Taxpayers’ stake in Lloyds moves below 15 per cent

The latest milestone was reached after the government sold another 657 million shares in the Edinburgh-based lender.

The latest disposal reduces the state’s holding to 14.98 per cent and raised about £563 million for the Treasury.

In total, the sell-offs have now raised more than £12bn to date.

The UK government spent £20.5bn bailing out the group during the financial crash of 2008.

Chancellor George Osborne, who is aiming to complete the return of Lloyds to private hands over the coming year, said he will now press on with further drawing down the government’s interest in the bank.

He said: “I am determined to build on this success, and to continue to return Lloyds to the private sector and reduce our national debt.”

The government has been gradually selling its holding in Lloyds to institutional investors through a trading plan that will run until the end of the year.

But it also plans to launch a multi-billion pound share sale to private retail investors, with speculation that the move could take place in March as it is hoped the share price will continue to rise as the bank’s profits increase.

The sale is expected to be accompanied by a publicity campaign in the model of the Thatcher-era “Tell Sid” adverts, which invited the public to invest in British Gas as it was privatised.

To encourage retail investors to buy shares, the Government will also offer a 5pc discount on the stock.

A statement issued by Lloyds in the wake of the latest share sale said: “Today’s announcement shows the further progress made in returning Lloyds Banking Group to full private ownership and enabling the taxpayer to get their money back,” the bank said.

“This reflects the hard work undertaken over the last four years to transform the group into a simple, low-risk and customer-focused bank that is committed to helping Britain prosper.”

Lloyds received a further boost this week when Spanish bank Sabadell was granted permission from regulators to take over TSB, the high street challenger bank spun off by Lloyds.

TSB floated on the stock market a year ago, but Lloyds still owned a 40pc stake. The £1.7bn acquisition represented a 30pc premium to the share price before Sabadell’s interest was announced, giving Lloyds a higher price than it had expected for the lender. announced, giving Lloyds a higher price than it had expected for the lender.