Shares at Barclays slipped on Tuesday following reports that the bank's second largest shareholder is expected to drop its stake by just under 50 per cent.

The Financial Times (FT) said that Qatar Holding, a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority, launched a sale of shares worth around £510 million on Monday.

Qatar Holding, which according to Bloomberg data holds the second biggest stake in the bank, is expected to drop its share in the organisation from 5.3 per cent to 2.9 per cent.

The move will come as a blow to the British bank, which also saw shares dip towards the end of October after it reported a 10 per cent decrease in post-tax profits.

In the third quarter, which covers the three months to 30 September, profits were down from £1.7 billion in the same 12-week period of 2022 to £1.5 billion.

Following its results, the bank said it was evaluating ways to reduce structural costs to help drive future returns, which it warned could lead to further “material charges” in the final quarter of the year.

Recent reports have also claimed that Barclays is in the process of drawing up plans to axe hundreds of jobs.

In September, sources told Reuters that as many as 400 jobs could be cut from the bank's domestic retail business as part of a cost-cutting process and a wider review of its strategy.

Last week the FT revealed that Barclays' investment banking arm was considering a plan to axe thousands of clients as part of its wider strategy to slash £1 billion in costs.

According to the publication, Barclays executives have met on several occasions in 2023 to discuss the restructuring plan.

It said that the bank's shares were down by over 12 per cent this year and close to their lowest level since the pandemic.

FStech declined to comment on the news.

---