Barclays’ rights issue boost

Barclays’ £6bn rights issue saw a 94.6 per cent take-up, the bank said yesterday.

The investment banks that underwrote the issue placed the remaining 173 million new shares at 268p in the market yesterday. The shares lost 1.7p to 271.4p against the rights issue price of 185p.

Analysts said the 95 per cent take-up was “pretty good” and said most of the 5 per cent left with the underwriters came from investors in China, Japan and South Africa who, for technical reasons, were unable to take up their rights.