UK

Aedifica, the Belgian healthcare property investment company, has closed its debut US private placement, according to market sources.

IVC Evidensia, Europe’s largest veterinary care provider, backed by Swedish private equity firm EQT, has announced the results of a private equity capital raising on Tuesday. The company was reported to be considering a London listing this year, but this new raise might delay that listing.

Investec Bank plc, the London and Johannesburg-listed subsidiary of South African banking group Investec, came to the euro bond market on Wednesday to raise debt.

Apollo Global Management has exited Watches of Switzerland, the UK luxury watch retailer, having sold the last of its shares via an accelerated bookbuild.

Retail shareholders have been excluded from a string of recent hot IPOs on the London Stock Exchange. This does little to dispel accusations that financial markets are the preserve of the elite.

Shurgard, one of Europe’s largest self-storage companies, has returned to the US private placement market for the third time, according to market sources. The company is only the second from Europe to launch a PP deal this year.

Autolus Therapeutics, the UK biopharmaceutical company focused on T cell therapies for cancer, is raising additional capital on the Nasdaq.

Equity investors have maintained a focus on gaining exposure to tech stocks so far this year in the primary market, dispelling fears that high-growth digital companies might lose out to cyclical, value stocks that might benefit from the reopening of economies from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lombard Odier has made two senior hires to help cultivate sustainable private credit strategies.

Auction Technologies Group (ATG), the UK technology company that runs online auctions and produces proprietary software for online auctions, has begun investor education for its IPO on the London Stock Exchange and has secured cornerstone orders for the deal.

Huge demand for exposure to biotech companies among US equity investors is continuing to drive UK firms to list on the other side of the Atlantic through an IPO on the Nasdaq. On Thursday, Immunocore, a late-stage biotech firm focused on T-cell technology, priced an enlarged offering on the exchange and, on Friday, UK healthcare investor Syncona announced it was exploring a US IPO for one of its portfolio companies.

Hipgnosis Songs Fund, a London-listed investment trust focused on music royalties, has closed its latest share sale, raising £75m.