2021 was a year of significant growth for The International Stock Exchange (TISE), with the exchange attracting more new issuers than in any other year since its establishment. Carey Olsen has been at the forefront of this growth with 2021 marking Carey Olsen’s sixth consecutive year as the leading TISE listing agent.

In 2021 Carey Olsen Corporate Finance Limited (COCFL) grew its number of listings yet again compared to 2020, assisting with 65% of the new high yield bond issuers listed on TISE and almost 40% of all securities listed last year.

Matthew Ecobichon, counsel in the firm’s Jersey debt capital markets team, said: “The fact that COCFL is now the go-to listing agent for a significant portion of TISE listed issuers and their advisers is testament to the depth of knowledge and experience of the lawyers and listing analysts who make up our listing teams.”

Contributing to a successful year for TISE was the review of its Listing Rules in August. The most notable change being the separation of the rulebooks and fee schedules for debt and equity securities, with the creation of a dedicated Qualified Investor Bond Market.

The changes also saw the introduction of the ‘TISE Passport Programme’, a pan-European fast track listing service available for UK or EEA-approved debt programmes, while eligible issuers can now opt to pay a one-off lifetime fee for products such as corporate bonds, derivative bonds, securitisations and collateralised loan obligations, sovereign and other public bonds.

The Listing Rules review was followed by the introduction of TISE’s new market segment, TISE Sustainable, and TISE’s membership of the United Nations’ Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (UN SSE). TISE Sustainable is Europe’s most comprehensive sustainable finance segment, enabling increased capital allocation towards environmental, social or sustainable activities and as a Partner Exchange of the UN SSE.

“These developments place TISE at the heart of global efforts to advance and facilitate sustainable investment, and COCFL has assisted with the admission of a number of securities and issuers to TISE Sustainable since its launch,” said Matthew.

“It’s also exciting to know that TISE is planning to build on this success with a number of other developments in the pipeline for 2022.”

COCFL has an in-depth knowledge of TISE’s rules and procedures. COCFL is part of the Rules Committee of TISE and took a primary role in relation to the August 2021 Listing Rules update (as well all previous updates). COCFL’s listing teams are comprised of lawyers and dedicated listing analysts who are experienced in advising on the types of structure that list on TISE and who understand the commercial needs of our clients.

Carey Olsen Corporate Finance Limited offers listing services from both the law firm’s Jersey and Guernsey offices.