§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the outcome of the sale of part of the Government's holding of privatised companies' debt.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI am pleased to report that the sale was successfully completed on 19 July. The Treasury accepted bids totalling £1.3 billion for the early redemption of the electricity and British Telecom bonds shown in the table.
Payment, with accrued interest, will be made to the Exchequer on 23 August 1994. The costs of the auction are expected to amount to some £0.7 million or less than 0.04 per cent. of proceeds. The proceeds will contribute towards the target of £5.5 billion privatisation proceeds for 1994–95.
In addition, Eastern Electricity bought back two bonds with face value of £118 million, with payment of £146.2 million—capital and interest—received on 29 April, and the National Grid Company exercised its pre-emption rights to repurchase two bonds with face value of £300 million, with payment of £343.4 million—capital and interest—received on 5 July. Including these receipts, the total proceeds—capital and interest—from the sale will be some £1.8 billion.
I am satisfied that the sale has secured good value for the taxpayer.