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GB News owner makes millions after shorting NatWest stock

GB News owner Sir Paul Marshall’s hedge fund has made an absolute fortune after betting against NatWest shares.

The news channel has been involved in a tirade against the bank after presenter Nigel Farage was locked out of his Coutts account.

Dame Alison Rose quit as chief executive after coming under pressure from No 10 and the Treasury as part of the row.

Some senior Labour MPs have since questioned Downing Street’s “astonishing” move to get involved in the matter,

But more sinister news has since been leaked, suggesting one of new channel’s bosses could have profited handsomely from the bad press the bank has been getting.

Regulatory filings unearthed by The Telegraph show that Marshall Wace has the biggest short position in the lender’s shares meaning it stands to gain from falls in the bank’s market price.

The fund netted paper gains of around £5 million on Wednesday after NatWest’s share price slumped more than 3.7 per cent after the departure of its chief executive Dame Alison, which wiped more than £850 million off the value of the lender.

Although it’s only a snip of the billions under management at the firm and is likely to have been computer driven, it’s has to be said it is all pretty convenient, wouldn’t you say?

Related: Sinead O’Connor’s response to Piers Morgan asking her on his show is legendary

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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