UK

Nationwide Building Society issued the first UK covered bond of the year, the first to test appetite since Brexit was concluded and the first UK deal with a 20 year tenor in euros. As such it offered a particularly rare opportunity to get some spread and yield pick-up.

Taylor Maritime Investments, a new London investment trust, has launched an IPO on the London Stock Exchange with the aim of offering investors a chance to invest in the recovery of the global shipping industry after the Covid-19 pandemic.

NatWest Group recorded a loss at its investment bank on Thursday, after climbing down from the dizzying heights of last year’s first quarter profits. The weaker numbers weighed on the performance of the group, but the bank still managed to breeze past market expectations.

Origin Housing, a housing association with homes in and around London, has sold £125m of US private placements – one of the bigger deals from the sector.

UK retailer WH Smith has tapped the convertible bond market for the first time as part of a wider refinancing package intended to position it for a return to growth this year once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

Euronext, the European stock exchange operator, has launched its long-awaited €1.8bn rights issue to part-fund its acquisition of Borsa Italiana Group from the London Stock Exchange Group.

HSBC is mulling bolt-on acquisitions in wealth management, primarily in Asia, after capital was freed up by a favourable reassessment of credit losses stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

The UK Debt Management Office raised £6bn with its first syndication of the financial year. Although one investor said the spread was more generous than he expected, the trade drew praise for the smoothness of its execution.

Investors wasted little time placing orders for Nationwide Building Society’s 20 year covered bond on Tuesday, reflecting the rare and chunky yield on offer and the expectation that this could potentially be their only chance to buy UK covered bonds in euros this year.

Nationwide Building Society plans to issue the first euro denominated covered bond from a UK issuer this year and the first since Brexit was concluded. The €500m deal comes after a series of successful Canadian covered bonds, but unlike them it has a much longer 20 year maturity.

UK broker Peel Hunt and Santander have joined forces to do deals for UK corporate clients seeking to raise equity capital. Peel Hunt will now have the firepower of Santander’s balance sheet to be able to underwrite both primary and secondary transactions for its large UK clients.

Legal & General has lent Believe Housing, a UK housing association, £85m with margins tied to its energy transition. This is the first sustainability-linked private placement in the UK social housing sector, according to GlobalCapital research.