Barclays Capital’s €376m overnight sale of shares in the French employee services company Edenred in July proved that banks have to be quick to win block trades.

When in London US investor Southeastern Asset Management notified Barclays Capital's US equities desk on July 19 that it wanted to sell an 8% stake in Edenred via an accelerated bookbuild, it gave the team 45 minutes to respond with a price for underwriting the overnight equity placing.