UK

UK capital goods firm CNH Industrial has signed a €4bn revolving credit facility in a rare bout of activity in the high grade loan market, with bankers saying the lethargy is going to continue for the foreseeable future.

Lloyds Bank and National Westminster Bank issued exceptionally well subscribed covered bonds respectively in euros and sterling on Monday as Virgin Money announced roadshow plans for its debut deal. The three borrowers took advantage of the UK Parliamentary vote to avert a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

US Solar Fund, the new investment trust focused on US solar power assets, has extended the bookbuilding period for its $250m IPO on the London Stock Exchange, citing political and economic uncertainty caused by the Brexit process in the UK.

Shares in Just Group, the UK life insurance and annuity provider, have stayed above water in the aftermarket after it completed a £75m daytime capital increase on Thursday to strengthen its balance sheet. The deal was to meet stricter capital regulations imposed on equity release mortgage lenders by UK regulators.

Interserve, one of the largest outsourcing companies in the UK, plans to file for administration after shareholders rejected a proposed debt for equity swap at a general meeting on Friday.

The sterling public sector market was on pause this week as the UK parliament held a series of votes to determine the outcome of Brexit this week.

The exceptionally strong demand in Europe’s corporate bond market has remained unaffected by the turmoil in the UK’s Parliament, as MPs vote night after night on repeated motions that could determine the country’s future inside or outside Europe. On Thursday, two issuers attracted huge books: Marsh & McLennan Companies, the US insurance and investment services group making its debut in euros, and Incommunities Group, a Leeds-based housing association, in sterling.

Bank of America has appointed two co-heads of UK investment banking.

Dubai-based payments company Network International has kicked off investor education for its IPO on the London Stock Exchange, which is expected to value the business in the region of $3bn, according to a source close to the deal.

Risk appetite in the equity blocks market in Europe has improved significantly, according to market sources, and a UK biomedical research charity is the latest vendor to take advantage of the better conditions by offloading a chunk of its stake in Syncona, the FTSE 250 life sciences investment company.

The UK Debt Management Office (DMO) is forecasting £118.1bn of financing needs for 2019 to 2020, with almost 20% of that to come through syndicated bond sales.

There was a dark mood in equity markets on Wednesday morning after the UK parliament rejected prime minister Theresa May’s negotiated Brexit withdrawal agreement by a huge majority for a second time. A possible delay to the UK's departure from the EU and all of the crippling uncertainty that entails is set to continue to hamstring equity capital markets.