Ordinary investors will be offered bonus shares and a 5pc discount in a £2bn share sale that will mark the final stage of Lloyds Banking Group’s return to the private sector, reports The Telegraph.
Two years after the Government started selling its minority stake in Lloyds, the Treasury said that an offer to retail investors will be launched next spring.
The long-expected announcement marks the beginning of the end of the Government’s part-ownership of Lloyds, which was rescued with a £20.5bn bailoutin 2008.
“It is the government’s intention to fully exit from its Lloyds shareholding in the coming months, and as part of this at least £2bn of shares will be sold to retail investors,” said the Treasury.
Members of the public will be given a 5pc discount to the trading price to encourage them to buy into shares that are already available on the open market. They will also be offered one bonus share for every 10 shares they hold for more than a year, up to a maximum of £200-worth of bonus stock.
In an effort to avoid some of the problems that emerged in the Royal Mail privatisation in 2013, where many smaller investors were left empty-handed, priority in the sale will be given to individuals applying for less than £1,000-worth of stock.
The announcement comes as the Conservative Party meets in Manchester for its conference.
