A public sale of NatWest shares could be in jeopardy after the Prime Minister called a general election for Wednesday evening, analysts warned.

NatWest shares fell on Thursday morning after reports emerged that the July 4 election date could put the share offer on hold.

The government hopes to fully divest its stake in the taxpayer-funded bank, which it bailed out during the 2008 financial crisis, by 2025 or 2026.

Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt announced that he would begin selling his stake to private investors as early as summer.

The company currently holds a stake of around 27 percent in the bank and has recently accelerated the process of reducing its stake.

However, the plans could be affected by the July election, which will take place earlier than many in Westminster expected; elections in October or November were generally considered more likely.

This will initiate a phase of election campaigning and Parliament will be dissolved before voters go to the polls.

Analysts said this could prevent the government from carrying out the much-anticipated sell-off this summer, which would have seen NatWest shares offered at a reduced price.

Robert Sage and Stuart Duncan, analysts at investment bank Peel Hunt, said: “This share sale cannot take place before the general election and the new government, which current polls suggest will likely be formed by the Labour Party, may or may not pursue this initiative.”

In the opinion polls, Labour is currently 20 points ahead of the Conservatives.

Mr Sage and Mr Duncan added that cancelling the share sale could delay the timing of the government being able to fully divest its stake in the lender.

Gary Greenwood, analyst at Shore Capital Markets, said: “In the unlikely event of a Conservative Party re-election, we would expect a rapid relaxation and a rapid reintroduction of such plans.”

“However, if the Labour Party comes to power, as widely expected, such plans are likely to be re-examined and possibly changed.”

However, he said any government would likely ultimately reduce its stake in NatWest and ultimately abandon it.

Rick Haythornthwaite, NatWest’s chairman, said last month that returning the bank to private ownership would “bring an end to a sad story for Britain and the bank”, referring to the bank’s rescue by British taxpayers about 15 years ago.

NatWest shares fell about 2% on Thursday morning.

NatWest declined to comment on the reports.