UK

Bovis Homes hits debt and equity markets — IAG swoops on €1bn Air Europa — Northern Irish HA sells US private placements in market first

A flurry of new deals this week had issuers having to compete for investors’ attention. Bankers said that higher yielding deals were much easier to sell, with non-preferred senior bonds from Bankia and Lloyds Banking Group proving more popular than a tighter print from Belfius.

Radius Housing has become the first housing association from Northern Ireland to raise US private placements, selling £105m to fund social housing developments.

Caffil issued the tightest French 10 year of 2019 amid a flurry of other well received covered bonds issued on Tuesday by DZ Hyp, mBank and Santander UK. While the European Central Bank’s return to the market helped deals go well, it was not needed amid an improvement in risk appetite.

Royal Bank of Scotland is preparing to sell its first social senior bond from its holding company, giving investors a rare chance to add exposure to a UK issuer in the format.

The UK Debt Management Office will in November sell the fourth of five planned Gilt syndications during its 2019/20 financial year.

Italian infrastructure engineering firm Maire Tecnimont has brought a sustainability-linked note to the Schuldschein market, the second to be launched this week. However, with this debut issue, the margin rise or fall is larger than the previous two, making it an interesting test for investors.

Several senior equity capital markets bankers have been let go as part of UBS’s reorganisation of its underperforming investment bank, including the global head of equity capital markets.

Gestamp, the Spanish automotive engineering company, has closed its Schuldschein with indications of a final size at about €180m. Market players believe that Spain and Italy may be the next key sources of growth in the years to come.

The IPOs of Française des Jeux, the operator of the French national lottery, and DNEG, the UK special effects company, are both gaining strong traction among IPO investors hoping for a strong finish to 2019.

Dechra Pharmaceuticals, the UK veterinary pharmaceuticals company, has entered the US private placement (US PP) market, according to sources, in a debut set to test institutional appetite for the sector.

SDIC Power Holdings has won final approval from the Chinese financial regulators to list in London. It will be the second company to float using the city’s Stock Connect scheme with Shanghai.