Two high-profile London hedge fund managers are to pump millions of pounds into the campaign to keep Britain in the EU, in a move which will come as a relief to David Cameron.
Mr Cameron had feared that hedge fund managers, frustrated by attempts by Brussels to regulate the sector, would give the Brexit campaign a vital cash advantage in the forthcoming EU referendum.
While the Vote Leave campaign still expects significant backing from hedge funds, it has emerged that two senior figures in the industry will provide funding for the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign.
David Harding, founder of Winton Capital Management, is joining the board of the cross-party campaign to keep Britain in the European Union and is understood to be donating several million pounds.
He told the Financial Times: “I consider Europe to be a home market for us. The benefits of a successful European capital markets union to a firm like ours and to the financial services industry would be great.”
Mr Harding has become joint treasurer of the pro-EU group with Roland Rudd, founder of PR firm Finsbury, and chairman of the finance committee; he was persuaded to come on board by his friend Lord (David) Sainsbury.
Meanwhile John Armitage, founder of $15bn hedge fund Egerton Capital, is giving a six-figure sum to the campaign. A friend of Mr Armitage said: “He is fighting against the Little Englanders on the out campaign. Who is going to be negotiating trade deals with the US if we’re outside Europe?” [...]
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