Barclays and Sainsbury’s grabbed the spotlight in a lacklustre session today after Qatari investors cashed in £1.3bn (€1.4bn) of share options in the bank.

PartyGaming shares fell after founder Anurag Dikshit said he was selling off two-thirds of his 28% stake in an offering to institutional investors.

SHARES in online casino group PartyGaming surged after it completed the biggest London flotation in five years, taking its market value to about €7.51 billion.

The world’s biggest online poker firm rejected claims today that it had cut its flotation price because of a lacklustre response from investors.

The biggest flotation in London since 2001 could be derailed by fears over the legality of online poker in the United States, it was reported today.