UK

Renewables companies Sonnedix and Solarpack have signed separate project finance facilities totaling €260.6m, with the funding going towards solar photovoltaic plants in Italy and Spain.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tapped the sterling market through its London branch on Wednesday to become the first Chinese bank to sell a senior benchmark bond in the currency. Demand was driven by an anchor investor, with the lead managers increasing the size of deal to satisfy as many orders as possible.

The UK Debt Management Office sold a new 10 year Gilt via auction on Tuesday that was priced with its second lowest yield in history. Investors piled into the haven asset as the risk of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal rose following Boris Johnson's anointment as leader of the ruling Conservative Party.

An acquisition of British pub giant Ei Group by its smaller competitor Stonegate is about to trigger a clause that allows Ei Group to redeem £1bn of its senior secured bonds at par. Secured bondholders will likely have to swallow a pint of bitter if the sponsor behind the deal does not budge.

London’s capital markets are again under threat of severe disruption as the UK’s clown prince in chief, Boris Johnson, became prime minister this week.

Forth Ports, the port operator headquartered in Edinburgh, has sold roughly £300m-equivalent of US private placements (PPs).

The UK’s LXi REIT has signed a £100m ($125m) revolving credit facility, as loans bankers say the selection of Boris Johnson as prime minister will put some sterling borrowers into “wait and see” mode.

The sellers of Oltin, a closed-ended fund seeking to invest in Uzbekistan, have decided to postpone a public listing and proceed with private fundraising after investors expressed a preference for an unlisted fund structure.

Sirius is trekking the globe marketing a $500m senior secured note that is key to unlocking a $2.5bn revolver and $400m in convertible bonds. The financing will be used for a gigantic fertiliser mine in Yorkshire, UK. The coupon for the bond is expected to hit the double digits, making it one of the highest yielding issues of the year.

Alcentra, a European subsidiary of Bank of New York Mellon, has raised €5.5bn for a new private debt fund, a fundraising that puts it alongside Ares Capital and BlueBay Asset Management in securing giant commitments to deploy to Europe’s mid-market borrowers.

Risk adverse equity capital markets banks have largely moved away from bidding for auctioned block trade activity in 2019, and are concentrating on large client-mandated business, which they can de-risk before they launch.

Voyager Air Ltd, the Guernsey-domiciled aircraft leasing firm, has cancelled its $200m IPO on the London Stock Exchange, blaming difficult market conditions.