Competition
R (on the application of Innsworth Capital Ltd) v CAT [2026] EWHC 1393 (Admin)
The Administrative Court dismissed the claimant litigation funder’s judicial review claim challenging the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (CAT’s) order for distribution of settlement proceeds in collective proceedings against Mastercard. The claimant funded collective proceedings brought by Mr Merricks as class representative against Mastercard. After eight years of litigation, the proceedings settled for £200m, representing only 1.4% of the original £14bn claim. The CAT approved the settlement and ordered distribution into three ‘pots’: Pot 1 (£100m) for the class with a minimum payment of £45 per claimant; Pot 2 (approximately £46m) for reimbursement of the claimant’s expenditure; and Pot 3 (approximately £54m) for the claimant’s profit and supplementing Pot 1 if necessary, with any residue to the Access to Justice Foundation. The CAT determined a return on investment of 1.5 was appropriate, providing the claimant with a total return of £68m (expenditure plus 50% profit). The court held that, among other things, the CAT’s decision was within its wide unrestricted powers as an expert specialist body exercising evaluative judgment
