Osborne firm lost £850K in EU gamble

THE luxury wallpaper firm owned by George Osborne’s family lost almost £1million on a currency deal after failing to predict the result of the Brexit vote.

Osborne & Little, which was started by the former Chancellor’s father Sir Peter, saw £ 55,000 wiped off its bottom line when the pound fell against the dollar, newly published accounts reveal.

It knocked out most of the company’s profit as it finished just £73,000 in the black for the year to March 31. In accounts filed to Companies House, Osborne & Little said: ‘The hedging of the US dollar exposure at our budgeted rate resulted in hedging losses of £ 55,000 following the collapse of sterling after the Brexit referendum.’

Before the vote Mr Osborne’s dossier of doom warned of a recession and run on the pound if Britain voted to leave the European Union.