Hedge fund manager describes moment he won £220 million on Brexit vote: ‘The morning has gold in its mouth’

‘You might have been up all night but, you know, I’m feeling fresh as daisy’

An outspoken hedge fund manager has described the moment he cashed in millions on Britain’s vote to exit the European Union and said he felt “fresh as a daisy”.

Speaking to the BBC on the morning that Britain’s decision to exit the bloc became clear – and as David Cameron prepared to resign as Prime Minister – Crispin Odey, a somewhat jubilant hedge fund manager, had just made £220m by betting the markets would collapse in the event of a Leave vote.

“There’s that Italian expression,” he told the broadcaster. ‘Al mattino ha l'oro in bocca’ – the morning has gold in its mouth – and never has one felt so much that idea as this morning really.”

Laughing to the camera, he added: “I still think tomorrow they are going to take it all away from me. I’ve lived for too long in the Euro world. You might have been up all night but, you know, I’m feeling fresh as a daisy.”

Mr Odey, who was briefly married to Rupert Murdoch’s daughter Prudence, was a Leave supporter who, before the EU referendum, saw his personal fortune plummet by £200m – turning him from billionaire to multimillionaire. According to the Sunday Times rich list, published in April this year, Mr Odey suffered a sharp decline in wealth to £900m after profits tumbled at his hedge fund, Odey Asset Manager.

The financier’s comments came in a BBC documentary entitled Brexit: A Very British Coup?, and appeared alongside Alan Duncan, a Government minister, doing an impression of the former London mayor – and now Foreign Secretary – Boris Johnson appearing flustered on the morning after the referendum. Also featured is the then Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, flaunting his Union Jack socks and expressing his desire for a pint to be named after him.

“All I need is the right beer named after me. That’s all we need. A proper British pint. A pint of Farage please.”

‘Brexit: A Very British Coup?’ is broadcast on BBC 2 at 9pm on Thursday night