The government has lowered its shareholding in Natwest to around 29.8%, which means that it is no longer a controlling shareholder.
A controlling shareholder is defined by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a shareholder that controls at least 30% of the votes in the company.
It also means that additional regulatory and legal requirements were placed on the government as a shareholder.
The government is still the largest single shareholder of Natwest, but the Treasury said that the “milestone represents clear progress on the government’s commitment to return Natwest to full private ownership”.
The government said that it aims to get Natwest back to full private ownership by 2025-26. This is “subject to supportive market conditions and achieving value for money”.
At the Budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that the sale of the remaining shareholding in the bank could take place as soon as summer this year.
Last May, the government’s stake in Natwest was lowered by 38.6% following the sale of shares worth around £1.26bn.
The government spent around £46bn to rescue Natwest following the financial crisis.
Bim Afolami, economic secretary to the Treasury, said: “This is a significant milestone demonstrating we’re making excellent progress on fully returning Natwest to private ownership.
“In addition to our successful trading plan, we are now looking ahead to a retail offering of Natwest shares, which could come as soon as this summer, subject to market conditions and value for money.”
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
