Europe

SQN Secured Income Fund, the London-listed closed end investment fund focused on small and medium sized enterprise loans and secured lending, is preparing to raise up to £100m to capitalise on opportunities it sees in alternative investment.

LetterOne, the private equity firm that is the largest shareholder in Distribuidora Internacional de Alimentación, the Spanish supermarket chain, has drafted a debt restructuring plan for the troubled company that echoes the latest attempt of renewable energy group Abengoa to survive by cutting its leverage.

KfW has ramped up its funding volume for next year to its highest level since 2011, the agency said on Tuesday.

The Green Loan Principles (GLP) have been updated to include input from the US industry body the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA), with the green lending framework now including language about revolving credit facilities.

Nederlandse Waterschapsbank plans to issue at least a quarter of its total funding next year with socially responsible bonds, according to a treasury official at the Dutch agency.

Danish logistics company Maersk gave investors something other than political and economic matter to consider this week when it announced a tender offer for its shortest dated euro bonds on Monday.

If the UK were to crash out of the EU without securing a deal it would throw up a host of legal and regulatory risks for UK and European covered bonds and put a dampener on otherwise supportive market conditions, Moody’s said in a report published this week.

Anta Sports Products has mandated six banks for a €2.2bn loan to back the €4.6bn acquisition of Finnish sports brand Amer Sports Oyj.

Arion Bank said this week that it would look to buy back some of its euro senior bonds as a way of reducing its contributions for the Icelandic banking levy.

DCM bankers believe that financial institutions will be wary about jumping straight into the covered bond market in January, after a tricky end to the year for the asset class.

Société Générale is working to offer its clients direct clearing capabilities in the eurozone by the end of the year, as it launches an offering in Paris for listed and OTC derivatives.

The UK’s Interserve plans to swap a “substantial” portion of its debt for equity, as the embattled support services and construction firm tries to avoid the same fate as government contractor Carillion.