Government opted against sale of entire Royal Mail stake

Ministers considered selling the government's entire stake in the Royal Mail earlier this year when shares were trading near their peak, but held back after being advised against breaking the terms of a lock-up agreement.

According to Sky News, the government was close to offloading the remaining 30% of the business which it has held on to, five months after it floated the rest of the Royal Mail's shares. Shares have since retreated from highs, now trading around 25% lower than the 590p mark seen in March. By deciding not to press ahead, ministers effectively forfeited a further £500m gain for the public purse, Sky News said. A sale then would have netted the government close to £1.8bn, but would have broken a lock-up agreement put in place at the time of the company's initial public offering (IPO) ...