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Focus Wickes, the home improvement retailer, said this week that it will raise £190m when it floats before the end of the summer. The announcement came as the group, which is the UK's second largest DIY chain, announced a 20.2% growth in turnover for the six months ending April 28.

International Lease Finance Corp has added four bank names to the dealer panel off its $4 billion Euro-MTN programme. The added dealers are ABN Amro, Banc of America, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan. They join the existing eight-strong panel.

Elis is assessing the second round of bids for the French businesses it has put up for auction. With senior debt to Ebitda at 3.9 times, leveraged loan bankers in London are describing the potential deal as a "dream leveraged buy-out".

General Electric Capital Corp (GECC) will today (Friday) pay the price of its heavier reliance on the term debt markets this year when it launches a $6bn two tranche global bond paying larger than usual new issue concessions. The deal, via Bank of America, Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley, will include five and 10 year tranches. The $2.25bn five year tranche will be priced at 75bp-77bp over USTs, compared with a spread of 69bp yesterday (Thursday) on GECC's 5.375% 2007s, and a $3.75bn 10 year piece at 106bp-108bp, when its outstanding 5.875% 2012s are at around 99bp.

With the fall of Enron and the rise of investor awareness, General Electric Capital Corp has been forced to put transparency at the heart of its fundraising, a strategy made more urgent in March when Pimco's Bill Gross launched a damaging attack on the size of its CP programme. In an exclusive interview with EuroWeek, GECC's Kathy Cassidy and Kitty Yoh tell Danielle Robinson how they are adapting to the new corporate climate.

EuroWeek understands that HypoVereinsbank and Mizuho are arranging a circa Eu80m facility to support the Doughty Hanson-led buy-out of tyre company Auto-Teile-Unger. Arrangers of the debt would not comment on the deal, which is at an early stage.

Alpha Bank and Citigroup/SSSB have been invited to arrange a Eu150m three year term loan for telecom equipment maker Intercom. The loan was launched into syndication at a meeting held in London yesterday (Thursday). Two take and hold tickets are on offer to banks: Eu15m for 35bp and Eu10m for 225bp.

Described by some bankers as the "coolest" deal of the year, the $200m three year revolver for Harley Davidson Financial Services Europe has attracted early commitments in syndication. Arrangers Citigroup/SSSB and BNP Paribas have invited banks to join as arrangers taking $25m for fees of 17.5bp or as co-arrangers committing $15m for 12.5bp.

Goldman Sachs (GS) completed a Eu714m risk trade in imaging specialist Agfa-Gevaert yesterday (Thursday) to cement its position at the top of the ECM league tables. The block was sold at market after a share price fall through the day of just 2.3%, an impressive achievement considering that the stake comprised 30% of Agfa.

Retail investors with a minimum of £25,000 to spare are being offered access to the Liberty Ermitage Asset Selection Fund, a fund of hedge funds, via the Defensive Bond, a wrap developed by Axa Isle of Man. Christine Hall, offshore marketing manager at Axa Sun Life, told EuroWeek that Axa's research indicated demand for low-risk investments. "The Defensive Bond will provide investors with better returns than cash over the longer term in a vehicle that is not linked to the performance of the stock markets," she said.

Arranger WestLB has launched a $30m three year term loan for Ocean Grand Finance, guaranteed by Ocean Grand Holdings. Banks joining the facility will receive 160bp over Libor. Fees to the market are at three levels. Arrangers lending $4m or more will receive 112bp, lead managers contributing $3m gain 94bp and managers taking $2m or less earn 80bp.

Household International has added Barclays Capital and UBS Warburg as dealers to its debt issuance programme. They join an already six-strong dealer panel. In addition, the borrower has lifted the limit off the facility to $15 billion from $10 billion. The programme was signed in May 1996. Morgan Stanley is the arranger.