Brexit, Political Strife No Deterrent to Sterling Bond Market
- Issuance volume four times higher than first-half of 2016
- Two-thirds of sterling debt sales from non-U.K. borrowers
Customers drink at the Montcalm Royal London Aviary bar as skyscrapers stand in the distance including from left, the Heron Tower, 30 St Mary Axe, also known as 'the Gherkin,' the Leadenhall building, also known as the 'Cheesegrater,' Tower 42, 20 Fenchurch Street, also known as the 'Walkie-Talkie,' and the Shard, in the City of London, U.K., London, U.K., on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016. U.K. companies submitted their Brexit wish list to Prime Minister Theresa May, with easy access to European Union labor and markets the key demands for many sectors.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/BloombergBrexit, a minority government and an end to central bank asset purchases propping up the bond market have not deterred companies from issuing new debt in the U.K.’s embattled currency.
Corporates have raised more than 19 billion pounds issuing sterling bonds this year, four times the volume raised during the first half of 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. About two-thirds of that came from non-U.K. companies including Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, which raised 2.25 billion pounds across three maturities in May, and AT&T Inc., selling 1 billion pounds of 20-year notes on June 15.