Life and pensions firm Standard Life today said it was launching a bond issue aimed at raising £500 million.
The Edinburgh-based group said strong market demand and an over-subscribed order book meant it was able to price the subordinated notes “competitively” at a fixed rate of 5.5 per cent for ten years.
In September, Standard Life tapped into Canada’s debt markets with a C$400m (£251m) bond issue and said the proceeds of its latest fundraising exercise would be used for “general corporate purposes”.
Chief financial officer Jackie Hunt said: “As part of our active capital management programme, and building on the recent issuance of subordinated debentures in Canada, we have today taken advantage of favourable market conditions to improve the leverage position of the Standard Life Group via a subordinated debt issuance directly from our holding company.
“The strong order book and successful placement is a powerful signal of investors’ confidence in Standard Life’s financial strength and strategic plans.”
The syndicate for its latest offering was co-led by Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS Investment Bank. The offering is expected to close on 4 December.