UK

Vertu Motors, the UK retailer of used and new cars, raised £35m (€44.65m) from an intraday block sale of new shares on Wednesday.

Hotel Chocolat Group, the chocolate maker and retailer, announced plans this week to float on London’s junior stock exchange.

SIG, the UK building materials producer, has said it is considering its refinancing options for £130m of US private placement notes maturing in November.

Deficiencies in solvency and capital, not a loss of liquidity, cause banking crises, said the Prudential Regulatory Authority’s new chief executive in a speech on Wednesday, rejecting a view held by many bankers that much post-crisis regulation represents a misunderstanding of how the 2008 crisis came about.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney confirmed to the UK parliament on Tuesday what currency traders and analysts have been saying for weeks: worries about the EU referendum are causing higher prices for sterling options and raising the risk of a sharp fall in the pound.

UK property group Hammerson came to the corporate bond market on Tuesday with a €500m offering, as deal flow hit a more subdued tone ahead of the European Central Bank’s Thursday meeting.

The Bank of England has printed $2bn of three year paper from a heavily oversubscribed book, as fears of a UK exit from the European Union showed no impact on the central bank’s bonds.

Metro Bank, the UK challenger bank, started trading on the London Stock Exchange on Monday morning, having raised £400m privately rather than from a public offering of shares.

Capital & Regional, the UK real estate investment trust (REIT), looks set to refinance its £380m credit facility later this year.

UK metering services company, Smart Metering Systems (SMS) has signed a £150m club loan and increased the deal size to take advantage of a government scheme to boost smart meter installation.

Four banks from four jurisdictions got the FIG market off to a frantic start on Monday, and bankers think many more borrowers could hit screens before the European Central Bank meets on Thursday.

Barclays' new chief executive is looking for a lot of leeway from shareholders. Selling off a profitable part of the business to double down on a less profitable line is a bold call. The market can't be this bad forever, but don't expect the dividend back any time soon.