Barclays hits back over claims market was misled

BARCLAYS HAS hit back after a businesswoman accused bosses of misleading her, shareholders and the market when negotiating investment deals during the 2008 global financial crisis.

Lawyers representing Amanda Staveley – originally from North Yorkshire – have told a High Court judge that Barclays agreed to provide an unsecured £2bn loan to Qatari investors.

They said the loan was “concealed” from the market, shareholders and from PCP Capital Partners, a private equity firm run by Ms Staveley.

PCP is suing the bank and wants £1.6bn damages. Ms Staveley’s firm says it is owed money for the work it did setting up a Middle East investment deal for Barclays during the 2008 crisis.

But lawyers representing Barclays said PCP’s damages claim was “opportunistic and speculative”. They said “PCP in fact made no loss”.

Mr Justice Waksman began overseeing a trial at the High Court in London yesterday.

The hearing, which is being shown online, is expected to last about two months.

Ms Staveley, who in recent months, has been involved in brokering a deal which could see a Saudi consortium take control of Premier League football club Newcastle United, is due to give evidence later this week.

A barrister leading PCP’s legal team outlined the firm’s complaints.

Joe Smouha QC said the claim arose out of the recapitalisation of Barclays during the financial crisis in October and November 2008.

Mr Smouha said PCP had introduced a Middle Eastern investor, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, to Barclays and “subscribed” to invest £3.25bn. He said the only other “strategic investors” were the State of Qatar and its prime minister, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr AlThani.

But he said PCP had been “induced to invest” on “manifestly worse terms” than the Qatari Investors.

He said Qatari Investors had demanded and, in order to obtain the investment, Barclays had agreed, to pay extra sums. The case continues.