UK

The Scottish American Investment Co (SAINTS), an investment trust managed by Baillie Gifford, has raised £80m of debt in private placements.

Yorkshire Building Society gave market participants a snapshot of the future this week, when it ditched some of its excess tier two capital in favour of building up a layer of non-preferred senior debt. The good news in the UK is that the Prudential Regulatory Authority looks like it is on board with this kind of transition, and is stepping aside to let financial institutions get on with it as quickly as possible.

Primary EM equity capital markets IPOs are back in vogue, riding the momentum of secondary equity EM indices. With investors clamouring for alpha, Middle Eastern and African IPO issuers are lining up to test the appetite for new deals.

Network International, the Dubai-based payment company, saw an 18.4% pop after completing its £1bn London IPO on Wednesday, cheering investors in what was Europe’s most talked about listing of the year so far.

Hungry for some social purpose, and perhaps a longer maturity, investors hoovered up Yorkshire Water’s first sustainable bond on Thursday. This allowed the UK utility to tighten the pricing to fair value or even tighter.

The decision by the European Union and UK on Wednesday night to extend the country’s membership of the bloc until October 31 prolongs the uncertainty that is deterring UK companies from attempting IPOs.

Thames Water’s latest crop of holding company private placement debt issues contains language to protect investors from the effect of a Labour government — and particularly leader Jeremy Corbyn's vow to renationalise the water companies. Debt issued under the new documents features a ‘nationalisation event’ that would make it repayable immediately. Owen Sanderson and Silas Brown report.

Yorkshire Building Society on Wednesday went to market with an inaugural sterling six year non-call five non-preferred deal after it said it would tender for its 2024 non-call 2019 tier two notes, opening a case for smaller institutions to decrease capital costs by replacing tier twos with senior non-preferred notes.

Credit Suisse has hired a banker from NatWest Markets for its European financial institutions syndicate team.

Finablr, the Abu Dhabi-based cross-border currency and financial technology holding company which owns Travelex, has filed initial paperwork ahead of announcing an intention to list on the London Stock Exchange.

Northleaf Capital Partners has hired David Jeyes as a senior credit officer in London for global private credit.

Network International, the Dubai-based payment company, closes books on its IPO on Tuesday and has set what it feels is a generous range for investors, with a view to trading up when it is admitted to the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday.