UK asset manager Bramdean says exposed to Madoff

LONDON Dec 12 (Reuters) - Bramdean Alternatives Ltd BRAL.L said almost 10 percent of its holdings were exposed to Madoff, the U.S. company at the heart of an alleged $50 billion fraud, sending shares in the UK asset manager crashing on Friday.

Bramdean, headed by well-known fund manager Nicola Horlick, said it had two holdings that maintain trading accounts with Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities that represented 9.5 percent of its net asset value at the end of October.

Bramdean Alternative's shares fell 35.7 percent to close at 42.75 pence.

Bernard Madoff was arrested on Thursday and prosecutors and regulators accused the 70-year-old of masterminding a Ponzi scheme of epic proportions through a hedge fund he ran. (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Erica Billingham)