Vonovia issues first bond totalling GBP 400 million on UK financial market

• First sterling bond has been issued, totalling GBP 400 million, with a 12-year term.
• By entering the Anglo-Saxon capital market, Vonovia is gaining ac-cess to new investors and will benefit from arbitrage opportunities.
• Says Philip Grosse, CFO of Vonovia: “It’s a clear testimony to our outstanding access to the international capital market. The time is right to return to the bond market.”

On 11 January 2024, Vonovia SE (“Vonovia”) issued its first bond in pounds sterling. The term of the unsecured bond is 12 years. This gives the company access to new investors. The bond, with a volume of GBP 400 million (around EUR 465 million) and a coupon of 4.5 % EUR after cross currency swap, was oversubscribed 8.3 times. At its peak, the order book amounted to GBP 3.45 billion, making it the largest cross-sector corporate order book in GBP since June 2020. 

“The high demand is further proof of our excellent access to the interna-tional capital market. The time is right to return to the bond market. So we’re making use of an attractive window of opportunities in the mar-ket,” says Philip Grosse, CFO of Vonovia. 

While Vonovia focused entirely on secured borrowings in 2023, it is now taking advantage of the attractive conditions for unsecured capital: “Since December, interest rates and spreads have developed in a way that makes financial bonds competitive again. With our debut on the UK market, we’ve also leveraged some significant arbitrage opportunities of around 30 base points compared with Eurobonds,” Philip Grosse adds.

Vonovia intends to use this additional liquidity to repay loans that become due from 2025 onwards. “We’ve covered all unsecured liabilities up to and including the first quarter of 2025. We’re actively managing our financial liabilities while further increasing our financial stability, particu-larly through the long term of the bond. At the same time, we’re broad-ening our investor base,” says Grosse.

Financial calendar 2024:

15.03.2024: Presentation of the 2023 key business figures
30.04.2024: Interim Statement for the First Quarter 2024
02.08.2024: Half-Year Report 2024
06.11.2024: Interim Statement for the Third Quarter 2024