Pay for staff at BlueCrest, one of Europe’s largest hedge funds, close to doubled in 2008 on the back of a successful year for most of the company’s funds.

Wages and salaries rose from £17.5m in 2007 to £32m last year at the London-based hedge fund manager, while the number of employees rose only marginally to 260, up from 224 the year previously, accounts filed at Companies House on Friday showed