UK

Banco Santander has followed Belfius Bank in launching a very successful new seven year bond this week, as bank treasury accounts lend their support to low yielding preferred senior paper.

The International Development Agency sold a sterling benchmark on Wednesday, raising £1bn with its second benchmark in the currency.

Great Point Entertainment Income Trust, a UK investment trust engaged in film financing, launched a £200m ($273.54m) IPO on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

Companies with high carbon emissions are preparing for the risk that they could have to pay more to access capital markets, if investors and banks retreat from fossil fuel-heavy businesses, and even divest altogether — as Aviva has threatened to do. Some issuers will use investor relations drives and labelled financings, but ultimately they will have to find common ground with investors on how to transition to low carbon.

UK mortgage lender Perenna has completed its first round of private funding and plans to return for more within the next few months, before originating fixed for life mortgages in the second half of the year. That could lead to the first Danish style covered bond issuance in the UK.

Global equity markets were propelled to new all-time highs at the end of last year when various drug companies announced that they were close to releasing vaccines to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. However, with the vaccine roll-out slow, new mutant variants of the virus raging and governments striking a sombre tone, investors need to prepare for the fact that they may have bought in haste.

UBS found room for $5bn of new debt in the dollar market this week, starting with a “phenomenal” result for a new additional tier one (AT1) on Monday and ending with a three-part senior offering a day later.

CaixaBank found €3.7bn of demand for a green senior bond on Tuesday, as investors revealed their hunger for new paper. BayernLB could follow with a green deal of its own against the improving backdrop in euros.

Just Eat Takeaway.com, the Anglo-Dutch online food ordering marketplace, has raised €1.1bn via the sale of new convertible bonds, following rapid growth during the pandemic as more customers ordered food brought to their homes.

Moonpig, the online greetings card company, was trading over 20% above its IPO price on Tuesday, netting a healthy profit for investors and showing another example of IPO resilience amidst recent equity market volatility.

Auction Technology Group, an operator of online auction sites and owner of auction technology platforms, announced on Monday that it is seeking to list in London.

Squire Patton Boggs has hired a new partner to join its M&A, equity capital markets, and restructuring practice in London.