CPS report “How to Sell the Family Silver: Ignore the Banks” by John Chown was featured in The Times newspaper, Monday 9 May 2016.
“Privatising the state-owned banks should be done through an old-fashioned tender process to ensure that taxpayers are not ripped off by the government’s advisers, a leading think tank has recommended.
The Centre for Policy Studies has urged the government to scrap its “flawed” approach to privatising national assets of placing shares with institutions and making public offers. The method was used for the much-criticised sale of Royal Mail, of which the National Audit Office said the government “could have achieved better value for the taxpayer”.
In his report, How to Sell the Family Silver, John Chown estimates that the government could have made £500 million more from Royal Mail, which raised £2 billion, had it used a tender process rather than a placing. He also said that corporate advisers had an incentive to give the government poor advice, because a tender was less lucrative for them because it stripped out the need for underwriting fees.”
To read the full article, visit The Times website.
Date Added: Monday 9th May 2016
