Barclays

The sterling market is on fire for SSA borrowers. Attractive conditions and investors with cash to deploy have come together to produce some of the market’s most impressive deals of the year, with more in the pipeline.

Telefónica printed the largest single tranche of the day on Tuesday, with a €1.25bn deal with a January 2028 maturity. Despite competing with three other corporate bond deals in the euro market, the deal built a €3bn order book and was printed with a single digit new issue premium.

September’s expected busy calendar of equity-linked issues in Europe made further progress this week, when Qiagen and Capital Stage sold unusually structured bonds, both of which achieved strong books and priced within their ranges — with no sign of market congestion yet.

Council of Europe Development Bank launched its largest ever sterling trade on Thursday, selling its first trade in the currency in over 18 months in what is proving an enormously supportive market.

A mid-market shake-out is under way in UK corporate broking as global banks and smaller rivals jostle for supremacy, writes David Rothnie.

As expected, no euro issuers were tempted to compete with the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday, however British Land took the opportunity to bring its first senior bond since 2006.

Financial institutions steered clear of the primary market in euros on Thursday as participants awaited the outcome of a well-talked-about European Central Bank meeting.

Shandong-based Weichai Power Co became the sole G3 bond issuer to hit the debt market on Thursday, marketing a senior dollar perpetual deal to help repay acquisition-related loans.

The pattern of equity-linked issues coming in pairs continued on Wednesday, when Qiagen and Capital Stage successfully sold bonds. Both transactions were unusual, though in contrasting ways.

Clarion Events is set to launch the loan funding for its acquisition by private equity firm Blackstone next week or soon after. The buyer also has funding for a deal to buy Paysafe in the pipeline.

Public sector borrowers are finding healthy seams of sterling funding in various tenors, as Council of Europe Development Bank lined up to follow a Wednesday trade by KfW — and there are rumours that more supranationals could consider deals in the currency. Attractive arbitrage levels and large redemptions are helping drive supply and demand respectively, said bankers.

Two more borrowers added on Tuesday to the almost €3bn of new high yield bonds already being marketed in Europe this week. But just as the market is set to surpass last year's volumes, investors have started to voice concern over low coupon levels.