‘The gifts that keep on giving’: Hedge fund tycoon Crispin Odey’s shameless boasts over his lucrative bets against UK plc

• Crispin Odey, 63, has made millions from the crash of sterling in the last week
• Mr Odey said he saw the fall coming ‘from miles away’ as he shorted the pound 
• He said Kwasi Kwarteng’s plans were  ‘incentivising people to do the right thing’

A hedge fund boss said yesterday that his lucrative bets against UK bonds and the pound were ‘the gifts that keep on giving’.

Crispin Odey also revealed that he made millions from the crash of sterling, despite going grouse shooting as the currency collapsed.

He said he saw the fall coming ‘from miles away’ – and blamed Remain-supporting City traders for damaging confidence in the economy. 

Sterling has plunged in the wake of Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax-cutting mini-Budget last week and hit its lowest ever level against the dollar at just under $1.04 on Monday before partly recovering.

Yesterday it struggled to make further gains – rising to more than $1.08 before sinking slightly, which left it flat on the day. That was despite a clear signal from the Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill that interest rates are likely to rise sharply in November.

Mr Odey, whose flagship European hedge fund is up 145 per cent this year, told the Financial Times that he was not betting on the currency recovering and stressed that it could hit parity with the dollar.

Crispin Odey also revealed that he made millions from the crash of sterling

Mr Odey said: ‘There’s a mad idea that one’s behind every twist and turn. All I can do is catch the wind now and again’

He said: ‘I don’t think you can start getting bullish on sterling.’

Mr Odey has been shorting sterling – taking a position which leads to profits if the currency falls.

He said: ‘It’s been helpful. It [sterling and UK bonds] is all part of the same story of higher inflation.’ He has also profited from a sell-off of bonds – known as gilts – which are on course for their worst monthly performance in decades. 

A gilt is a Government liability in sterling, issued by the Treasury and listed on the Stock Exchange. Their slump makes Government borrowing more expensive.

Mr Odey said his bets against them were ‘the gifts that keep on giving’. The market plunged into turmoil on Friday after Mr Kwarteng – a former political consultant to Mr Odey’s company – unveiled £45billion of tax cuts, the biggest such move in 50 years. 

They came on top of an energy bill package that could top £100billion.

Mr Odey told The Daily Telegraph: ‘My love is grouse shooting. The truth is that I didn’t do anything on Friday. I shot. I haven’t put a trade on for the last two months. I didn’t need to. 

‘This was easy to see from miles away and didn’t depend on Kwasi coming into Government or anything else.’

He also blamed Remainers in the City for stirring up hatred.

He insisted: ‘Amongst lots of friends of mine who are Remainers, they just decided that they hate this Government. Obviously, Kwasi they hate now as well and they think Liz Truss is useless. They can’t stand poor [Business Secretary] Jacob Rees-Mogg.’ 

Mr Odey said he believed downward pressure on the pound would continue. However, he added that he was ‘in the medium term very optimistic about the UK’ and backed the Chancellor for ‘incentivising people to do the right thing’.

He said: ‘This is a Government that has taken some big, big decisions. I don’t think it was politically motivated so much as it was… people [in the City] just hating that they might even get this right.’ 

Mr Odey, 63, whose grandfather was a Tory MP, told the FT he did not see his company’s link to Mr Kwarteng as providing him with an advantage when trading. 

He said: ‘There’s a mad idea that one’s behind every twist and turn. All I can do is catch the wind now and again.’

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