Great Portland taps US bond markets again

Property group Great Portland has taken advantage of strong demand for its bonds in the US to boost its coffers.

Having initially planned to raise $75m through a placing of bonds, Great Portland upped the amount to $200m after the original offer was more than five times over-subscribed.

The medium term unsecured US dollar notes have been fully hedged into sterling, providing Great Portland with £128m of debt financing at a sterling weighted average fixed interest rate of 4.59%.

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The issue consists of two tranches of bonds: $160m of 4.20% senior notes due 2019, and $40m of 4.82% senior notes due 2022.

The notes were placed with a select group of institutional investors, more than half of them being new investors in Great Portland.

The issue follows the property group's successful inaugural £160m private placing in May 2011 at a sterling weighted average fixed interest rate of 5.32%.

"This financing supports our already robust liquidity position and enhances our debt maturity profile, with no group level maturities until November 2015," said Nick Sanderson, Finance Director at Great Portland.

JH