Barclays to launch €6.8bn rights issue

Barclays is set to launch its £5.8bn (€6.83bn) rights issue in two weeks, possibly on the fifth anniversary of its takeover of the US operations of Lehman Brothers.

The one-in-four offer, priced at 185p a share, is expected in the third week of September, according to sources. Barclays did the Lehman deal on Sep 16, 2008, a day after the US investment bank collapsed.

The British bank declined to comment, but has previously said it expects its new shares to start trading on Oct 3.