Fifteen years after the crash government sells majority stake in bank

Fifteen years after the finanical crash of 2007-08 the majority shareholder in the NatWest Group plc – formerly The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc – is no longer the UK Government.

The government’s holding in the bank managed from the world headquarters at Gogarburn has reduced from 50.6% to 48.1%, returning the bank towards private ownership after the sale of £1.2 billion shares back to NatWest.

John Glen MP for Salisbury and Economic Secretary to the Treasury

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen said: “This sale means that the government is no longer the majority owner of NatWest Group and is therefore an important landmark in our plan to return the bank to the private sector. We will continue to prioritise delivering value for money for the taxpayer as we take forward this plan.”

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury authorised the sale of approximately 550 million shares in NatWest at 220.5p per share raising a total of £1.2 billion. The shares were bought back by NatWest and the process was managed by UK Government Investments.