Investors will on Monday confront Barclays executives at a potentially stormy meeting called to approve a controversial £7bn capital raising that will result in Middle Eastern investors controlling about a third of the bank. Barclays is holding an extraordinary meeting in London at which it hopes to gain approval to raise capital from the Qatar Investment Authority and Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family. However, the encounter promises to be one of the most contentious votes of the year because existing investors are furious that the bank did not observe pre-emption rights to allow them to participate in the capital raising and offered preferential terms to the two Gulf investors. In addition, Barclays faces mounting criticism for paying more for its capital infusion than if it had accepted UK government help to raise the money. The government, which is helping recapitalise banks including RBS and Lloyds TSB, insisted its involvement comes with restraints such as limits on executive pay and bonuses.
