UK

London & Quadrant Housing Trust rode the waves of strong demand for corporate sterling paper on Wednesday as it achieved a minimal new issue premium for a bond that was over three times oversubscribed.

The European Investment Bank sold a £500m tap of its February 2019s on Wednesday, taking sterling issuance from public sector borrowers to its highest level for nine weeks.

Moody’s has downgraded Care UK, which claims to be the country's largest independent provider of health and social care, to a corporate family rating of Caa1.

Signs of progress under new chief executive Jes Staley saw Barclays shares up almost 4% early on Wednesday, but with profits down 25% and return on equity languishing at 3.8% in the first quarter, they were soon trading down.

A trio of taps and a UK Gilt syndication this week have demonstrated that fears of the country’s June 23 referendum on EU membership disrupting the market may be misplaced. Indeed, investors have expressed greater worries about risks elsewhere in Europe.

Just two working days after Numis’s dashing block trade in Saga stock on Thursday last week, Credit Suisse brought another sparky, sole-managed deal to the market on Monday night, with a £1bn sale of SABMiller shares for Jan Kulczyk, the Polish billionaire.

Travelodge Hotels, the UK budget hotel chain, on Tuesday began marketing a £360m two tranche bond, its debut issue, in a European high yield market still eager for confirmation that deal flow will pick up in the coming weeks.

The UK’s Debt Management Office sold a £4.75bn tap of its July 2065s on Tuesday as the impending referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union showed no impact on demand.

LCH, the clearing house operator, has made two senior executive appointments.

Numis Securities’ bold block trade in Saga shares on Thursday night has catapulted it into the top 10 in Dealogic’s equity capital markets league table for 2016.

ICAP Securities & Derivatives Exchange (ISDX) has made two appointments to its board.

Covered bonds will help Virgin Money achieve its stated aim of optimising funding costs and extending tenor, especially when taking account of its latest Gosforth RMBS, which gave funding that was both short and more costly compared to covered bonds.