Sean Benson, director of BNF Capital, the London-based office of the billionaire Perodo family, raised seed funding for a dedicated uranium fund known as Tees River in 2019.

Since then, the value of the fund, which invests in uranium stocks, has risen nearly four-fold to $280m (£220m).

He said: “We just felt [in 2019] that there was already a position where you were moving into a supply deficit.

“But one of the big surprises today is that sentiment on the demand side has changed completely.

“Previously, there wasn’t much of a discussion about nuclear being the answer to climate change. Now there’s clamour from pretty much all politicians.”

Yellow Cake Plc, the London-listed fund that exists solely to buy uranium and hold it, has amassed a war chest of almost 22 million pounds of the radioactive metal now valued at $1.7bn.

And the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust has amassed 63 million pounds, worth about $5.6bn today.

Between them, the two trusts hold the equivalent of around 60pc of global annual supplies.

Mr Benson said his base case for Tees River predicts uranium spot prices will surge to between $150 and $200 as soon as next year.

“I know it sounds crazy,” he added. “But if large macro funds start playing this investment, and sequestering uranium themselves, there aren’t many ways it can go.”