Government to sell its remaining Royal Mail shares

Royal Mail

The Chancellor has announced that the Government will sell its remaining shares in the Royal Mail, with sales to start this year.

The stake currently has a market value of c.£1.5 billion. The Department for Business will sell its remaining holding of shares, completing the privatisation begun with an Initial Public Offering of shares in October 2013.

The Government has appointed Rothschild to advise BIS on the transaction. The Government holds a 30% stake in the company, with the remaining 70% held by a combination of employees (10%) and private investors.

Any transaction will be designed to deliver best value for money to the taxpayer, with further detail on the form of the sale to be announced in due course.

The Chancellor was addressing MPs as part of the Queen's Speech debate on the economy.