Investors who lost millions in the collapse of a fund owned by former top stock voter Neil Woodford have filed a class action lawsuit against the manager hoping to recover at least £18 million.

Law firm Harcus Parker filed a first series of claims on behalf of 1,500 savers with the High Court in London on Friday morning. Woodford himself is not the target – the claim is against the manager of his fund, Link Fund Solutions, who has been accused of failing to fulfill his duty to protect investors. Lawyers expect to expand the lawsuit to represent at least 7,000 plaintiffs.

The case will add to the pressure on Link, who is also facing a claim from another law firm, Leigh Day, which could represent up to 12,000 investors.

In UK regulation, managers such as Link are responsible for overseeing and overseeing the investments made by the fund managers.

Harcus Parker alleges Link has broken UK rules requiring the company to monitor the fund’s financial risks and liquidity, referring to how quickly investments can be turned into cash to pay investors. The poor performance of some of Woodford’s investments, combined with his decision to put money into a number of privately held private companies that were harder to sell, led to the fund’s suspension and eventual collapse in October 2019.

The fund manager who was once a star was subsequently removed as investment manager and the manager, Link, has phased him out and returned many investors at a hefty loss