Around 8,000 investors sign up to Lloyds lawsuit over HBOS takeover

Around 8,000 investors have signed up to a lawsuit claiming Lloyds misled shareholders before acquiring HBOS in 2008.

A claim against the lender was filed on Tuesday after thousands of shareholders put their name to the lawsuit, which had to be submitted by Wednesday, on the sixth anniversary of shareholders approving the deal.

The investors, which include about 140 institutions such as charities, asset managers and pension funds, claim they lost almost £300m when approving the takeover six years ago and are seeking compensation in the region of £1 per share.

The identity of the claimants, thought to include a mix of British and US investors, is not yet known but it is expected to become public over the next couple of days.

Less than two weeks ago, only 5,000 investors had joined the lawsuit against the taxpayer-owned bank which, according to the shareholders, concealed the fact that HBOS was being propped up by £25.4bn of emergency assistance from the Bank of England, £11.5bn from the Federal Reserve and a £10bn loan from Lloyds.