Burford Capital, the fund manager which invests in commercial litigation cases, has appointed a former senior adviser to the US Treasury as its chief investment officer. It comes as a new UK litigation fund readies itself for a £50m (€57.5m) float "in the next few weeks".

Burford Capital listed on London's Alternative Investment Market in mid-October last year, becoming the second fund of its type. The first, Juridica Investments, listed its shares on Aim in December 2007, raising £80m.