The blank cheque company set to be launched by the former chairman of European banking for Europe at Barclays, which has ex-London Stock Exchange boss Xavier Rolet on its board, has expanded by $50m amid surging demand for the products this year.

Golden Falcon Acquisition Corp, the so-called special purpose acquisition company (Spac) led by Makram Azar, a former senior banker at Barclays, has upsized its planned initial public offering from $250m to $300m. The IPO was oversubscribed and is now due to list on the New York Stock Exchange by offering 30,000,000 units priced at $10.