The Treasury has announced that the Government intends to sell its remaining 12 per cent stake in Lloyds Bank to private investors, which will see shares worth a minimum of £2 billion changing hands.
Part of the sale will take place next spring, and members of the public will be offered a 5 per cent discount on Lloyds’ market price.
Those seeking to buy shares worth less than £1,000 will be given sale priority, while anyone who holds onto their share purchases for at least one full year will get one bonus share for every 10 they own.
A £200 cap will be in place for each investor, for the bonus share incentive payments.
Chancellor George Osborne has stated that the shares sale will mark the largest privatisation in the UK for over 20 years.
He said: “I don’t want all those shares to go to City institutions – I want them to go to members of the public.”
Lloyds was saved by the Government’s £20.5 billion support during 2008, following its near-collapse in the financial crisis, and its investment represented a 43 per cent stake.
Any money made from share sales will go towards reduce the UK’s debt.
Following the news from the Treasury, shares in Lloyds Banking Group went up by 1.4 per cent to 77.6p on Monday, meaning that its current value is approximately £54.6 billion.
From spring 2016, applications for anyone seeking to invest in Lloyds will be available online and by post.