NatWest returns to majority private control as it buys back £1.2bn in shares

UK government sells more of stake in group formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland at a loss over 2008 price

NatWest Group has returned to majority private ownership after it agreed to buy back 1.2bn of shares from the UK government, more than 13 years after the company was bailed out by taxpayers at the height of the financial crisis.

The company, formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS), said it had agreed to make an off-market purchase of 550m shares, or 4.91% of its share capital, from HM Treasury at Friday's closing price of 220.5p, in a statement to the stock market on Monday.