Tony Hayward, the former chief executive of BP, is returning to the corporate scene with a £1 billion fundraising for an oil and gas fund just nine months after departing the UK oil group in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico spill.

The cash shell, Vallares, will look to buy companies in the oil and gas sector with an enterprise value of between £3 billion-£8 billion (€3.4 billion-€9 billion) in emerging markets including China, Russia, and the Middle East. If successful, the listing will secure Mr Hayward’s return to the London corporate scene after last year’s disaster that saw him criticised for his handling of the crisis.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the extent of the support,” said Mr Hayward. Asked if he was worried about investors’ reaction to his participation, he would only say, “you never know until you ask but there was enthusiastic support”. – (Copyright Financial Times Ltd 2011)