7/21/2025
Summer is in full flow now it seems with just two deals pricing this week (and another fully retained).
However, there was still plenty to talk about with BofA’s Taurus program continuing the charge for CMBS this year, while Swiss auto lender, Multilease, dipped its toe into the water of euros for the first time.
But first, to our raging bull. BofA’s Taurus shelf brought its third deal of the year, the £215.9m mixed portfolio offering known as Taurus 2025-4.
The portfolio is sponsored by GoldenTree Asset Management, and is refinance of its acquisition of the UK REIT, Aberdeen Property Income Trust, bought in November 2024. There’s a 90% occupancy rate with a portfolio made up of urban logistics (68%), retail (20.9%) and offices (11.2%).
And as with almost every deal coming to market since April, the issuers should be pretty chuffed with the pricing. There was no successive rounds of bidding, just IPTs followed by a quick tightening. But to finish with the £110.7m AAAs at 125bps over Sonia, 25bps tighter than the March Taurus 2025-2 deal (which is very similar in terms of collateral mix), is a strong result.
Much has been made of the light supply of UK securitizations this year, but CMBS, a much-maligned asset class in recent years, is having something of a resurgence. Taurus 2025-4 is the tenth European CMBS of the year, taking placed issuance in 2025 to €3.37bn (equivalent).
And so, the market looks set to challenge 2021 for the post GFC record volume. As the table below shows, it’s already far surpassed the last three years.
This wasn’t entirely unexpected since across both the US and European CMBS markets, there was a maturity wall coming up, meaning many deals needed to be refinanced.
Nevertheless, with spreads feeling about as tight as they can be, it looks unlikely that anyone will opt to hold out for 2026. If you can, you would come to market soon.
It will be one to keep an eye on for sure. Perhaps as the initial September rush ends, we’ll see a glut of CMBS – and I wouldn’t rule out more Taurus deals either.
If Swiss watchmaking is adored around the world, Multilease look to have kept up the cultural tradition of timing things perfectly with its first ever Auto ABS in euros, the €550m First Mobility Sarl Compartment Swiss Lease 2025-1. The previous seven from the First Swiss Mobility shelf were all priced in Swiss Francs.
Investors are still hungry for paper and with the summer holidays under way, this debut that’s not really a debut had no other euro notes competing for attention.
After a slightly slower start, the book grew significantly. With AAA and AA- tranches on offer at mid-high 70s and mid low 100s to begin with, guidance was initially at 72bps and 100-105bps. But a new update showed books 2.9x and 7.7x covered and spreads duly responded. The deal was upsized from €400m to €550m, and the AAAs landed at 68bps over 1 month Euribor, with the AA-‘s at 90bps over.
To be in the 60s along with other recent Auto Lease ABS deals (and well-known shelves) like Bumper (60bps) and Stellantis (64bps) is no mean feat. The sole arranger was BNP Paribas.
Swiss Auto ABS in July – like a Federer backhand in SW16.
Umm… there isn’t one visible right now! Could be our first properly barren week ahead, but I’m always optimistic – not least because I’ll need to scramble around for this newsletter if not.
That’s all from me this week. I will spare you the details of my last-16 victory in the Sudbury Golf Club summer knockout competition, and my soaring 8 iron to 3feet on the 17th to win the match with a birdie. But be warned, if I get my hands on that trophy, at least a page will be dedicated to post-match analysis!
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Have a great week.
Tom
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