Signs are seen outside a branch of Lloyds Bank in central London October 28, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Winning

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government has reduced its stake in Lloyds Banking Group LLOY.L to just below 3 percent, putting the lender on track to be back in private ownership within the next few months.

UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI), which manages the government’s stake, resumed share sales in October, having halted them for almost a year due to market turbulence.

UKFI said it had reduced its stake by about 1 percent to 2.95 percent in an announcement on Wednesday.

The government was left with a 43 percent stake in Lloyds after a 20.5 billion pound ($25.75 billion) taxpayer-funded bailout during the 2007-09 financial crisis.