Booker Prize Backer To Hire Ex-Trade Minister

The hedge fund manager which sponsors English fiction's most prestigious prize is close to naming Lord Livingston, the former trade minister and BT Group (LSE: BT-A.L - news) chief executive, as its next chairman.

Sky News has learnt that Man Group (LSE: EMG.L - news) , which has a market value of just over £2.6bn, is in advanced discussions with Lord Livingston about replacing Jon Aisbitt, who has held the role since 2007.

A source said that an announcement by Man Group, which has sponsored the Booker Prize since 2002, was imminent and could come before Christmas.

Lord Livingston is likely to join the board as a non-executive for several months before replacing Mr Aisbitt at Man (Swiss: MAN.SW - news) 's annual meeting in May.

If confirmed, his appointment as the next chairman of one of the world’s biggest listed hedge fund managers may prompt a degree of surprise in the City because of his background outside the financial services arena.

A former finance director of Dixons Group, he held the same role at BT Group before becoming the telecoms giant’s chief executive in 2008.

He left the private sector in 2013 to become Minister for Trade and Investment under David Cameron, stepping down shortly after this year’s General Election.

Since leaving government, he has taken one notable new role, joining the board of Belmond (NYSE: BEL - news) , the owner of the Orient-Express (NYSE: EXPR - news) , while he remains a director of Celtic Football Club.

Man Group has emerged from a torrid period to regain the confidence of investors under the leadership of a new management team.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) had almost $77bn (£50.6bn) of funds under management at the end of September, and while this represented a decline from $78.8bn (£51.8bn) at the end of June, Man insisted that it had had "good year-to-date relative performance across the majority of strategies".

Some of Man's long-only funds - which rely on upward movements in equity prices - were hit by the sharp corrections which befell global stock markets in August amid rising concerns about China’s economic slowdown.

It also manages investors' money across products such as managed futures, convertibles, emerging markets and global macro funds.

Manny Roman, who became Man's chief executive in 2013, three years after it bought GLG Partners, his former employer, said in October that he remained cautiously optimistic about the business.

"The political uncertainties and economic upheaval in parts of the world continue to provide a very challenging market backdrop for our business. Accordingly, the risk appetite of our clients may impact flows, but we remain focused on continuing to generate attractive investment returns across our range of strategies."

Man and Lord Livingstone both declined to comment on Sunday.