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Cameron pledges £4bn Lloyds share offer for retail investors
David Cameron plans to offer up to £4bn worth of Lloyds shares to retail investors if the Conservatives win the general election.
Speaking to the BBC, the Prime Minister said small investors would be offered shares at below-market prices as part of the sale of the shares in the bailed-out bank.
The share sale was announced in the Budget in March and will help the government to pay down the national debt. The government’s stake has steadily come down from 43% at the time of the bailout in 2008 to 22%.
Under the terms of the proposed offer, buyers will receive a discount of 5% on the market price at time of sale and the minimum purchase will be £250, with priority given to those purchasing up to £1,000.
Those who retained Lloyds shares for a year would be rewarded with a loyalty bonus which would include one free share for every 10 shares held.
Lloyds rejoined the dividend register earlier this year as it paid out its first dividend for six years.
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Some £500m of shares were sold earlier this year through a trading plan launched in December 2014, taking the total amount of money recovered for the taxpayer to just under £8bn.