Europe

London-listed transport booking app Trainline has tapped the equity-linked market for the first time by issuing a £150m ($204m) convertible bond.

A €1.2bn sale of new Delivery Hero shares showed that investors are ready and waiting to commit capital to new equity capital markets deals in 2021. The transaction showed that demand for high growth tech names remains strong, despite a recent trend of investors buying into more cyclical companies.

UK stationery retailer Paperchase has submitted a notice of intent to appoint administrators, as it struggles to cope with the effects of lockdowns and disruption to Christmas sales.

Damien Loynes' syndicate responsibilities at Crédit Agricole have been expanded.

Europe’s primary equity-linked market has reopened for 2021, with a debut €200m green convertible bond issued by Voltalia, the French renewable energy company.

Komerční banka (KB), a partially owned subsidiary of Société Générale, has mandated leads for the first fully distributed euro benchmark covered bond from the Czech Republic, paving the way for other major lenders to follow suit.

MUFG has given Darryl D’Souza a new position under Matteo Ferrario, where he will lead part of the bank's strategy for financial institutions.

Europe faces more months of Covid-19 lockdowns as the continent’s governments try to quell an increase in infections. But equity bankers are hopeful that the restrictions will not prevent them from raising equity for companies seeking to do M&A transactions.

François Marion has left his position as deputy chief executive of Crédit Agricole's corporate and investment bank, and the bank has reshuffled titles — giving new roles to Pierre Gay and Didier Gaffinel, among others.

Cancelling debt, dual interest rates, helicopter money: if the recovery from the coronavirus crisis stalls in the developed world, we will see calls for more radical central bank action.

Financial institution borrowers are expected to concentrate efforts on their more difficult trades at the start of this year, reflecting the view that credit conditions cannot get much better — a prudent approach to funding. But the economic recovery is unlikely to be as smooth as expected, and although central banks stand ready, credit market volatility should revive covered bonds as the rainy day funding product of choice.

Public sector borrowers soaked up huge demand in the euro market on Tuesday including the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, which printed its biggest ever 100 year bond despite offering a yield of less than 1%.