Operating losses at Marble Bar Asset Management narrowed sharply in 2014 thanks to lower costs and the absence of impairment charges for the first time in three years, although assets under management continued to fall at a firm that had been among the larger players on the European hedge fund scene before the financial crisis.

The London-based manager, named after the hottest town in Australia, saw its assets more than halve from $515 million at the end of 2013 to $231 million by the end of 2014, according to its latest accounts filed at Companies House in August.