RBS shares sale ‘value for money’

The sale of government shares in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in 2015 was “value for money” despite landing the taxpayer with losses of nearly £2 billion, according to the public spending watchdog.

A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) into the controversial sale of a 5.4 per cent stake nearly two years ago revealed overall losses on the sale reached £1.9bn.

It added that while details of the sale were leaked into the market around an hour before the official announcement, there was no impact on the sale price.

The NAO concluded the sale was “well planned and organised and represented value for money”.

The sale came under heavy criticism at the time after the government offloaded its first tranche of shares in RBS at a 52-week low after the price plunged.