Gowling WLG advises Sanctuary Group on a £350 million secured bonds issue

2 minute read
24 April 2020

International law firm Gowling WLG has advised Sanctuary Group on a £350 million secured bonds issue.

Sanctuary Group is one of the UK's largest social housing providers and manages more than 100,000 homes in England and Scotland.

Sanctuary Group priced and launched the bonds issue through Sanctuary Capital PLC, a vehicle for capital markets issues. Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets plc, Barclays Bank plc and HSBC Bank plc jointly arranged the issue, which takes effect from 14 April 2020. The transaction will enable the development of new homes and improve current housing stock across England and Scotland.

The transaction was led by the banking team comprising partner, Chris Brierley, legal director Navin Prabhakar, principal associate, Angela Rawlins and associate, Sarina Mann. A large cross firm team provided support for the transaction led by legal director, Anna Colley, in respect of real estate and partner, John Reed, in respect of capital markets. They worked closely with Ed Lunt, Group Finance Director and Luigi Belli, Director - Treasury Services at Sanctuary Group.

Chris Brierley, banking and finance partner at Gowling WLG said: "This was a high profile transaction requiring full use of the firm's strength in depth. We were delighted to work with Sanctuary and be able to employ our full regulatory, finance and real estate sector knowledge, to get the bond to launch during such unprecedented times".

Luigi Belli added: "This was a strategic issue for Sanctuary as the proceeds will be used to fund reinvestment in our existing stock and provide much needed social housing across the UK. We are grateful to the Gowling WLG team for its first rate support through this transaction and its issue in current market conditions. Their detailed understanding of the housing sector and solutions-driven pragmatic advice were critical factors in helping us deliver this complex transaction in a limited timeframe".

Gowling WLG's banking and finance team advises banks, corporates, private equity companies and public bodies on a full range of domestic and cross-border instructions.


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