UK

The IPO of Calisen Group, the UK operator of smart meters, is due to be priced at 240p a share according to final messages from boorkunners, slightly below the midpoint of the 225p-265p initial range, valuing the company at £1.29bn.

UK billionaire Peter Hargreaves has sold £550m of stock in Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK financial services company he co-founded, via a block trade that was increased to satisfy a huge demand.

A trio of transactions issued this week by Santander UK and Nationwide Building Society have opened two new funding channels for UK issuers. The dollar covered bond market is now back as a strategic funding tool after a near 10 year absence and, for the first time, sterling seven year floating rate covered bonds are a viable funding option.

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Nationwide Building Society is book building for a three year dollar covered bond on Wednesday, in which the coupon extension period is linked to Sofr, but with a "nuanced difference" to the similar deal issued on Tuesday by Santander UK.

Barclays surprised some market participants this week when it said that it would not be calling one of its legacy tier one securities at its first call date in March.

Private placement market participants have told GlobalCapital that a decade on from Ireland’s sovereign debt crisis more of its companies are starting to consider private placements again, as agents predict institutional investors will be appreciative of the country’s rapid recovery.

Santander UK was set to issue the first ever covered bond linked to Sofr on Tuesday, as part of a dual-tranche offering that established a number of other firsts. The deal included the first 144A dollar covered bond from a UK issuer since 2012, the first seven year covered deal linked to Sonia, and it also marked the first time that a borrower has sold dollar and sterling covered bonds simultaneously.

Bonds sold by Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena were surging higher in secondary market trading this week, amid reports that the Italian bank was close to agreeing plans to offload a €10bn portfolio of non-performing loans.

Cranfield University, a UK postgraduate institute which specialises in science and engineering, is looking to raise debt through a private placement, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

Anglo-South African bank Investec Group has launched the spin-off of its asset management division, Ninety One ,on the London Stock Exchange.

The UK Debt Management Office has selected the syndicate that will run the books for its upcoming tap — its final syndication of the 2019/2020 financial year.