Barclays plc will be selling down more of its interest in Barclays Africa than the market expected, bringing its long-term target shareholding to about 15%, a report in South Africa’s Business Day said.

The report recalled that the British bank had previously said it was selling its stake in its African subsidiary in response to regulatory and accounting requirements, which meant a shareholding of about 20% in Barclays Africa.

“But in announcing its second overnight book-build process on Wednesday to offload 22% of its shares in Barclays Africa to institutional investors, such as pension funds and asset managers, with the results expected on Thursday, it said the target would be much lower than that,” Business Day reported.