Channel 5 boss Richard Desmond sues Man Group unit over trade
MEDIA boss Richard Desmond is suing a unit of Man Group over a derivative product he bought in 2007 which he claims was too complex to understand, according to papers filed at the High Court.
Desmond has brought the claim against Man’s hedge fund arm GLG Partners after he lost nearly £20m on a capital protected swap linked to the performance of a fund of hedge funds managed by GLG. The claim, first reported by Bloomberg, is linked to another lawsuit against the trade’s counterparty, Credit Suisse, made by Desmond.
Lawyers for Desmond claim GLG did not warn him of the risks and said the deal was “incomprehensible” except to an expert.
GLG claims Desmond was a sophisticated investor who took independent financial advice on the transaction. The case is set to be heard a year from now at the High Court alongside the Credit Suisse claims.
A GLG spokesman and a spokesman for Desmond declined to comment yesterday. Credit Suisse also declined to comment.