CEB issues debut GBP 300m 4.375% Social Inclusion Bond Benchmark due January 2028

Highlights

• The debut GBP-denominated Social Inclusion Bond Benchmark represents the CEB’s first public benchmark of 2025, with a total funding volume for 2025 projected to be up to EUR 7.5 billion.
• This is CEB’s 20th Social Inclusion Bond issued to-date. This also represents the first Social-labelled GBP-denominated benchmark in the SSA market since July 2023.
• The new GBP 300m Jan-28 Social Inclusion Bond benchmark strategically extends the CEB’s GBP curve and the tenor appealed to a broad array of investors due to the attractive spread to gilts and SONIA mid-swaps on offer in this sector of the curve.

Deal details

• On Thursday 2nd January, the CEB took advantage of the constructive market tone in the first session of 2025 to announce a debut GBP-denominated Social Inclusion Bond benchmark due January 2028 at 9.45am CET. Books were opened concurrently with initial guidance released at SONIA MS+32bps area.
• The transaction was met with a strong investor response from the outset, enabling the issuer to release a first update at 11.54am CET on the back of orders accelerating above GBP 285m (incl. GBP 75m JLM interest). At this stage, the spread was set at SONIA MS+32bps.
• The orderbook continued to grow and closed in excess of GBP 380m (incl. GBP 90m JLM interest). This supported the CEB to set the final size of the transaction at GBP 300m.
• The transaction officially priced at 1.08pm CET, offering an annual coupon of 4.375%, an annual yield of 4.427%, a reoffer price of 99.857% and a spread of +34.9bps against the UKT 0 ⅛ 01/31/28.

For full technical details of the transaction, please click here.