UK

The Covid-19 global pandemic is not an unmitigated disaster for everyone, as several companies showed on Monday night by selling new shares to take advantage of the unexpected opportunities that the pandemic has created for them.

BPCE seized an opportunity to launch €1.5bn of preferred senior funding this week — an asset class that has outperformed all other bank funding products in the market in recent trading sessions.

Aston Martin, the UK luxury car maker, has successfully completed its £371m heavily dilutive rights issue, with a high take-up from shareholders, including a consortium led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll.

The UK government has filled one of the last gaps in its offer of financial help to companies struggling with effects of the coronavirus, by removing the cap of £500m revenue, which had barred many medium-sized companies from accessing government loans — raising the possibility that high yield bond issuers could tap loans for a variety of purposes.

English football’s highest level is at a clinch point as teams juggle a plunge in revenue, due to the suspension of the Premier League season, and the hefty overheads of player wages they must continue to pay. With clubs in need of cash, viable options are proving few and far between. Silas Brown, Sam Kerr and Mariam Meskin investigate.

Informa, the UK publishing and events company, has taken the decision to suspend its dividend and raise £1bn of fresh equity after the Covid-19 pandemic caused hundreds of its conferences to be postponed.

DCM officials have expressed surprise at the speed with which the market has adapted to working from home during the coronavirus pandemic, with issuers able to complete deals quickly and with little extra fuss.

Several investors have told GlobalCapital of their concern for the outlook of UK universities as borrowers. They worry that the spread of coronavirus will hit revenues, lower the demand from international students and may in the end hasten a shift towards remote learning.

Insolvency and restructuring practitioners have been catapulted into an unprecedented whirlwind of activity by the coronavirus, as even healthy companies suddenly find themselves staring over a financial precipice. In the UK, the government will change insolvency rules to ease these situations, but specialists believe there is more to be gained by using existing laws better.

Royal Bank of Canada on Wednesday became the fourth Canadian bank to issue an Australian dollar covered bond in April, pricing considerably tighter than its compatriots and in the largest size yet. The success the Canadians have enjoyed in Kangaroos is in stark contrast to a sterile sterling market.

The wave of UK corporates going to equity markets to raise capital to offset Covid-19 volatility is set to continue this week according to sources. On Tuesday, Hyve Group, the London-listed organiser of exhibitions and conferences, said it was looking at a possible deal.

BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole have become the first euro area banks to launch senior bonds for nearly two months. They joined UBS in the euro market on Tuesday, taking advantage of a recent rally in credit spreads across the sector.