By Lars Mucklejohn The government is preparing to start selling shares in Natwest to retail investors as soon as the middle of this year, City A.M. understands. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in his Autumn Statement last November that the government would explore a Tell Sid-style plan to offer shares in the Big Four lender to the general public in the next 12 months. City Minister Bim Afolami told City A.M. last week that the Treasury was “going to take forward” the plan “at some point in the next few months”. Shares are expected to be priced at a discount to make them more appealing to reta…