Brevan Howard delivered a boost to London's embattled hedge fund industry today as it successfully floated a $1 billion (£505 million) investment vehicle on the London Stock Exchange, raising twice its expected level of funds.

BH Global Limited is the second fund to be listed by Brevan Howard, one of London's most established operators of funds of hedge funds, with about $20 billion under management.

It set an initial target of raising $500 million against a backdrop of nervous markets, where similar ventures have foundered.

BlackRock, the US money manager that this week struck a deal to buy $15 billion of sub-prime mortgages from UBS, the Swiss bank, fared less well last month.

It closed its Absolute Return Strategies fund at $275 million, having aimed to raise $500 million.

Brevan began marketing its Guernsey-based fund days after a $2 billion bond fund run by Peloton Partners, a London hedge fund run by former Goldman Sachs bankers, was forced into liquidation.

Brevan's newly listed vehicle is chaired by Lord Turnbull, the former Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service for three years.

He said today that raising the funds was a "great result."

The funds will be invested in Brevan's $1.5 billion flagship Global Opportunities Master Fund, which ploughs funds into other investment strategies run by the hedge fund, including fixed income and currencies.

The group's first fund, BH Macro, was floated last March and its shares have since risen 44 per cent.

The idea behind today's listing is to give investors exposure to Brevan Howard's most successful fund, without them owning a direct share in it.

BH Global said 70.8 million shares had been placed with investors to raise $1 billion. A further $100 million of shares could be issued before the end of June if there is sufficient demand.

Shares were priced in three currencies: at £10, $10 and €10. Some 36,390,272 dollar shares were sold, 11,242,259 shares in euros and 23,191,263 in sterling.

The sterling shares were being offered for £10.40 each in early trading.

Morgan Stanley and Dexion Capital, another fund of hedge funds, managed the listing.

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