City firms have been asked by the UK government to submit proposals for a potential retail offering of NatWest Group PLC’s shares, Bloomberg reported late Sunday.

The financial firms have until late February to present their bids, with the Treasury aiming to announce the share sale alongside its budget on March 6, Bloomberg said, citing ‘several people familiar with the matter’.

The possible retail sale may form part of the Treasury’s wider campaign to encourage share ownership, according to Bloomberg’s sources, amid efforts to reinvigorate London’s equity markets. Any sale is likely to entail a combination of a retail offer to the public at a discounted price, as well as an offer to institutional investors, the sources said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-28/uk-government-asks-city-firms-for-natwest-share-sale-proposals

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had announced he was considering a retail offer for NatWest shares back in November, as the government seeks to trim more of its stake in the lender.

During his autumn statement, Hunt had said the UK government is ‘exploring’ a possible retail share offer for NatWest over the next 12 months, though this would be subject to market conditions and ‘value for money’.

The UK government first began building its majority stake in the bank in October 2008 during the financial crisis as it looked to inject funds into the banking system. As a result, the government ended up holding an 81% stake in the lender - called Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC at the time - thanks to a hefty £45.5 billion taxpayer bailout.

As of January, the UK government held just shy of a 36% stake in NatWest. Its holding in NatWest had fallen below the 50% threshold for the first time since 2008 back in March 2022.

Shares in NatWest were down 0.5% at 222.90 pence in London on Monday morning.

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