Europe

Shares in Whitbread, the UK hospitality group, rose by 7% on Monday after Elliott Advisors, the US activist hedge fund, revealed it had become the largest investor in the company.

Skipton Building Society has mandated leads for a roadshow ahead of its first sterling benchmark covered bond, while Sbanken Boligkreditt has already begun marketing its debut euro benchmark.

French shopping centre operator Unibail-Rodamco said in December it planned to sell around €2bn of bonds to refinance the bridge loan it has taken on to fund its $15.7bn acquisition of its Australian peer Westfield Corp. On Monday, it brought the deal to market and received reassuring demand.

After an unthrilling first quarter of 2018 for the Schuldschein market, analysts at two Landesbanks have issued pessimistic forecasts for this year’s deal flow and volume.

German building materials company HeidelbergCement sold its first trade of 2018, replicating its last deal of 2017. It also priced the new deal at a spread close to that it paid in 2017.

It is with sadness that the global banking fraternity bids farewell to HSBC’s Russell Julius, who passed away on April 8, at the age of 57.

Banco BPM sold €500m of senior bonds with a 'modest' new issue premium on Monday, against an uncertain political backdrop in Italy after parties prolonged talks to form a new government.

KBC Group has picked banks to arrange the sale of a new additional tier one (AT1) transaction, ahead of any potential call of its only outstanding deal in the asset class.

IHS Markit announced on Monday that it had acquired Paris-based DeriveXperts, a company that provides independent valuations of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.

UBS was warmly received for a new senior deal from its operating company on Monday, as credit markets showed a bit of resilience following a period of heightened volatility.

Caisse Francaise De Financement Local (Caffil) has mandated leads for a 10 year euro benchmark Obligation foncière, and after completing a roadshow last week, The Mortgage Society of Finland is set to open order books for sub-benchmark deal.

The IPO of IBS IT, a Russian technology company, was postponed on Friday due to “increased market volatility” driven primarily by US-led sanctions against Russia. According to Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the UN, more might be coming.