The former head of JPMorganâ??s credit proprietary trading desk and a team of senior traders from the bank have set up a new London-based hedge fund to invest in the debt of troubled European and UK companies.

Mr Koomen, Sothicâ??s chief investment officer, left JPMorgan, where he was head of the bankâ??s credit proprietary positioning business, last year.

Mr Matineau, the fundâ??s chief executive, was a former strategist at Long Term Capital Management and until this year a senior executive and risk specialist at GlobeOp, the hedge fund administrator.

The fund has an estimated $100m in assets under management.