Not for sale: Government rules out Land Registry privatisation
The government has announced it will not be privatising the Land Registry.
The Treasury said in its Autumn Statement document:
Following consultation the government has decided that HM Land Registry should focus on becoming a more digital data-driven registration business, and to do this will remain in the public sector.
Modernisation will maximise the value of HM Land Registry to the economy, and should be completed without a need for significant Exchequer investment.
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In the "financial assets" section of today's Autumn Statement, the Treasury also noted that it is continuing to pursue the sale of the pre-2012 "income contingent repayment student loan book".
It intends to launch the first sale in early 2017, "subject to market conditions".
The sale of the Green Investment Bank is also ongoing.
There was no mention of Channel 4, which the government is also considering selling off, in the Autumn Statement.
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The Autumn Statement also provided updates on the sales of stakes in Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The Lloyds stake, which is now less than eight per cent, is expected to be sold off in full by the end of 2017/18.
On RBS, the government said "the need to resolve legacy issues makes it unlikely that disposals will occur in the near term".
Elsewhere, the sale of £15.7bn-worth of Bradford & Bingley mortgage assets is expected to complete at the end of 2017/18.