UK

Shareholders have waved through The Restaurant Group’s (TRG) £559m debt and equity-funded purchase of UK Asian-themed restaurant Wagamama, despite a large portion of those voting opposing the deal.

Shares and bonds of UK holidays operator Thomas Cook took a beating this week, after it reported low earnings and high net debt, which it blamed on weak local demand and currency effects. But investors saw the company as a victim of poor management, rather than domestic Brexit turbulence.

The public sector market for sterling benchmark issues has shut down earlier than usual as a result of a plunge in Gilt yields — caused by concerns surrounding the UK’s exit from the European Union — which has made new issues unattractive for investors.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association on Tuesday said the derivatives industry seemed to have broadly agreed on a method of calculating replacement rates, known as fallback rates, for interbank offered rates (Ibors), in case those rates stop being calculated.

Gilt investors and Gilt-edged market makers (GEMMs) were near unanimous in their choice for the UK Debt Management Office’s final syndication of the year.

UK listed fund GCP Infrastructure has increased the size of its revolving credit facilities to £165m, as the infrastructure investment company continues to draw heavily on its bank lending lines.

UK equity capital markets are feeling the pain from Brexit, with volumes from the country this autumn at one of the lowest levels in recent history.

Bharti Airtel, the Indian telecommunications conglomerate, has named an eight bank syndicate for the 2019 flotation of its Africa business, Airtel Africa.

As UK prime minister Theresa May looks to sell her Brexit deal to a disgruntled parliament, banks have been suggesting different options structures to clients to net positive returns from the resulting turbulence.

Top rated syndicated loan borrowers are pushing fundraising plans back to 2019 after last week saw sharp market wobbles on the back of a shock plunge in oil prices and no let-up in the arguments over Brexit.

Private school operator Cognita was the first borrower in a week to attempt an issue in the euro high yield market with a sub-benchmark size deal. It sought funding for its acquisition by Jacobs Holding, the Swiss investment and charitable firm, but pulled the bond deal after weak demand.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on Friday said that its board of supervisors supported “continued access” to UK clearing houses in a no-deal scenario.