The government’s stake in NatWest has reduced again this month after a further share sell-off reduces its holding in the bank to below 15%.
The Treasury now owns 4.92 billion voting rights after reducing its stake from 15.99% to 14.81% as part of its plan to return the bank to private ownership by 2026.
Earlier this month, the government reduced its shareholding from 20% – a position it held since July.
In September, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced she was scrapping the previous government’s plans for a retail sale of NatWest shares, stating that while the government still intended to exit its shareholding by 2025-26, a retail share sale offer would involve significant discounts.
This, said Reeves, would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds and would not represent value for money.
