UK

The UK Debt Management Office has announced a borrowing programme that will, in the next four months alone, exceed the country’s largest ever annual total. Gilt yields have stayed steady, thanks to investors’ faith in the Bank of England’s asset purchase facility.

The UK Debt Management Office has announced a borrowing programme that will, in the next four months alone, exceed the country’s largest ever annual borrowing volume. Gilt yields have stayed steady, thanks to investors’ faith in the Bank of England’s asset purchase facility.

Europe's equity capital market bankers are expecting a resurgence of secondary share sales by investors over the coming weeks as financial sponsors look to take advantage of the rebound in global equity markets since the start of the pandemic to raise cash to redeploy elsewhere.

One of the co-heads of the London Group of Tradition, the interdealer broker that is one of the largest in the over-the-counter derivatives market, is leaving the firm.

With its more relaxed rules around pre-emption rights, the UK has led from the front by allowing embattled companies to raise equity to keep themselves alive during the coronavirus pandemic. The market's flexibility means there have been no damaging delays waiting for for formal rule changes. Such pragmatism is admirable, although more must be done to protect retail investors from dilution.

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.