Brexit-backing hedge fund manager loses £125m – because of Brexit

A Brexit-backing hedge fund manager personally lost £125m last year as his pessimistic bets on the UK economy went wrong.

Crispin Odey was one of the most prominent supporters of the Leave campaign, donating more than £870,000 to pro-Brexit groups. He also bet huge amounts of money on the UK economy tanking in the aftermath of a Leave vote. So far, it has held up better than expected.

Mr Odey, who manages about £6.5bn for clients of Odey Asset Management, saw his fund lose 49.5 per cent of its value in 2016.

The Sunday Times estimates that his fortune has declined by £125m as a result. The hedge fund manager may not lose too much sleep over the paper losses however - he still has around £775m in the bank.

Mr Odey predicted UK stocks would lose up to 80 per cent of their value amid a recession and higher inflation. The FTSE 100 has since surged to record highs.

He was in a very different position, the day after the Brexit vote as markets and the pound temporarily crashed, leaving him £220m richer.

How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite

8 show all How Brexit affected Britain's favourite foods from Weetabix to Marmite

1/8 Weetabix Chief executive of Weetabix Giles Turrell has warned that the price of one of the nation’s favourite breakfast are likely to go up this year by low-single digits in percentage terms. Reuters

2/8 Nescafé The cost of a 100g jar of Nescafé Original at Sainsbury’s has gone up 40p from £2.75 to £3.15 – a 14 per cent rise—since the Brexit vote. PA

3/8 Freddo When contacted by The Independent this month, a Mondelez spokesperson declined to discuss specific brands but confirmed that there would be "selective" price increases across its range despite the American multi-national confectionery giant reporting profits of $548m (£450m) in its last three-month financial period. Mondelez, which bought Cadbury in 2010, said rising commodity costs combined with the slump in the value of the pound had made its products more expensive to make. Cadbury

4/8 Mr Kipling cakes Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling and Bisto gravy, said that it was considering price rises on a case-by-case basis Reuters

5/8 Walkers Crisps Walkers, owned by US giant PepsiCo, said "the weakened value of the pound" is affecting the import cost of some of its materials. A Walkers spokesman told the Press Association that a 32g standard bag was set to increase from 50p to 55p, and the larger grab bag from 75p to 80p. Getty

6/8 Marmite Tesco removed Marmite and other Unilever household brand from its website last October, after the manufacturer tried to raise its prices by about 10 per cent owing to sterling’s slump. Tesco and Unilever resolved their argument, but the price of Marmite has increased in UK supermarkets with the grocer reporting a 250g jar of Marmite will now cost Morrisons’ customers £2.64 - an increase of 12.5 per cent. Rex

7/8 Toblerone Toblerone came under fire in November after it increased the space between the distinctive triangles of its bars. Mondelez International, the company which makes the product, said the change was made due to price rises in recent months. Pixabay

8/8 Maltesers Maltesers, billed as the “lighter way to enjoy chocolate”, have also shrunk in size. Mars, which owns the brand, has reduced its pouch weight by 15 per cent. Mars said rising costs mean it had to make the unenviable decision between increasing its prices or reducing the weight of its Malteser packs. iStockphoto

Mr Odey hailed his own performance at the time, saying: “This is a good day for me. I was brave. I had a lot of clients who were angry with me but they won’t be quite so angry this morning. Life is not about being un-brave at the right time. We in the City have certain skills.”

“There’s that Italian expression,” he told the BBC. “‘Al mattino ha l’oro in bocca’ – the morning has gold in its mouth – and never has one felt so much that idea as this morning really.”

Mr Odey has been a vocal critic of central banks’ intervention in the world economy. In a letter to investors last October he blamed Bank of England Governor Mark Carney for soaring import prices. By keeping interest rates low, Mr Carney exacerbated the fall in the value of the pound, which has increased inflation, Mr Odey said.