The government’s plans for a retail sale of its NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) stake have been derailed by the calling of an early general election.
After the past couple of years saw the Treasury steadily selling down the large stake in the bank that resulted from the bail-out in the 2008 financial crisis, a multibillion-pound offering for private investors and large institutions had been planned by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, confirmed in his March Budget.
But after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the 4 July election yesterday, Treasury officials have told media that those plans have now been paused.
One source told Sky News that the plans have been put "in the deep freeze".
Following the most recent share sale earlier this month, the Treasury confirmed that the UK Government Investments Ltd shareholding now stands at just below 34.9 billion or 26.95% of the total, worth aound £7.3 billion based on NatWest's current market valuation.