Lansdowne Partners sells entire $850m stake in Goldman Sachs (Helia Ebrahimi, and Harry Wilson)

Created by : Francis Goodwin View profile

July 30, 2011 (Telegraph) -- Lansdowne Partners, Europe's biggest hedge fund, has sold its entire $850 million (£517 million) position in Goldman Sachs in a move that underlines growing concerns about the prospects for the global banking sector.

The disposal -- equivalent to just under 1 percent of Goldman's equity -- mirrors a similar sale Lansdowne made in 2008, ahead of the financial crisis.

The recent sale of 4.94 million Goldman shares, revealed by The Telegraphfor the first time, will come as a further blow to the investment bank, which recently saw its shares hit levels not seen since spring 2009 after disappointing second-quarter results.

It marks a sizeable bet against the investment bank by the hedge fund, which sat on the top 20 list of Goldman investors, given the stake equated to almost 10 percent of the $10 billion funds Lansdowne has under management.