Slaughter and May advised Centrica on its issuance of £405 million hybrid notes and related tender

Slaughter and May advised Centrica plc (“Centrica”), the owner of British Gas in the UK and Bord Gáis in the Republic of Ireland, on its issuance of £405,000,000 Subordinated Resettable Fixed Rate Notes due 2055 (“New Notes”).

The terms and conditions of the New Notes have been assessed by S&P Global Ratings UK Limited and Moody’s Investors Service Limited as being eligible for intermediate equity content under their prevailing methodologies. The New Notes represent Centrica’s first issuance into the hybrid debt markets since 2015 and were oversubscribed by five times during the marketing process.

Admission of the New Notes to the official list and to trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange occurred on 22 May 2024.

Concurrently, Slaughter and May advised Centrica on the tender of its £450,000,000 Subordinated Resettable Fixed Rate Notes due 2075 (the “Existing Notes”). The results of the tender offer were announced on 20 May 2024, when Centrica also announced its intention to exercise the clean-up call under the terms and conditions of the Existing Notes to redeem the Existing Notes not tendered.

Slaughter and May worked closely with Centrica’s in-house legal and treasury team, including Kathryn Galliers (Head of Treasury Front Office), Jennifer Myram (Head of Legal, Corporate and M&A) and Jasmine Murphy (Legal Counsel, Corporate and M&A).