Some of Britain's biggest hedge funds have warned the UK Treasury that they will be forced to leave the country unless a draft European directive is radically changed.
And some have already begun back-up preparations to move to Switzerland in case the rules – described by one manager as a “French plot against London” – are not rewritten. New York is also a possible destination, according to another.
The warnings come as hedge funds step up their campaign against the draft directive on alternative investment fund managers, which was modified at the last minute to require the European Commission to set a limit on borrowing. Private equity firms are also fighting the rules.