Lloyds in talks to sell estate agencies business

Cash hungry bank Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed it is in talks to offload its Halifax Estate Agencies business.LSL Property Services, which owns the estate agecy brands your Move, Reeds Rains and Intercounty, has expressed an interest in buying the estate agencies business of Lloyds which it inherited when it took over HBOS.The Halifax Estate Agencies chain consists of 218 branches, including 93 franchise operations. Lloyds Banking is rumoured to be mulling the largest ever rights issue in UK corporate history in order to enable it to back out of the government's asset protection scheme.