QATAR CUTS BANK STAKE

QATAR is selling more than a third of its stake in Barclays.

Qatar Holdings is the lender’s biggest shareholder with a 6.7pc slice of the company. But the group, which is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), is selling a 2.4pc stake – or some 361.7m shares.

The sale, at around 141p to 143p a share, looks set to raise the wealth fund as much as £517m. It will leave the QIA with a 4.3pc stake in Barclays – making it the third biggest shareholder.

Qatar became Barclays’ biggest shareholder in the financial crisis when it injected £4bn to prevent a taxpayer bailout.