A whirlwind four weeks of equity raisings has seen a dozen major companies in London tapping their shareholders to raise around £23bn. The landscape was dominated by the £12.5bn biggie from HSBC, the leading British bank apparently least scathed by the financial crisis.
The rights issue was also being used as a major refinancing tool as Wolseley attempted to reconstruct its balance sheet.
The bankers and brokers were busier than the average estate agent as three of London’s big property developers all tapped the market for funds.
