Lloyds to pay for ‘Tell Sid’ plan

The Conservatives see sale as a vote-winning way of reigniting the flame of Margaret Thatcher’s British Gas privatisation

Lloyds is on course to have 40 per cent of senior roles at the bank filled by women in the next five years (Getty Images)

Lloyds shareholders will have to pay tens of millions of pounds to publicise and administer the Conservatives’ proposed “Tell Sid” mass sale to the public of the state’s shares.

Analysts said it was a far more expensive option than the current programme of selling shares to City institutions.

However, the Conservatives see it as a vote-winning way of reigniting the flame of Margaret Thatcher’s British Gas privatisation, famed for its “Don’t forget to tell Sid” advertising catchline.

Under Lloyds’ bailout terms with the Government, it has to fund any of the overheads incurred in returning the funds to the taxpayer, which would include those run up by a retail “privatisation”.

The Conservatives said investors would be able to buy £250 to £10,000 of Lloyds shares, with priority going to orders of up to £1,000. Shares will be sold at a 5 per cent discount to the shares’ stock market value, and investors who hold them for a year would receive an extra 10 per cent.