UK Chancellor George Osborne had revealed plans to sell a portion of the Treseaury’s remaining 25% holding to private investors before the general election in May 2015.
However, the government will have to wait until at least summer 2015 to launch the public sale of all the remaining government-owned shares, which are worth £13bn, as reported by The Guardian.
Meanwhile, the Treasury is likely to continue sale of some of the bank shares it owns in Lloyds following its £20bn bailout during the 2008 financial crisis, to institutional investors.
A Treasury spokesman said: "The chancellor set out the government’s approach to the state-owned banks in his Mansion House speech last year: we want to maximise support for the British economy, get the best value for money for the taxpayer and return the state-owned banks to private ownership.
"Any decisions on share sales will be determined by value for money and market conditions."
In 2013, the Treasury sold two portions of Lloyds shares to institutions for nearly £7bn, thereby reducing the taxpayer’s stake from 39% to 24.9%.
Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Keith Bowman said: "The timing would be tight for a public offering.
"But an institutional sale would be a smoother process, with previous sales passing off with few problems."
Meanwhile, a Lloyds representative refused to comment on the government’s plans to delay the share sale.
Image: The UK government has postponed the public sale of all the remaining government-owned shares in Llyods Banking Group to 2015.Photo: courtesy of Mtaylor848.
