Crispin Odey has pocketed close to £100m from the implosion of scandal-hit firm Wirecard and debt-stricken Intu Properties.
The Odey Asset Management founder told the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on Sunday he had raked in between €25m and €30m (£23m-£27m) from shorting online payments firm Wirecard.
The prominent Brexiteer picked up another £75m, at least, from his shorts on shopping centre giant Intu Properties, according to This is Money. Filings from the Financial Conduct Authority show he has been shorting the stock since 2012.
Both firms have collapsed into administration over the past weeks.
Germany’s fintech darling Wirecard has been embroiled in an accounting scandal which has seen its share price collapse and chief executive Markus Braun arrested on suspicion of fraud and market manipulation.
Its shares have fallen 97% since 18 June when it filed for insolvency after being unable to account for €1.9bn euros on its balance sheet.
Odey and Argonaut Absolute Return manager Barry Norris are among the investors profiting from Wirecard’s accounting fiasco, while former Jupiter European equities star Alexander Darwall, who held a substantial stake in the company via his European Opportunities Investment Trust, has taken a hit.
See also: Alexander Darwall trust rebounds as large Wirecard holding is chucked
Intu Properties, which owns shopping centres across the UK including the Trafford Centre in Manchester, entered administration on Friday after talks to restructure the business fell through.
FCA disclosures of net short positions show Odey topped up his short position in Intu from 3.5% to 3.6% on 4 March when shares were trading at 6.3p a pop. Intu’s shares had rallied since then, hitting 9.9p in early June, but by Friday had plunged to a record low of 1.8p.
Odey has been shorting Intu since November 2012. Back then the shopping centre giant’s shares were trading at £3.37 per share.
Toscafund, run by Martin Hughes and hedge fund group Kite Lake Capital Management have also profited from Intu’s implosion, owning 1.2% and 0.5% short positions respectively.
Both Wirecard and Intu have said business activities will continue during the administration process.
In March Odey revealed he had raked in £115m from his short positions, including Fevertree, Metro Bank and Intu, during the coronavirus sell-off.
