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Europe’s corporate bond market has seen an influx of ESG deals from highly polluting sectors, testing how much environmentally and socially conscious investors buy into firms' transition stories.

Europe’s high grade corporate bond market had a distinctly Spanish flavour on Tuesday as Cellnex and Merlin Properties issued. Some analysts predict that the healthy earnings season might mean a 15% rise in bond issuance from the European market.

Financial institutions will have a tough time issuing sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), according the head of BBVA’s corporate and investment bank, who said at a conference on Thursday that she expected banks to focus more on debt with a dedicated use of proceeds.

Banco de Crédito Social Cooperativo (BCC) was able to increase the size of its latest tier two offering to €600m, after attracting a number of new accounts to a deal that will fund the repurchase of its existing deals in the format.

The FIG market paused on Wednesday to take stock of inflation fears and weaker market sentiment, but a pipeline of issuance is building, including Spain's Banco de Crédito Social Cooperativo (BCC), which has put out a market update after it received disparate indications of interest ahead of its return to the tier two format.

Ryanair, the Irish budget airline, landed a far more solid bond issue on Tuesday than shopping centre operator Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield had a day earlier, as both companies try to recover in sectors ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.

Banco de Crédito Social Cooperativo (BCC) said on Monday that it was looking to issue a €500m tier two, which could replace all of its existing deals in the format.

Grünenthal, the German opioid maker, has signed a €400m revolving credit facility, less than a month after making its postponed debut in the high yield bond market.

Europe’s high grade corporate bond market ignored a deeply red day in equity markets on Tuesday, and Volkswagen Leasing and Eurofins Scientific got a decent run at printing new debt.

The spread benefit of ESG-linked debt was on clear display in Europe’s corporate bond market this week. For the second time in days, investors were offered two similar transactions and paid significantly more for the ESG option, in this case a green bond from Red Eléctrica.

Bank of Ireland and Westpac found strong demand for debut green tier two deals this week, as investors flock to this growing segment of the ESG market in search of higher returns.

Europe’s high grade corporate bond investors clamoured for spread this week, with low triple-B rated companies Aker BP and Holding d’Infrastructures de Transport (HIT) finding ample demand a day after Eni had sold hybrid debt.