Lloyds Tell-Sid share sale is accelerated

LLOYDS could be off the Government’s books and back in private hands as early as September if plans for a Tell Sid- style sell- off are brought forward.

Only two weeks ago, chairman Lord Blackwell said he was optimistic the bank could be fully reprivatised within a year, but it is thought the Government is keen for a quicker timetable.

The idea is that billions of pounds of Lloyds shares would be sold to the public at a discount of at least 5pc.

This will be preceded by a government publicity drive, similar to the British Gas sell- off that produced the Tell Sid advertising campaign in 1986.

The Government has said it wants to offload its stake in British banks as soon as possible and the thinking behind the September date is that in order to launch a retail offer there will need to be a recent set of audited accounts. That will come with the half-year update in July. But a float would not happen immediately because, with so many investors on holiday, the City virtually shuts down over the slow August period. One insider said: ‘September is the earliest opportunity.’

A float would be the final chapter i n the Government’s involvement with Lloyds. The Treasury announced earlier t his month that it had already raised more than £10bn selling Lloyds shares.

This is just under half the £20.5bn of taxpayer funds that was used to bail it out at the height of the financial crisis. The Government currently has a 20pc stake in Lloyds, down from the 40pc it used to hold.

Lloyds ran into trouble in 2008 after its £12bn rescue of Halifax Bank of Scotland. Weeks l ater Lloyds was bailed out by taxpayers after being saddled with billions of pounds of HBOS’s toxic loans.

Lloyds declined to comment yesterday.