A new UK-listed shell company, Alpha Strategic, is being launched to offer hedge fund managers the opportunity to swap a stake in their busi...

A new UK-listed shell company, Alpha Strategic, is being launched to offer hedge fund managers the opportunity to swap a stake in their business for shares in a publicly traded company. The company will be floated on Aim in August and is the brain-child of Colin Barrow, who was managing director of Man Group's funds division during part of the 1990s and is now deputy leader of Westminster City Council. It has received backing from prominent City investors including Michael Spencer, chief executive of moneybroker Icap. The company is also planning to attract demand from small private investors who are hungry for hedge fund access but who are not wealthy enough to invest in them through more conventional routes. Mr Barrow said Alpha Strategic would offer hedge fund managers a partial exit without the cost of floating the business. He will be joined in the business by Kit Malthouse who will be chief executive.