Lloyds selects Lone Star as preferred bidder

Lone Star, a US private equity group, has been named as the exclusive bidder for £900m-worth of distressed property loans currently owned by Lloyds Banking Group, according to the Financial Times.The property loans, known as the Project Royal portfolio, is the biggest disposal of loans by a UK bank since the 2008 recession. It's suggested that the deal could be the catalyst for a number of similar deals. Other bidders who are now said to have been ruled out as of Tuesday night are Cerberus and Colony Capital. The banking giant, which before only sold single loans, will take as much as a 40% loss on the value of the portfolio. Lloyds' share price rose 2.07% to 27.66p by 12:31PM.NR