Crispin Odey’s eponymous hedge fund business has hatched a set of contingency plans, including the closure of his flagship European fund, which would be set into motion if he is convicted of indecent assault.
Odey (pictured) was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service last month over an alleged incident that took place in 1998 at Swan Walk in Chelsea where he owns a property and several of his businesses are registered.
The millionaire hedge fund manager has denied the allegation and said he “will strongly contest this matter” when he appears before Westminster magistrates’ court on 28 September.
The contingency plan would involve the closure of Odey’s flagship European fund with money returned to investors, and see his Odey Opus and Odey Swan retail funds handed off to colleagues James Hanbury and Oliver Kelton.
The plans represent the absolute worst-case scenario, according to The Sunday Times.
Odey Asset Management declined to comment.
Odey and his wife Jupiter Asset Management chairwoman Nichola Pease are among the richest figures in the UK asset management industry having amassed a fortune worth £825m.
Odey raked in millions of pounds betting against sterling during the EU Referendum, with Odey European netting £220m following the result. More recently the ardent Brexiteer said he made £115m from his shorts on British businesses like Metro Bank and Fevertree as markets plunged in March due to Covid-19. Months later he pocketed close to £100m after Wirecard, which was rocked by an accounting scandal, and Intu Properties fell into administration.
Despite some savvy short calls Odey’s European fund has had a volatile time this year. The fund was up 24.5% in March, according to data from FE Fundinfo, but had completely reversed these gains by April, falling 11.2% over the month. Year-to-date it has lost investors 13.7%, while peers in the FO Hedge/Structured Product Mixed sector have generated returns of 0.9%.
Assets in the fund have shrunk dramatically in recent years from €2.5bn at the start of 2015 to €279.7m at the end of July 2020, according to figures from Morningstar. Year-to-date the fund has seen an estimated €118.7m worth of redemptions.
