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Asset sales and privatisation

Government sell assets for many reasons. To ensure the taxpayer receives value for money from privatisations and asset sales, government first needs to assess the value generated through holding onto an asset versus selling it. If government does decide to sell, it is important to consider a range of factors, including: its valuation approach, whether any restructuring of the asset is required to maximise sales return, market conditions at the time of the proposed sale, the design and management of any sale process, bidder dynamics during a sale process, and the benefits versus costs of any reasonable alternatives to the sale.

Following the 2015 election, the government has announced plans to divest of a number of assets, which the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates (at July 2015) will result in proceeds of £62.6 billion. These assets are: a portion of the student loans portfolio; the remaining shares in Lloyds Banking Group; a portion of the mortgage portfolio in UK Asset Resolution Limited and a proportion of its Royal Bank of Scotland shares. We have reported on privatisations and asset sales after they have completed and we may return to this theme as the divestiture programme unfolds.

The return of Lloyds Banking Group to private ownership

Now that all Lloyds shares have been sold we reviewed how the government prepared for and carried out the sales from March 2014 onwards.

Sector(s): Central Finance and Treasury

Performance Improvement area(s): Asset sales and privatisation

Department(s): HM Treasury

Published:
22 Jun 2018

The Green Investment Bank

This examines whether the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has achieved the objectives of the UK Green Investment Bank intervention, and whether UK Government Investments has achieved value for money in the subsequent sale of the Bank.

Sector(s): Business and enterprise

Performance Improvement area(s): Asset sales and privatisation, Infrastructure finance

Published:
12 Dec 2017

Key findings from an investigation into low- and medium-value property sales

The NAO has carried out an investigation into whether government bodies are achieving market value prices from property sales. This investigation looks at a small sample of government property sales of £1 million or less from 2014-15 and 2015-16.

18 September 2017

Sector(s): Government, efficiency and transparency

Performance Improvement area(s): Asset sales and privatisation, Investigations

Published:
18 Sep 2017

The first sale of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland

The first sale of government shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland in August 2015 was well planned and organised and represented value for money.

Sector(s): Central Finance and Treasury, Financial services

Performance Improvement area(s): Asset sales and privatisation

Department(s): HM Treasury

Published:
14 Jul 2017

The sale of Eurostar

The sale of Eurostar generated proceeds of £757m. The government prepared well for the sale and achieved its objectives to maximise proceeds. The sale illustrates some general lessons for government as it embarks on its asset sales programme.

Sector(s): Central Finance and Treasury, Infrastructure, Transport

Performance Improvement area(s): Asset sales and privatisation

Department(s): Department for Transport

Published:
6 Nov 2015

The economic regulation of the water sector

Since privatisation, Ofwat and Defra have overseen major improvements in water quality and service quality. Customers have seen a marked rise in bills but not the benefits of companies’ unexpected financial gains.

Sector(s): Regulation, consumers and competition

Performance Improvement area(s): Asset sales and privatisation, Regulation, Transforming public services, User choice and consumer protection

Department(s): Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Published:
14 Oct 2015

Financial institutions landscape

The government is selling assets on an unprecedented scale but, given the equally large scale of its new loans and other initiatives, the overall projected net effect is a £200m increase in borrowing.

Sector(s): Central Finance and Treasury

Performance Improvement area(s): Asset sales and privatisation

Department(s): HM Treasury

Published:
10 Sep 2015

Disposal of public land for new homes

A programme to sell enough government land by March 2015 to build a potential 100,000 homes did not collect information on the amount of money raised or how many homes have actually been built. In future land sales, responsibility for monitoring what happens to land after disposal should be made clear.

Sector(s): Housing, Planning and building

Performance Improvement area(s): Asset sales and privatisation, Investigations, Local service delivery

Department(s): Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Published:
24 Jun 2015