Types of Debt Securities listed on TISE in 2025

LISTINGS ON TISE IN 2025

During the first nine months of 2025, 741 securities were listed on TISE for a variety of purposes, noting the vast majority are debt securities issued by UK and European issuers as part of private equity acquisition finance structures. A listing on a HM Revenue and Customs-recognised stock exchange, such as TISE, provides a consistent solution for private equity firms looking to benefit from the Quoted Eurobond Exemption, reducing expense and administration.

The total market value of all securities listed on the market is more than £750 billion, and the total number of securities on TISE’s Official List reached 4,642 at 30 September 2025, both of which are record highs in the history of the exchange.

TYPES OF DEBT SECURITIES LISTED ON THE QUALIFIED INVESTOR BOND MARKET (QIBM)

The majority of new listings were debt securities on TISE’s leading European professional bond market, the Qualified Investor Bond Market (QIBM). The three main categories were:

• Private Equity – driven by the value to clients of a proven path to listing.
• High Yield – as borrowers refinance (or repay) their outstanding debts and new issuers come to the market.
• Securitisations – including prominent deals from major international financial institutions.

Characteristics of recently listed debt securities (Notes) can be summarised into four sections:

1. Types of Notes / Debt Securities
2. Types of Interest Payment
3. Types of Collateral
4. Types of Repayment

1. TYPES OF NOTES/DEBT SECURITIES

• Actively managed certificates (AMC) – a tradable debt security issued by a financial institution, such as a bank, that provides investors with returns based on the performance of a dynamic portfolio of underlying assets, which is continuously adjusted by a professional portfolio manager according to a specific investment strategy.
• Bridge Notes – short-term financing secured to “bridge the gap” until a noteholder obtains longer-term financing.
• Convertible Notes – Notes issued by companies that are convertible to company/issuer shares, depending on the circumstances.
• Green Bonds – a fixed-income debt instrument earmarked to raise money for climate and environmental projects.
• Income Bond – a type of debt security in which only the face value of the bond is promised to be paid to the investor, with any coupon payments paid only if the issuer has enough earnings to pay for the coupon payment.
• Interest Bearing Notes – represents funds loaned by a noteholder to the issuer, on which interest accrues in accordance with the terms of the loan note instrument.
• Mezzanine Bond – a type of hybrid financing that combines features of both debt and equity, typically positioned between senior debt and common equity in a company’s capital structure.
• Multicurrency Notes – Notes that include denominations in different national currencies, often for companies who work with multiple currencies.
• Non-Qualifying Corporate Bonds (non QCBs) – Securities which do not qualify as QCBs within the statutory definition in the TCGA 1992 section 117
• Promissory Notes – a financial instrument that contains a written and signed promise between two parties to repay a sum of money in exchange for a loan or other financing.
• Promissory Notes evidencing other debts – as above, used to evidence pre-existing debts of the issuer.
• Revolving Facility – revolving loan facility, also called simply revolver, is a form of credit that provides the issuer with the ability to draw down or withdraw, repay, and withdraw again. This can take the form of a listable security.
• Repo Backed Notes – repurchase agreement (repo) is a form of short-term borrowing for dealers in government securities.
• Secured Notes – a Note that is backed by the issuer’s assets as a form of collateral. If the issuer defaults on a secured Note, the assets pledged as collateral can be used/sold to repay the Note. (see section below)
• Tier 2 Bonds – bonds that form an essential component of the second layer of banking capital known as Tier 2 capital that are categorised as subordinated (they are paid back only after higher-ranking debts have been settled).
• Unsecured Notes– Notes not secured by the issuer’s assets.
• Unsubordinated Notes – also known as a senior security refers to a type of obligation that must be repaid before any other form of debt.
• Unitranche debt – represents a hybrid loan structure that combines senior debt and subordinated debt into one loan, allowing banks to compete better against private debt funds.
• Variable Funding Notes (VFN) – issued under a loan note instrument, where the principal balance thereof may increase or decrease from time to time.
• Warrants – a derivative that gives the holder the right but not the obligation to buy an underlying security at a certain price, quantity, and future time.

