NatWest shares could be sold to the public as early as June, says Government

06 February 2024 , 15:25

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The sale of shares in NatWest to everyday investors could happen within months (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

The sale of shares in NatWest to everyday investors could happen as soon as June, a Government-owned company has said.

UK Government Investments (UKGI), which is owned by the Treasury, has hinted that the sale of NatWest shares to everyday investors could happen as early as June.

This follows Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's announcement last autumn about the Government's plans to fully offload its stake in the bank. Holger Vieten, who is leading the work for UKGI, told MPs: "At this point, we have been asked by the Chancellor to explore a retail offer... and we are in the development and design stage. We are looking at various options as to how that could be implemented."

He added that there is no exact date for when the sale will occur but suggested it could be in the summer at the "very earliest". When pressed for a more specific timeline, he agreed that it could mean June. The UK Government, which bailed out NatWest Group with nearly £46 billion during the 2008 financial crisis, now owns less than 35% of the bank.

The government plans to fully return the bank to private ownership by 2025 to 2026, if conditions are right. Mr Vieten made his comments during a session with the Treasury Committee.

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The committee also asked about the current leadership structure of NatWest, following the resignation of former boss Dame Alison Rose in July. She stepped down after admitting to a "serious error of judgement" in discussing Nigel Farage's relationship with Coutts, a subsidiary of the group, with a BBC journalist.

Paul Thwaite took over as the temporary boss, but NatWest hasn't said who will get the job for good yet. Charles Donald from UKGI mentioned that NatWest must be clear about who's in charge before they sell shares to regular people.

He said: "I think they need to provide clarity to the market on their proposals around either confirming the interim chief executive or a process around appointing a permanent chief executive, for the market to be comfortable."

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Lawrence Matheson