Stark truth about Energy stakebuilder

BRIAN Stark, the enigmatic US citizen buying up shares in British Energy, can be revealed as a £970m hedge fund guru.

He has built a 6.9% stake in BE in the past week through a mixture of normal UK shares and US securities in the ailing nuclear generator.

Stark and business partner Michael Roth specialise in a form of trading that makes money from price differences between the markets of various countries.

Originally trained in law at Harvard, Stark has been investing since 1986 and has four funds including one focused on European companies.

The reason for his interest in BE is unknown but it adds a further dimension to the already complex situation at BE, where 5.6% shareholder Polygon is calling for a financial restructuring to be overhauled.