We are delighted to have advised Riverside Group on their £150m private bond issuance with Pricoa Private Capital.
The private placement is split into two deferred issuances, with the first £50 million Series A note issuance to be closed in March 2021, with a maturity in 2041; and the second £100 million Series B note issuance to be closed in September 2021, with a maturity in 2051.
The deal was arranged by HSBC UK and Devonshires advised Riverside, while Addleshaw Goddard advised Pricoa.
The deal attracted significant attention from both domestic and international investors, but was ultimately priced with an all in coupon of 2% for the shorter term Series A Notes and 2.5% for the longer term Series B Notes, both of which are on a secured basis.
Emma Turner, Head of Treasury and Corporate Finance at Riverside, says: “We are delighted to have been able to secure this significant investment from an international funder of the stature of Pricoa. The business proposition from Pricoa, and the other commercial offerings from other institutional investors, demonstrates the appetite to invest in Riverside and the social housing sector more widely.”
Gary Grigor, Partner in our Banking, Governance & Corporate team, says: “This substantial investment by Pricoa is hugely significant. Not only does it show the commercial appetite to support Riverside’s ongoing business objectives, but also the ongoing desire to invest in social housing sector in the UK as a whole at relatively low margins.”
Devonshires previously represented Riverside in what is thought to have been the housing sector’s first loan facility using the Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) interest benchmark in April this year. The deal included a £100m revolving credit facility indexed exclusively on a SONIA basis.
The Devonshires team consisted of Gary Grigor, Natalie Swales, Charlotte Ingram and Lucy Poppleton.
