiana Akhmedova had been fighting to get her hands on the boat as part of her divorce settlement from billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov.
The ruling means Tatiana and her litigation finance backer, Burford Capital, cannot now seize the asset which was once owned by Roman Abramovich.
Back in 2016 Tatiana Akhmedova was granted a 41.5% share of her ex-husband's £1 billion fortune at the High Court in London.
But since the judgement Burford and Tatiana have recouped less than one per cent of the £453 million.
Burford recently hired US based intelligience company Arcanum to try and help it secure further assets from Farkhad Akhmedov.
Commenting on the Dubai ruling, Carlo Fedrigoli, a lawyer acting for Farkhad Akhmedov, said: “Tatiana and her backers have now - at very great expense - come to the end of the road in their attempts to enforce the matrimonial judgment in the UAE and remove Luna from her rightful ownership.
"Their multiple and misguided attempts to bypass UAE public policy, family and Sharia law and enforce this matrimonial and maintenance judgement in Dubai have now been rejected for good."
Burford shares were down 4%.
