Lansdowne
Lansdowne Partners is described as "one of Mayfair's largest and most successful hedge funds." It is 20 per cent owned by Morgan Stanley.
Contents
Controversy
Lansdowne attracted controversy after it emerged it had made an estimated £100m from the demise of failed UK bank Northern Rock.[1]
In 2013 it emerged that Lansdowne had benefited from investing around £50million in Royal Mail's privatisation, with the value of its shares rising by £18million after one day of trading alone. The Labour Party drew attention to fact that one of Lansdowne's top executives was a close friend of [2]
People
- Paul Ruddock, co-founding partner. Ruddock is one of the most prominent supporters of the Conservative Party. Up to Feb 2009, he had contributed £260,000 to the party. His donation qualifies him for membership to David Cameron's 100-strong elite donors club, the Leaders Group. He previously worked for Goldman Sachs and Schroders.[1] In 2012 he was awarded a knighthood. He has Sir Paul denied that this was linked to his donation, but rather for his 'services to arts'.
- Peter Davies, Lansdowne's co-head of developed markets strategy and a member of the hedge fund's management committee. Davies is a close friend of UK Chancellor George Osborne; they met at Oxford University and he was best man at Osborne's wedding in 1998.
Lobbying
Lansdowne's lobbying firm in the UK is Tulchan Communications.
Funds
Its largest and best performing fund in 2008 was 'UK equities', run by Peter Davies.[1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hedge Fund thinks bank slide is over, Observer, 1 March 2009
- ↑ Steve Swinford, Hedge fund investing in Royal Mail employs George Osborne's friend, The Telegraph, 11 Oct 2013, 10.00pm BST, acc 15 October 2013
