RBS raises £630m in latest Direct Line sale

THE Royal Bank of Scotland has raised £630m from selling another stake in insurer Direct Line, which has its main subsidiary, UK Insurance, in Leeds.

Yesterday RBS said it was putting 272.7m – 18.2% of Direct Line’s shares – up for sale, with a further 27.3m available if demand is high.

This morning it confirmed that it had sold all 300 million shares at 210p each, leaving it with 28.5% of the business.

The sale is the third reduction in RBS’s holding in Direct Line in less than a year.

The bank sold 34.7% at the initial public offering last October and a further 16.8% in March.

RBS said the sale was the continuation of its European Union-mandated disposal strategy, with cash proceeds being used for general corporate purposes.

Bruce Van Saun, RBS group finance director, said: “This sale keeps RBS fully on track to meet its obligation to divest its stake in DLG by end-2014.”