The fundraisers of the Conservative Party, led by Michael Spencer, the City entrepreneur and new Tory Treasurer, have alighted on a rich new seam of donors – hedge fund managers.

At least four hedge fund firms and entrepreneurs appear as substantial donors in the latest filings with the Electoral Commission.

Large donations to Labour from companies and wealthy individuals have virtually dried up in the wake of the cash for honours scandal, with the substantial exception of Lakshmi Mittal, the steel magnate.

The Tories are enjoying wider success, with individual donors helping them to raise £3.7 million in the three months to March.

The biggest new donor during that period was the City firm BSN Capital Partners, which gave £100,000 in March. BSN, founded in 2004, is an asset manager that specialises in cash management and short-dated debt. It shares the same City office block as Icap, Mr Spencer’s main company. The two principals are John Burgess and John Shelton, previously of Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley, respectively.

Another big donor was Paul Ruddock, the founder of one of London’s most successful hedge fund groups, Lansdowne Partners. Mr Ruddock gave £60,000 in January. A former Schroders executive, he sold 19 per cent of Lansdowne to Morgan Stanley last year for $300 million (£152.3 million) and his personal wealth is put at £350 million. Lansdowne has $12 billion under management.

EFP Capital, a Chelsea-based firm that advises wealthy individuals and institutions on hedge funds and structured products investments, gave £50,000 to the Conservatives in March. Paul Daniel set up EFP in 1999 after 15 years at Morgan Stanley, where he was co-head of global derivatives and head of European fixed income. He manages $1.5 billion of client money.

Another donor was Michael Alen-Buckley, the chairman of the listed hedge fund manager RAB Capital, who gave £50,000. He gave a similar amount in March 2006.

The Tories have tapped hedge fund people before. Stanley Fink, the outgoing head of Man Group, the world’s biggest listed hedge fund group, has been a donor. Michael Hintze, the founder of CQS, the London-based quantitative-based hedge fund manager, gave £203,000 last October. Last week Mr Hintze agreed to head a new hedge fund subgroup of Conservative City Circle, the party support group.

The other parties have the occasional supporter from the hedge fund world. Paul Marshall, of Marshall Wace, has donated to the Liberal Democrats. Labour has had more success in private equity. Both Sir Ronald Cohen, founder of Apax Partners, and Nigel Doughty, founder of Doughty Hanson, have been substantial donors.

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