Leading activist investor Franck Tuil, who surprised the hedge fund industry in April by leaving Elliott Management after nearly two decades there, is launching a London-based hedge fund – Financial News can reveal.

Tuil joined Elliott in 2001 as an analyst and rose to become a senior portfolio manager in Europe for the firm. He was a key member driving Elliott's European expansion, spearheading high-profile activist campaigns against companies including French drinks group Pernod Ricard, German chemicals and pharmaceutical group Bayer and French media conglomerate Vivendi .