IPF’s bond issue hits £70m and closes early

International Personal Finance hailed the success of its retail bond fundraising, which raised £70m instead of the initial target of £50m and closed a week early due to strong demand.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Apr 2013, 09:30 BST

Retail bonds are becoming an increasingly popular way for companies to raise finance.

IPF’s chief executive Gerard Ryan, said: “I am delighted with the success of our retail bond which saw the offer period close early today due to very strong demand.

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“Clearly the attractions of a growth business with a robust strategy combined with a decent set of terms on the bond have found significant favour in the market. The retail bond not only lowers the cost of our funding, but gives us funding diversification with a longer maturity; good news for the business, our people and our shareholders.”

Analyst Eric Burns at WH Ireland said the closing of the issue a full week ahead of the original schedule highlights continued strong retail interest in the corporate bond market.

“This is hardly surprising given the low returns available elsewhere but, as ever, investors need to look beyond the coupon to the covenant of the issuer. Retail bonds are proving to be an attractive source of capital for companies of a certain size and standing with a perceived strong covenant,” he said

Bonds can be a cheaper and more secure way of accessing longer term financing than traditional bank debt.