Iberdrola has issued 12-year green bonds for £500m (€600m), the developer’s largest issue in sterling since 2009.
The Spanish company, chaired by chaired by Ignacio Galán (pictured), last issued a bond in sterling in 2019 through its subsidiary Scottish Power Transmission.
Iberdrola said the move continues its strategy of diversifying its sources of financing after the presentation of its third quarter results.
In addition, it is the first green bond the company has issued in sterling and the company said it has become the only European utility able to access EUR, GBP and CHF in 2024.
Demand exceeded £2.1bn (€2.5bn), and this has allowed the spread over the reference interest rate to be reduced to 95 basis points (from the initial 125 basis points).
This is the largest reduction recorded in this market by a recurring issuer this year, added Iberdrola.
The coupon has been set at 5.25%, after attracting the interest of more than 140 investors (the largest number for a corporate issuer in the Sterling market this year), especially those committed to ESG, thanks to the green nature of the transaction, which will finance future investments in the UK in the renewables business.
Barclays, HSBC, Goldman Sachs and NatWest all participated in the issue.
Iberdrola is the only Spanish corporation to access the GBP market in 2024, it said.
This is the sixth public transaction by the company in the market so far in 2024.
The first was the hybrid bond of €700m issued in January; the second, in the Swiss market for CHF335m at the end of June; the third, the senior bond for €750m issued in July; the fourth was carried out in August, when Iberdrola placed $525m dollars (€490m) through the US subsidiary; and the fifth took place on September 23, when it sold €2.15bn in the largest issue of senior debt in its history.
The rate achieved is equivalent to that which would have been obtained in the Euromarket, with additional value of diversification of currency, said Iberdrola.