Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen City Council’s bond issue hailed as “exciting new chapter”

Aberdeen City Council’s bond issue hailed as “exciting new chapter”

Aberdeen City Council Leader Jenny Laing hailed an “exciting new chapter” for the north-east as she opened the London Stock Exchange to mark the local authority’s pioneering bond issue.

The Labour councillor became the first Scottish council head to symbolically start the day’s trading yesterday.

It is a privilege often handed to companies when their shares start trading, but she was given the opportunity in recognition of the council’s unprecedented step.

Some ÂŁ370million was raised for major projects in the Granite City when the bond was issued in November.

It was the first such foray into the capital markets by any local authority in Scotland and attracted better-than-expected interest.

The finance raised will be used to support a ÂŁ1billion capital programme, which includes a new exhibition and conference centre, schools, homes and transport links.

Mrs Laing, who was joined by finance convener Willie Young and chief executive Angela Scott among others, called the bond “one of the most significant achievements in our council’s history” and said it underlined a commitment to innovation.

She added: “The success of the bond, which was oversubscribed, is a reflection of the confidence investors have placed in Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen as a whole.

“Everyone will be familiar with the economic pressures we have faced in the north-east of Scotland during a protracted downturn in the oil and gas industry, but we have a proud tradition of both innovation and resilience – two qualities which have come to the fore in recent years.

“The message is quite clear – Aberdeen is ready for an exciting new chapter.

“We are proud to be driving that forward during what undoubtedly are testing times for our region.

“For decades we have led from the front as Europe’s oil capital and there is definitely a determination to continue forging a global reputation as a leader in the energy sector, now probably more than ever before.

“The issuing of the bond is an excellent example of the can-do attitude which is powering Aberdeen’s transformation.”

Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of London Stock Exchange plc, called the local authority a “trailblazer”.

He added: “Becoming the first Scottish council to list a bond, Aberdeen City Council has taken the lead in accessing the capital markets to support Aberdeen’s future growth and development.”