Tom Cain - Carver

On a freezing afternoon in late January, with the pavements crusted in hard-packed snow and more falls forecast overnight, an elegantly dressed Indian businessman arrived for an appointment with a senior member of the hall’s management staff. His card gave his name as Sanjay Sengupta. He explained that he represented the interests of a very prominent, but very discreet Bangalore-based industrialist, specializing in computer manufacturing and software, who was interested in establishing a European base in London. A firm of City headhunters would soon be hired to find candidates for key executive positions in this new venture. They would come up with a shortlist of individuals whom Mr Sengupta’s client would interview in person in late June or early July, when he was in any case planning to be in England for social reasons. To this end, he wished to hire the entire Wax Chandlers’ Hall for three full days, evenings included.

‘ My principal will not be requiring more than very light refreshments for himself, his assistants and the interview candidates,’ Mr Sengupta explained. ‘He appreciates, however, that this will cause you considerable loss. He is therefore willing to compensate you. Let us assume that the profit margin for yourselves and your caterers is thirty per cent. We will pay you, in addition to the hire cost of the building itself, thirty per cent of the full cost of food and drink, lunch and dinner included, for one hundred people.’

There is, of course, no such thing as a free lunch, particularly in the catering trade. So when a slick operator acting for an unnamed client suggests a deal of improbable generosity, requiring minimal effort from those who will be paid, suspicions are bound to be aroused. Sengupta, however, was able to provide copious references in India, the UK and the US. When he paid half the total cost up front, the money went through without any problems at all. After all, the days when India required British aid were long gone. Indian entrepreneurs today owned Jaguar and Land Rover cars, Typhoo tea and almost all of the UK’s steel production. If one of their number wanted to hire a City hall, who could possibly object?

Monday, 27 June

Long Island, New York, and Wentworth, Surrey, south-east England

Malachi Zorn left Italy immediately after his dinner party and headed back to the States. He’d agreed to be the subject of the next edition of HARDtalk, BBC World’s interview show, and the producer wanted to tape the conversation with him on Zorn’s own territory. So the interview took place in the office of his house on Lily Pond Lane.

It went well, and Zorn spent less than thirty-six hours at home before flying to London, landing at Farnborough. The airport is thirty-five miles south-west of London, but only thirteen miles from the Wentworth Estate in Virginia Water, Surrey, a development of luxury homes scattered around the famous Wentworth Club and its three golf courses. Zorn had rented a newly built mansion there, valued at fifteen million pounds, for the summer. As he was driven past the wrought-iron gates and along the curving driveway that led to the front door Zorn grimaced. The building possessed exactly the kind of showy extravagance he most despised, from the classical portico that attempted to give its facade the grandeur of a stately home, to the shiny marble floors that were as vulgar as a Baghdad brothel and as slippery as an ice-rink. But it looked like the kind of place where a man of his wealth should reside, and that alone would serve to reassure both the media and his investors.

He went to bed early, taking an Ambien to counteract the jet lag, then rose at four in the morning. Half an hour later he was in the study, sitting before an array of screens that were an exact replica of the ones in his office back home in East Hampton. One of the screens was linked to a live TV feed. At 4.30 a.m. London time, the week’s first showing of his HARDtalk interview began. The host, Stephen Sackur, began by taking Zorn through a brief account of his early life and more recent business success. Then, about halfway through the conversation, he turned to the new fund.

‘Can you tell us what your investment strategy will be?’ Sackur asked.

Zorn laughed. ‘Nice try, but you know I can’t do that! Would the chief executive of Coca-Cola tell you the secret recipe? But I guess I can give you an idea of the way I see events panning out in a few key areas.’

Sackur’s high forehead wrinkled in an earnest, slightly puzzled-looking frown. ‘What kind of areas?’

‘Well, Stephen, it’s no secret that I gave evidence before a congressional committee a few months back, and that I warned of the dangers posed by large-scale eco-terrorism. I guess I hoped that I could send out a warning to oil companies, utilities and public authorities to be more vigilant. But that didn’t seem to work so well

… Can’t win ’em all, I guess.’

‘Maybe the threat is not as great as you fear?’

‘Sure, that’s a possibility. But I’m not buying it. My belief is that terrorism is a business like any other. When one guy comes up with something that works — you know, that gives him a competitive advantage — all the other guys have to play catch-up. That’s how ideas spread, how markets evolve. Well, the various Islamic forces around the world have been the market leaders in terror for the past ten to fifteen years. From a terrorist point of view things like suicide bombs, IEDs-’

‘Improvised explosive devices, like the ones used in Afghanistan

…’ Sackur interjected, for his audience’s benefit.

‘Exactly… the use of passenger jets as weapons of mass destruction… all these have been incredibly effective innovations.’

‘That almost sounds as though you approve of them.’

‘Not at all. I’m no friend of Al-Qaeda, believe me. I’m just stating a fact. These methods have achieved the aims all terrorists share: to kill, attract publicity, create an atmosphere of panic and fear and to force governments into, ah, excessive countermeasures that end up harming the exact same liberties we’re all trying to protect. So it figures that other people who are hostile to the West and what it stands for — democracy, consumer capitalism, continuous growth, all that good stuff — will pick up on these terror methods and start using them, too.’

‘And you think that ecological campaigners will start to do this?’

Sackur’s voice contained a note of scepticism. Zorn, however, chose to ignore it.

‘Sure.’

‘And are you putting your money, and your clients’ money where your mouth is?’ Sackur asked.

‘Absolutely,’ said Zorn, relishing the effect that his words would have, and knowing that there was much more to come. ‘I can tell you that I’ve taken a number of short positions that reflect my opinions.’

‘I’m sure investors will be very interested to hear that. So let’s cover another subject on which I’m sure they will welcome your insight. This week you’ll be coming to the UK. What is your view of the state of the British economy? The government is pursuing policies that have attracted support from some commentators and business leaders, but also tremendous opposition from trade unions and special interest groups, as well as their political opponents. Where do you stand?’

Zorn’s shrug conveyed an impression of relaxed impartiality. ‘I don’t stand anywhere politically. To be honest with you, Stephen, I’m not interested in political parties or ideology. I’m interested in situations as I see them, and the opportunities that confront me. But just to pick up on my earlier comments, I guess if I were talking to the British Prime Minister I’d advise him to take a real good look at the security of his national energy supplies. The UK is very vulnerable to external disruptions. Power-generating capacity has been allowed to decline drastically, relative to need. Plus, for political reasons the UK is way overcommitted to wind-power, which strikes me as just about the dumbest idea imaginable. I mean, the wind stops and you’re screwed… ah, can I say that?’