Smith sells stake in Collins Stewart

The City veteran Terry Smith has sold his 5 per cent stake in the stockbroker Collins Stewart for £7.1m, just two weeks after announcing that he was stepping down as deputy chairman.

Mr Smith, who is chief executive of Tullett Prebon, the money broker that he split from Collins Stewart in 2006, has also secured authorisation from the Financial Services Authority for a new fund management business.

The company, Fundsmith, is expected to offer aggressively priced funds to both retail and institutional investors.