Barclays bumps up stake in Australias Barrenjoey Capital

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpReuters – Britain‘s Barclays Plc said on Wednesday it had nearly doubled its stake in Barrenjoey Capital Partners to help expand the Australiabased investment banking boutique’s business.p

pThe move comes as investment banking boutiques in Australia seek to move away from restrictive bureaucracy and shrinking bonuses at bigger banks, by tapping clients who value niche expertise.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pBarclays, Britains thirdbiggest bank by market value, increased its shareholding to 18.2 from 9.9 by subscribing A75 million 52.72 million in new capital in Barrenjoey, which was formed by former UBS bankers and funded by Barclays and Magellan.p

pAustralia is an important part of its strategic growth plans in the Asia Pacific region, Barclays said in a statement.p

pThe additional capital will be instrumental to support growth in Barrenjoeys markets business, which includes establishment of fixed income derivatives and equity financing platforms, in the next half of the year, Barclays added.p

p1 1.4227 Australian dollars