Addleshaw Goddard advised joint bookrunners Barclays, HSBC and RBC Capital Markets on the largest bond issuance by a housing association to date.

The deal, which completed on 20th July, saw one of London's biggest housing association, London & Quadrant Housing Trust, access the strong demand from investors with a £500 million issuance, split between a 12 and 40 year dual tranche structure of £250 million each. Prudential, also advised by Addleshaw Goddard, acted as bond trustee and security trustee.

The Addleshaw Goddard team was led by leading debt capital markets partner, Beth Collett, as counsel to the joint bookrunners, and banking partner, Steve Mackie, as counsel to Prudential.

In December 2016 Addleshaw Goddard advised London & Quadrant's lenders on its consolidation with East Thames which included a £3.4 billion refinancing package and a commitment to develop a greater number of properties.

Beth Collett, commenting on the transaction said: "Following the recent move towards mergers and consolidations in the sector, which brings with it more ambitious development targets and increased funding requirements, we are expecting to now see housing associations looking to the capital markets with greater frequency and for larger issue sizes. As a sector leader, it was expected that the London & Quadrant bond issue would be well received. But the demand for, and pricing achieved on, this issue can also be seen as an indication that investor appetite in the social housing sector generally is still strong."