UK

Auction Tech Group (ATG), the UK-listed owner of auction websites, has completed a £244m equity raise to part-fund the acquisition of US firm Live Auctioneers.

The sterling covered bond market exploded into life this week as three transactions worth more than £3bn priced in three days, increasing this year’s issuance by 150%, and boosting hopes that more deals will follow.

Wise, the UK financial technology company, is looking to make stock market history by becoming the first such firm to list on the London Stock Exchange through a direct listing. If the deal is a success, it will show other issuers a way to go public that avoids having to build an order book for an IPO in a difficult market.

Austrian packaging firm Constantia Flexibles has launched a €150m ESG-linked Schuldschein.

Credit Suisse’s investment bankers are looking to its top ranks for an injection of belief in the future of the business, following cuts to the bonus pool and defections from those with less patience, writes David Rothnie.

Hipgnosis Songs Fund, the London-listed investment trust focused on music catalogues, has announced a £150m share placing to fund its backlog of asset acquisitions.

UK listed construction firm Breedon has launched a private placement deal, according to market sources, making it one of the first UK companies to hit the market this year.

Helios Towers, the London-listed telecoms towers company focused on the Middle East and Africa, has completed a $160m capital raising, including a $50m tap of its outstanding 2027 convertible bond.

HSBC Asset Management is unifying its alternatives businesses, creating a single 150-strong team led by Joanna Munro, previously the firm’s global chief investment officer, in London.

The largest institutional investors in the private placement market have the cash and, increasingly, the origination capabilities to draw companies into bilateral and club trades. If these whales can show companies there is no pricing pick-up over syndicated deals, the broader market is bound to lose ground.

A trio of senior bankers from Credit Suisse’s European financial institutions group (FIG) have followed the team’s European head to Jefferies.

TSB Bank attracted good demand for its Sonia-linked covered bond on Tuesday, pushing out along the curve with a rare seven year that sufficiently differentiates from central bank liquidity. The extraordinarily strong sterling market conditions encouraged Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to follow Bank of Nova Scotia and mandate leads for another five year Sonia offering.