Lloyds Banking Group has got a £400m windfall after selling a 20% stake in wealth manager St James’s Place.
The bank will hold 37% in St James’ Place and is expected to get gross proceeds of £520m from the sale of 101.7 million shares at a price of 510p.
The sale, which is to be completed on Friday, will boost the bank’s core Tier 1 capital position by £600m.
Lloyds said its stake reduction was part of its strategy to “simplify” its business.
“Lloyds continues to be supportive of the St James’s Place management team, which will remain unchanged as a result of the placing,” it said in a statement.
David Bellamy, chief executive of St James’s Place, said Lloyds had been a “very supportive shareholder”.
“We believe that increased liquidity in our shares and a broader shareholder base is beneficial to our business and our shareholders,” he said.
Set up in 1991, St James’s Place is one Britain’s largest wealth managers with 140,000 customers and is listed in the FTSE 250 Index with £35bn worth of assets.
Lloyds gained its stake in St James’s Place following its takeover of HBOS, which had a 60% stake in wealth manager.
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