Michael Hintze, who emerged last month as a surprise backer of the UK's Conservative party, is under pressure to delegate power at CQS, a $5bn (€4bn) London hedge fund manager he founded six years ago.

The Conservatives were last month forced to admit Hintze had lent them £2.5m (€3.6m), one of 13 people whose identities had been confidential. Hintze, however, had taken the initiative and declared his support. Colleagues in the hedge fund industry said the move was typically candid of the otherwise publicity-shy Australian, who declined to comment for this article.