Cheyne Capital has begun buying asset-backed securities again after the “inferno” of the first quarter drove prices down to attractive levels, the $11bn (£5.6bn) London-based hedge fund said as it unveiled further writedowns at Queen’s Walk, its listed vehicle.

Queen’s Walk – among a clutch of listed funds hammered by the US subprime crisis last year – said it would moderate its share buyback programme to free up cash for investments.