Crispin Odey has emerged as one of a handful of winners among the coronavirus induced sell-off, raking in millions of pounds from recent bets against FTSE 250 favourites.
Odey’s eponymous investment boutique has initiated bets against six companies, including emerging markets specialist Ashmore and Nick Train favourite Fevertree, which have seen their share prices plummet this year, according to disclosures on short positions from the Financial Conduct Authority.
Frankie & Benny’s owner Restaurant Group has fallen 65% since Odey shorted the stock on 5 March, while Tullow Oil shares slid by a third since Odey took out a 0.76% short position on 12 March.
Odey’s biggest bet is against Intu Properties, a Reit that invests primarily in shopping centre developments. The hedge fund manager has a 3.64% short out on the Reit, which has lost 88% of its value year-to-date and a third since Odey placed his bet.
Odey short positions
| Stock | Short position (%) | Date initiated | Share price ytd (%) |
| Ashmore | 1.22 | 12/03/20 | 36% |
| Fevertree | 0.65 | 09/03/20 | 52% |
| Intu Properties | 3.64 | 04/03/20 | 88% |
| Metro Bank | 3.15 | 06/03/20 | 65% |
| Restaurant Group | 0.68 | 05/03/20 | 83% |
| Tullow Oil | 0.76 | 12/03/20 | 87% |
Source: FCA short position disclosures as of 13 March 2020
Odey’s flagship European fund posted 4.8% gains the last week of February, in a brutal period for equity investors where the FTSE 100 sank 11%, according to data from FE Fundinfo.
During last week’s dramatic sell-off, which included the FTSE 100’s worst day of trading since Black Monday in 1987, Odey European was flat in sterling terms while peers in the FO Equity Europe inc UK sector were down 9.7% on average.
Despite these gains Odey’s fund is still in negative territory year-to-date (-10.7%), but up noticeably on the sector (-22.3%).
Marshall Wace makes killing from travel and leisure shorts
Millionaire hedge fund bosses Paul Marshall and Ian Wace have also made a killing from shorting Britain’s travel and leisure sector.
By the end of last week, the pair’s hedge fund boutique Marshall Wace had raked in over £50m from bets against travel agency Tui and Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG). Marshall Wace owns half the shorts on Tui and the entire short position (1.19%) in IHG.
On Monday morning Tui’s shares plunged 31% to 248p, meaning it has now seen 72% wiped off its value in a month. IHG shares are down 38% over the same time period.
Marshall Wace is also one of the hedge funds shorting Easyjet, which has brought further pain for long equity holders Mark Barnett and Henry Dixon in recent weeks. It initiated a 0.81% short in Hargreaves Lansdown, which has seen its shares fall 28% in a month, last Wednesday.
