Lord Cruddas’s wealth drops by £100m after CMC shares crash

FORMER Conservative Party treasurer Lord Cruddas and his wife have seen their paper fortune drop by £100m after shares in their company CMC Markets crashed 20pc.

The foreign exchange and spread betting business dropped after telling investors it faces an unexpected 5pc rise in operating costs.

The company said a weak pound, unfavourable exchange rates and rising professional fees were to blame, saying “the cost environment remains challenging”. Since January 1 sterling has dropped 12pc against the dollar.

Lord Cruddas and his wife Lady Fiona Cruddas own 60pc of CMC, which he founded in 1989. The stake underpins their estimated £900m fortune.

Yesterday’s share price slump left CMC worth about £685m. The business reached a peak valuation of £1.5bn last May as it rode a pandemic-driven amateur trading boom that has since faded.

Lord Cruddas served as Conservative Party chair between 2011 and 2012 but resigned after being caught in a newspaper sting for allegedly soliciting cash donations in return for access to senior ministers. He subsequently successfully sued The Sunday Times for libel over the story.

Lord Cruddas is one of the biggest Tory Party donors but recently threatened to cut off funding over its handling of the current leadership election. He wants Boris Johnson’s name to be included on the ballot sent to party members. The outgoing prime minister ennobled Lord Cruddas in 2020.

CMC did not respond to a request for comment. Lord Cruddas is understood to be on holiday.

The entrepreneur grew up on a council estate in east London and left his school in Shoreditch aged 15 with no qualifications, despite achieving the highest possible score on a Mensa test.

He went on to make his fortune setting up online trading firm CMC Markets at the age of 35.