The Treasury announced the latest sale today, which reduces the government’s ownership to below 13%, down from a peak of around 40%.
This takes the total amount recouped from share sales since Chancellor George Osborne announced the start of the reprivatisation of the bank in June 2013 to £14.5bn.
At the peak of the financial crisis, the government purchased shares in Lloyds to support the bank at a cost of £20bn according to the National Audit Office. This means 72.5% of this bailout money has been recovered.
“It’s fantastic news that we’ve sold more shares in Lloyds Bank, taking the total recovered to £14.5bn,” Osborne said.
“I am determined to build on this success, and to continue to return Lloyds to the private sector and reduce our national debt.”
The sale is part of a Treasury-backed trading plan to gradually sell shares in the market over time, in an orderly and measured way. The trading plan was launched on 17 December 2014 and will end no later than 31 December 2015.
