Elliott Management paid UK staff average of £1.3m each in 2022 | Hedge funds

The US hedge fund and notorious activist investor Elliott Management paid its 124 UK staff a combined £160m last year, after a 10% rise in annual profits.

The pay pot is higher than the £137m shared by employees the previous year, and comes after its UK operation, Elliott Advisors UK, reported pre-tax profits up by a tenth to £10m. Turnover for the firm, which made headlines after throwing its hat into the ring to buy Manchester United earlier this year, rose 16% to £225m.

Elliott, which is the world’s largest activist hedge fund and is led by the billionaire Republican party donor Paul Singer, is best known for its aggressive corporate and political battles, famously chasing the Argentinian government for debts for more than decade.

Over the past 18 months, the group not only entered into talks to buy a Premier League team, but also took a multibillion-dollar stake in Salesforce, the owner of the Slack messenger platform. It also launched a lawsuit against the London Metal Exchange (LME) over its its controversial decision to cancel nickel trades after a rise in prices linked to the invasion of Ukraine.

Elliott has alleged that the decision may have violated its human rights. The LME previously said it believed Elliott’s claim was without merit and would “contest it vigorously”.

Filings at Companies House show the average payout per UK staff member held steady at £1.3m in 2022, after the firm increased its headcount from 106 to 124 last year.

Elliott’s three top directors shared a smaller pot last year, worth around £10.4m, compared with £12.8m in 2021. One of the unnamed trio took the bulk of the payout, earning around £8.9m. That was lower than the top payout of £11.5m in 2021.

Elliott declined to comment.