The Britain government cut its stake in state-rescued Lloyds Banking Group to just below 20% after offloading another chunk of shares worth £500m.
The move latest share sale will reduce the government’s stake by a further 1 percentage point to 19.93%.
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Lloyds has been rescued with a £20bn injection at the height of the financial crisis, with government holding a 41% stake in the group.
UK finance minister George Osborne said: “These sales have only been made possible by our long-term economic plan, and we are determined to build on this success, and to continue to return Lloyds to the private sector and reduce our national debt.”
A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said: “Today’s announcement shows the further progress made in returning Lloyds Banking Group to full private ownership and enabling the taxpayer to get their money back.
“This reflects the hard work undertaken over the last four years to transform the group into a simple, low-risk and customer-focused bank that is committed to helping Britain prosper.”
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By GlobalDataBritain’s remaining stake in Lloyds is valued at about £12bn, which is expected to be sold to private investors later in 2015 with the government planning to sell around £4bn worth of stock through a retail offer.
