Barclays has been targeting stock market analysts in a hiring spree that forms part of plans by the UK bank to take a greater share of investment research revenues in Europe.

Rupert Jones, who has led Barclays’ European research team since 2017, said he wanted to create a “Champions League” team of top analysts to help double its share of the market, which has been squeezed by European Union trading regulations that came into force two years ago.