UK government sells £1.26bn of NatWest shares

The British government is selling £1.26bn worth of its stake in NatWest bank, which it bailed out in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

The sale, announced on Monday, will reduce the government’s stake in the high-street bank to 38.6 per cent, down from 41.4 per cent. The shares were sold to NatWest at Friday’s closing price of 268.4p.

NatWest has a market capitalisation of about £25bn. Since 2013, the stock has on average traded at barely half the average price of the bailout.

Alison Rose, group chief executive, said: “This transaction reduces government ownership below 40 per cent and demonstrates positive progress on the bank’s strategic priorities and the path to privatisation.”