2. TYPES OF INTEREST PAYMENT

• Credit-Linked Notes (CLN) – Notes with an embedded credit default swap permitting the issuer to shift specific risk to credit investors.
• Currency-Linked Notes – where the amount of interest paid at maturity is dependent on the performance of one or more currencies.
• Fixed Income Notes – debt securities that provide a return through fixed periodic interest payments and the eventual return of principal at maturity.
• Fixed Rate Notes – debt securities that pay the same level of interest over their entire term.
• Fixed Term Notes – sebt securities with a fixed maturity date of one year, three years or five years.
• Floating Rate Note – floating-rate Notes (FRN) have a variable interest rate. The interest rate for an FRN is tied to a benchmark rate.
• High-Yield Bonds – bonds that pay higher interest rates because they have lower credit ratings than investment-grade bonds.
• Interest Rate Swaps Bond – includes a derivative contract where two parties can exchange future interest payments on a notional principal amount, effectively converting a bond’s variable interest rate into a fixed rate, or vice versa.
• Payment-in-Kind Notes (PIK) – a financial instrument that pays interest or dividends to investors of bonds, Notes, or preferred stock with additional securities or equity instead of cash.
• Pay-if-you-can PIK Notes – where interest is supposed to paid in cash at specific intervals or at a designated cadence. If the conditions surrounding interest payments are not satisfied, the issuer may opt to make a payment-in-kind interest payment.
• Preferred Loan Notes – give their holders a priority claim whenever an issuer pays interest on Notes.
• Profit Participating Notes (PPNs) – a debt security whereby the security holder receives a share of the profits of the issuer in return for the provision of principal.
• Resettable Bond – where the interest rate is periodically reset according to a predetermined formula.
• SONIA – a basic rate of interest used in lending between banks on the European Union interbank market and also used as a reference for setting the interest rate on other loans, plus a fixed percentage.
• SOFR – Secured Overnight Financing Rate is a fully transaction-based interest rate that has mostly replaced LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) that is being phased out.
• SOFR plus % – a secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) that reflects the cost of borrowing overnight, backed by US Treasury securities in the repo market and also used as a reference for setting the interest rate on other loans, plus a fixed/variable percentage.
• Toggle Notes – a type of PIK Note where the issuer has the option to defer an interest payment by agreeing to pay an increased coupon in the future.
• Variable Rate Notes – a variable interest rate (also called an “adjustable” or “floating” rate) is an interest rate on a Note that fluctuates over time as it is based on an underlying benchmark interest rate or index that changes periodically.
• Vendor Loan Notes – loan notes representing that element of the purchase price to be paid for a target company or business which a vendor agrees to defer, for example an earn-out.

3. TYPES OF COLLATERAL

• Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) – a type of financial investment that is collateralized by an underlying pool of assets — that usually generates a cash flow from debt, such as loans, leases, credit card balances, or receivables.
• Commercial Mortgage Backed Notes (CMBS) – fixed-income securities backed by mortgages on commercial properties rather than residential real estate.
• First Lien Notes – where the lender has the first, primary claim on the issuer’s assets (collateral) if the issuer defaults.
• Guaranteed Notes – Notes that offer a secondary guarantee that interest and principal payments will be made by a third party, should the issuer default due to reasons such as insolvency or bankruptcy.
• Limited Recourse Notes – gives the creditor a claim on some but not all of the issuer’s assets if they default on a loan.
• Senior Notes – a type of bond that takes precedence over other debts in the event that the issuer declares bankruptcy and is forced into liquidation.
• Subordinated Notes – unsecured Debt Securities that rank below other, more senior loans or securities with respect to claims on assets or earnings.
• Super Senior Notes – a type of security that holds the highest priority for repayment in the event of the issuer’s default

4. TYPES OF REPAYMENT

• Amortising Notes – where payments of principal and interest on debt securities are made in instalments over the life of such securities. Often the payments will be applied to the interest due and payable thereon, before reducing the unpaid principal amount.
• Callable Notes – where the issuer may redeem Notes before they reach the stated maturity date.
• Extendable Notes – a long-term debt security that includes an option which allows a noteholder to extend its initial maturity to a later date.
• Preferred Return Certificates – securities with priority in receiving distributions up to a certain predetermined annual percentage rate before other investors or the sponsor receive any profit share.
• Redeemable Notes – the issuer may redeem Notes before they reach the stated maturity date.

APPLEBY

Appleby is a leading listing agent with TISE and assists domestic and international issuers listing securities on TISE. Appleby also act as an issuer’s ongoing listing agent and assists them in meeting their continuing obligations as a listed issuer on TISE. Appleby’s listings team is committed to delivering a highly professional and integrated service, coordinating the listing process and supporting the issuer through their application.

Appleby provides advice to companies and their advisers whether they are issuers, sponsors, lead managers, shareholders or underwriters. They also work alongside other international law firms as part of a wider advisory network.

For more information, please speak to your usual Appleby contact.