LONDON Shares in Metro Bank opened 19% higher on Monday, after the embattled British lender struck a fundraising deal overnight to bolster its balance sheet.

Metro announced a 325 million pound ($396 million) capital raise and 600 million pound debt refinancing on Sunday, in a deal that would hand majority shareholder control to its biggest investor, Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski.

($1 = 0.8199 pounds)

(Reporting by Iain Withers; editing by Jason Neely)