New Star’s senior management suffered hundreds of thousands of pounds in paper losses after the company’s share price halved in early trading today, following the regulator’s refusal to suspend shares in light of discussions between New Star and its lenders. But today’s losses are only a fraction of the directors’ total paper losses since the peak of New Star’s success early last year.

Shares in New Star Asset Management plunged by 68% this morning after the UK Listing Authority rejected its request for trading to be suspended, as the London funds house said it was in discussions with its banks to remove debt from its balance sheet.