Lloyds sells final St James's stake for £95m

Lloyds has off-loaded its remaining stake in investment firm St James's Place as it continues to re-focus on retail banking.

The sale of Lloyds' remaining 21% stake in St James’s Place will net the bank £95m.

The bank, which is 32% owned by the taxpayer, has been selling down its stake progressively. Chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio viewed the investment as not central to Lloyds, but faced something of a dilemma, as St James’s has just raised a further £1bn of investors’ cash, which should boost returns for shareholders.

But Mr Horta-Osorio said Lloyds needed to focus on core retail and commercial banking customers and free up cash.

Lloyds also yesterday sold £90m of commercial property loans to private equity group Cerberus. The loans made a £1m profit last year.