UBS

Capital & Counties Properties, the London landlord that owns large amounts of Covent Garden, is strengthening its liquidity position by issuing a £250m bond exchangeable into shares of Shaftesbury.

The People’s Republic of China returned to the European market on Wednesday, part of its plan to make euro bond outings an annual exercise. The €4bn transaction was a blow-out, with the order book well oversubscribed — and one of the three tranches achieving the sovereign’s first negative yield. Morgan Davis reports.

Italy’s BPER Banca was more than three times subscribed for a small tier two deal on Wednesday, as sub-benchmark transactions prove more popular than usual in the euro market.

Citycon Group, the Nordic shopping centre company, has signed €500m of revolving credit facilities. It wants to shore up its balance sheet as it teeters on the edge of a junk rating.

As investors sought gold and silver as a hedge against inflation and uncertainty, investment banks with the capabilities to act in these markets benefitted. Some made more than $100m in precious metals in the third quarter, according to Coalition Greenwich.

Ben Smyth, the whistleblower and former debt capital markets banker who took UBS to court, has been hired as an investment officer by the litigation funder Therium Capital.

A pair of smaller names were tempted into the euro market on Tuesday, after Monday’s news that scientists have developed another successful vaccine for Covid-19 led to a further improvement of market conditions.

Gategroup, the Swiss airline hospitality company, has negotiated with lenders to extend the maturity on its syndicated loan facilities as part of a major debt restructuring for the Covid-battered firm.

The People’s Republic of China is planning a comeback to the euro bond market this week, one month after selling its first dollar trade in the US.

Erste Group Bank launched its second additional tier one (AT1) of the year on Monday, taking advantage of a surge in risk appetite in the run up to the Christmas break.

Gunvor, the Swiss energy trader, has signed a $1.225bn European revolving credit facility, having increased it after asset-hungry lenders oversubscribed the loan during syndication.

JD Health International, Evergrande Property Services Group, detergent maker Blue Moon Group Holdings and video marketing company Netjoy Holdings have started pre-marketing their Hong Kong IPOs.