UK Government reduces Lloyds stake to below eight per cent

The Treasury announced the most recent sell-off of Lloyds stock this morning.

Lloyds was bailed out by the taxpayer at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 at a cost of £20.5bn for a 43 per cent share.

The sell-off of the stock had been suspended in January with the Treasury citing market volatility.

But UK Financial Investments (UKFI), which manages the government’s stake, said last month that it would resume sales.

However, it abandoned plans for a share sale to the public, again pointing to current market volatility.

Instead, the government is continuing to offload the holding to institutional investors.

“Today’s announcement shows the further progress made in returning Lloyds to full private ownership and enabling the taxpayer to get their money back,” Lloyds said in a statement.

The government has recouped more than £17bn of the money it sunk into the stricken lender since UKFI began selling the stake off in 2013.