Northern office landlord Bruntwood wants to issue a retail bond with a 6 per cent coupon. The issue is unusual in two respects: first, the bonds will be secured against a property portfolio; second, Bruntwood is a family-owned company.
Founded in 1976 by chairman Michael Oglesby, the company owns an £891m portfolio of office buildings in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Liverpool. Against the portfolio it holds £572m of debt, much of it in the form of a securitised loan. A £75m chunk of this loan matures next January, hence the retail bond launch. The company secured a £120m mortgage from Legal & General last year, and chief executive Chris Oglesby says the retail bond would be the next move in his drive to diversify the company away from its historic reliance on banks.
