Cazenove, the UK investment bank, launched its internal dealing facility on Friday, valuing the bank at £546m (€795m), almost half the value of the bank when it incorporated in 2001.

A Cazenove spokeswoman confirmed that the auction of the shares, sold internally, started at 251p each, giving the bank a total capitalisation of £546m. The internal match market system, which is being run by Cazenove rather than an external provider, goes some way to providing greater liquidity for the shares at a time when the bank's proposed initial public offering is on hold.