‘Market volatility’ postponed George Osborne’s plan for Lloyds retail offer – the new chancellor should play the long game
Be grateful, dear retail investor, that George Osborne never got a chance to unleash his mass-market offer of shares in Lloyds Banking Group. The former chancellor had planned to sell discounted stock to the populace at 70p apiece, or thereabouts. Lloyds’ shares now fetch just 52.5p in non-discounted form.
The other side of the story, of course, is that Osborne did well to shift more than a few Lloyds shares to City institutions at prices that now look pretty only from the seller’s point of view. The reduction in the state’s stake from 43% in 2009 to 9% today was achieved at an average price of 79p. It is a rare of example of the City being a medium-term loser in a government sell-off.
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Source: Guardian Environment