Wasps targets fans with retail bond issue

The premiership rugby club Wasps, owned by London-based Irish businessman Derek Richardson, is seeking to raise as much as £35 million (€49 million) from fans and other individual investors with the issue of a retail bond on the London Stock Exchange this week.

Wasps is offering an annual return of 6.5 per cent on the seven-year unrated senior bond secured against the 32,600-seat Ricoh Arena in Coventry, which the club bought in 2014. It is seeking to raise £25-35 million from the issue. David Armstrong, group chief executive, said: "We feel we've got a great brand and the ability to take that out to the marketplace and communicate with investors, so a retail bond had a particular attraction for us compared with an institution or a wholesale issue. –(Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2015)