UK Government Investments, the government’s investment vehicle, sold a 4.5% stake in the lender at 316.2p last night in an off-market purchase. 

The move comes after after a planned public share sale in the lender this summer was scrapped after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for 4 July. 

The Treasury had hoped to raise between £3bn and £4bn from the sale to return NatWest to private ownership by 2025-26.    

Natwest Group chief executive Paul Thwaite says: “This transaction represents another important milestone for NatWest Group, building on recent momentum in the reduction of HM Treasury’s stake in the bank.

“We believe it is a positive use of capital for the bank and for our shareholders and represents further progress against the ambition to return NatWest Group to full private ownership.” 

The state recused the bank from going bust during the height of the financial crisis in 2008, taking an 84% stake in the business after pumping £45.5bn into the lender.