What a week it was for European securitization — filled with both encouraging and worrying events for the Another Fine Mezz team to get stuck into.
First, host Tom Lemmon stepped into his old European ABS shoes to cover the exciting news that some form of public renewable energy ABS might soon be a reality in Europe.
On June 14, Hometree, a UK-based residential renewable energy provider completed the first ever renewable securitization warehouse in the UK, in a £250m deal with Barclays. That means the UK is now in a three-way race — with Germany and Spain — to be the first to issue in the public market. But, a bit like the football, the Germans look favourites to cross the line first.
Meanwhile, all is not well in European CMBS. Senior noteholders in a European CMBS stand to lose principal for the first time since the global financial crisis of 2008 on UK retail deal Elizabeth Finance 2018. “It’s a bit of a shock,” said one source close to the deal.
Finally, in an otherwise quiet week for European CLOs, Palmer Square managed to drag investors to the tightest print of the year. However, despite all the tightening, long-term hurdles remain in the market.