SJP shares dive 10% on Lloyds sale

St James's Place stock has fallen 10% in today's trading after majority shareholder Lloyds Banking Group placed 77m shares into the market.

Lloyds, which sold a 20% stake in SJP just two months ago, announced the sale of a further 15% stake yesterday in a deal which netted it £450m. The bank sold the shares at 580p a piece, but today's wider market sell-off meant SJP shares were trading below that level from the open. By early afternoon, shares were down 10.1% at 575p, although the wealth manager's share price remains up 12% over the past 30 days and 37% up year to date. The FTSE All Share was down 1.8% by early afternoon at 3,540, putting its year to date rise at 14.5%. Lloyds now holds a 21% stake in SJP and has c...