Europe

Taylor Maritime Investments, a new London investment trust, has launched an IPO on the London Stock Exchange with the aim of offering investors a chance to invest in the recovery of the global shipping industry after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bank capital investors believe yields could reach new record lows in the European additional tier one market, as another positive earnings season helps to lessen the “perceived riskiness” of the asset class.

NatWest Group recorded a loss at its investment bank on Thursday, after climbing down from the dizzying heights of last year’s first quarter profits. The weaker numbers weighed on the performance of the group, but the bank still managed to breeze past market expectations.

The Development Bank of Kazakhstan on Thursday launched a dual tranche bond in dollars and Kazakh tenge. Investor interest in emerging market local currency debt has increased over the last year, as the hunt for yield grows.

Origin Housing, a housing association with homes in and around London, has sold £125m of US private placements – one of the bigger deals from the sector.

UK retailer WH Smith has tapped the convertible bond market for the first time as part of a wider refinancing package intended to position it for a return to growth this year once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

Euronext, the European stock exchange operator, has launched its long-awaited €1.8bn rights issue to part-fund its acquisition of Borsa Italiana Group from the London Stock Exchange Group.

Deutsche Bank’s investment banking group was among the best performers in a strong all-round quarter for the German firm.

Swiss-Austrian company Montana Aerospace has embarked on a virtual roadshow after launching an IPO on Friday. Sources close to the transaction are in high spirits after the first few days of education and hopeful for a strong result after nabbing two cornerstone orders.

The European Commission has fined three banks for breaching European Union competition rules in trading SSA dollar bonds in the secondary market, it said on Wednesday.

Ecoener, the Spanish renewable energy company, reduced its IPO on the Spanish stock exchange to €100m on Wednesday, as it became the latest deal to face difficulty in the European IPO market.

The Principality of Andorra sold its first ever international public bond on Wednesday, bringing a 10 year sustainability benchmark to market and pricing sharply inside guidance.