Europe

UK IPO sellers should consider an entirely different listing process, to cope with more volatile markets and ensure a flotation has a higher chance of success, argues Richard Brown, corporate finance partner at US law firm Baker Botts in London.

Poland is in the market for its most ambitious green bonds yet. It has opened books for two tranches of euro debt, hitting the 10 and 30 year maturity buckets.

The German lower house has approved an amendment to Pfandbrief legislation that should ensure UK assets remain eligible in German Pfandbriefe. Had the amendment not been passed, overcollateralization ratios of some Pfandbriefe would have fallen sharply.

Marks & Spencer will turn to its shareholders to fund a £750m joint venture with Ocado Group in a move that would see the company metamorphose into a leading online food retailer.

Metro Bank has obtained a standby underwrite for a £350m ($464m) equity raise to be completed later this year, even as short sellers circle around the bank. The miscalculation in its risk-weighted assets (RWAs) announced last month, and an expected delay in getting permission for internal models to calculate those weightings, are both damaging for its capital ratios.

Galicia is set to become the latest Spanish autonomous community to return to the bond markets after many years of absence, after it mandated banks on Wednesday to sell a new issue. It could also come to the market for a second time later in the year.

Trumpf, a family-owned mechanical engineering company headquartered near Stuttgart, has launched a triple-tranche Schuldschein.

Tim Haywood, the portfolio manager dismissed from GAM for gross misconduct, says he is appealing against his former employer’s decision.

The Netherlands' Sif Holding, which makes foundations for offshore platforms, has signed a €350m syndicated bank facility, adding green language to its loan documentation.

NordLB’s Luxembourg subsidiary extended its covered bond curve on Wednesday with an well received five year public sector backed deal. The bonds offered a very attractive spread for a deal from a core European jurisdiction, ensuring that demand from a diverse audience was quick to build.

The development of a harmonised European covered bond legal framework hit a new milestone on Tuesday after an agreement was reached by the European Parliament and member states on the covered bond directive, paving the way for final approval in a few weeks.

PlayTech, the UK-based gambling technology company, announced its second high yield bond issue on Tuesday afternoon, seeking to raise €350m to redeem an out-of-the-money convertible bond issued in 2014. During the roadshow, it confirmed a new contract with UK gaming group GVC, which helped it print tight in a market that was already supportive.