A Barclays bank building is seen at Canary Wharf in London, Britain May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo
Sherborne Investors, the firm led by activist investor Edward Bramson, has sold its 6% stake in Barclays, it said on Friday, disbanding its efforts to overhaul the British bank.
Sherbone took a position in Barclays in 2018, with Bramson calling on the lender to scale back its investment bank which he said weighed down returns. However he struggled to gain much traction and failed in an attempt to get elected on to the bank’s board.
Sherborne said it had identified a new company to invest in instead.
“Sherborne Investors has informed the company that it believes that the risk of and rewards from a new investment opportunity that it has identified offers a better return to the company’s shareholders than a continuing investment in Barclays,” it sad in a statement.
The departure of the investor, which is backed by several major British fund firms including Aviva and Schroders, marks the end of a three-year-long tussle with Barclays’ management.
Sherbone first declared its stake in Barclays in March 2018, since when the share price has fallen, and is currently 15% lower than when the fund’s position became public.
Barclays had been under pressure to bolster profits after Staley’s aggressive push in investment banking since he joined in 2015 failed to significantly lift returns.
However a strong showing by the investment bank helped it weather the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, bolstering Staley’s strategy that the bank needs a diversified business model to generate recession-proof returns.
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