UK

The flotation of Aston Martin, the iconic British car company, is gathering pace in its second week of investor education, with buyers debating its potential value compared with legendary Italian car-maker Ferrari.

The Loan Market Association (LMA) and the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) have released an update to their guide on the Libor reforms, as the industry bodies look to lead the market through the “enormous task” of transitioning away from the pricing benchmark.

US firm Marsh & McLennan Companies will buy UK insurance company Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) for around £4.3bn, with a Goldman Sachs bridge loan due to do most of the deal’s heavy financial lifting.

Prudential plc on Tuesday announced plans to issue three tranches of long dated subordinated debt as it prepares to spin off M&G Prudential. The notes are set to feature a clause allowing the financial institution to transfer them to the proposed new holding company for its UK and European business.

Clydesdale was set to walk away with £500m of eight year non-call seven year debt this week, after its second sale of senior bonds out of its holding company.

Japanese issuers are not frequently seen in the European corporate bond markets, but this week could have two companies going head to head with benchmark euro transactions. Japan Tobacco will sell its first new issues in Europe, while Toyota is better known to investors on the continent.

HSBC Holdings took advantage of an open window for issuance in the Singapore dollar bond market, raising S$750m ($546m) from a Basel III-compliant additional tier one deal on Monday. But potential issuers still looking to tap the currency may need to adjust their expectations.

Shares in Investec, the Anglo-South African banking group, rose 8.7% on Friday after it announced that it had decided to spin off and list its asset management unit, following a strategic review.

Pension Insurance Corporation sold £350m of tier two capital in the sterling market on Friday, as UK issuers weather a period of ‘maximum uncertainty’ owing the UK’s departure from the EU.

French asset manager Axiom Alternative Investments has hired Laurent Henrio, the former global head of credit trading activities at Société Générale, to run a new fund buying illiquid credit exposures in banks’ trading books.

Bain Capital has completed the first sale of shares in TI Fluid Systems, the UK maker of fluid delivery systems for cars and trucks, since its IPO last autumn. The deal came in response to several reverse inquiries from investors.

Deutsche Kreditbank and Skipton Building Society both announced mandates for euro-denominated covered bonds on Wednesday, with DKB’s to come as its debut social bond.