Barclays could be offloading its French retail banking and wealth management divisions to private equity group AnaCap Financial Partners.

The businesses, which have a network of 74 ATMs across France, are being sold as part of Barclays’ ongoing efforts to cut costs and double-down on its core markets, a strategy put into place by its new CEO Jes Staley.

“This is an opportunity to acquire an attractive and established banking operation built on a team of highly talented individuals with exceptional relationships with customers across France,” says Nassim Cherchali, Director of AnaCap.

“We have already established an unrivalled track record within the private equity industry for acquiring and growing banking platforms across the continent and, if concluded, we look forward to building this business further in a market with significant potential for innovation and expansion.”

AnaCap has been looking into the possibilities of a new digital bank. Under the project name “Abacus”, the private equity firm plans to square up to the likes of Atom Bank and Mondo.

The proposed digital offering is already being courted by major vendors, with Temenos offering its T24 core banking system and Misys putting forward FusionBanking Essence.

AnaCap already uses Temenos T24 in one of its subsidiaries, Aldermore Bank, so that familiarity might play into the hands of the Swiss vendor.

The buyout news also comes in the wake of the Barclays revealing that its pre-tax profits have fallen by almost a quarter year-on-year.

The bank is also reportedly in talks with former chief executive Bob Diamond over its African assets. In order to make a worthwhile approach, Diamond would have to come close to the £1.5 billion valuation of the Barclays South African operation. He is understood to have gone to mega-buyout firm The Carlyle Group for help with his plans.