UK capital issuance fell in August and is still £142.7bn ahead of trend
Victoria Shinder2 min readThe Bank of England published August capital issuance on 25 September. The series covers non-government primary market issuance of bonds, commercial paper and equity - finance raised by UK resident entities.
Gross issuance was £57.2 billion, against £84.4 billion in July and a previous six-month average of £76.3 billion. Net issuance was £3.0 billion, against £10.1 billion in July and a £7.3 billion six-month average.
The composition of that fall is stated explicitly, and it matters: the £7.2 billion decrease in net issuance came from a £27.1 billion fall in gross issuance partly offset by a £20.0 billion reduction in gross repayments.
Year to date tells the opposite story. Gross issuance is £586.0 billion, £69.9 billion above the same point last year and £142.7 billion above the previous four-year average. Net year to date is £64.2 billion, £36.5 billion above last year and £43.3 billion above the four-year average.
What it means
Reading the month alone gets you the wrong answer. August's gross figure is 25% below the six-month average and would support a story about UK corporates stepping back from primary markets; the year-to-date numbers say 2026 is running well ahead of both last year and the four-year trend, on gross and net alike. August is a thin month for issuance in every year, and a single observation against a six-month average is not a trend in a series with this much seasonality.
The decomposition is the genuinely informative part. Net fell by £7.2bn, but only because gross issuance dropped £27.1bn while repayments dropped £20.0bn - so most of the apparent weakness is both sides of the flow going quiet at once, which is what an August looks like, rather than borrowers choosing to deleverage. A net decline driven by rising repayments would mean something quite different; this one does not.
What the year-to-date figures do support is a funding-conditions read: £142.7bn of gross issuance above the four-year average is a large amount of primary market appetite being met, and net running £43.3bn above trend means it is not merely refinancing. For anyone tracking sterling credit supply into year-end, the question the next two releases answer is whether September and October return to the £76bn run-rate or confirm August as the start of a slower quarter - and only the gross line will tell you, since net can move on repayments alone.