International law firm Trowers & Hamlins has advised The Guinness Partnership Limited on its second own-name bond issue of £400m.
The deal was the first into the market since housing association bonds were confirmed as being eligible for the Bank of England’s corporate bond-buying programme as part of the response by the UK government to support the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.The size of the bond was increased during the execution process in response to investor demand and the funding will support some refinancing and the group’s development aspirations to deliver new homes.
Trowers advised Guinness on all funding and property security aspects of this strategic project. 4,000 properties were placed in charge to support the issuance.
Robert Elliott, Director of Corporate Finance at Guinness, commented:
"In unusual circumstances we were delighted to be able to secure long-term funding for Guinness at this competitive rate. The very strong demand for our bond and the pricing achieved demonstrates that the capital markets remain supportive of housing providers. We've felt very supported by the responsive team at Trowers throughout the process."
The Trowers funding and real estate finance security teams were led by Eleanor James and Melanie Comer, assisted by their Manchester-based teams.
Eleanor commented:
"We've been working with Guinness on their funding and security aspects for many years and we are really delighted to see them achieve such a fantastic result in trying times, in particular given dealing with the logistics of marketing the issue and signing and completing the bond documentation under lockdown."
