SSE plc

NEW DUAL TRANCHE 5 AND 10 YEAR BOND ISSUE

SSE plc ("SSE") has successfully launched a €1.1bn 5 and 10 year dual tranche Euro bond with €600m maturing April 2025 and €500m maturing April 2030, with coupons of 1.25 per cent and 1.75 per cent respectively. Both tranches have been swapped to Sterling resulting in a funding cost of 2.4 per cent for the 5 year and 2.9 per cent for the 10 year.

Due to the strength of Sterling in the last week of March, net debt and hybrid capital is now expected to be around £10.5bn as at 31 March 2020, down from £10.7bn as  stated in SSE's last financial update published on 27 March 2020.

Gregor Alexander, Finance Director of SSE, said: "In the past few weeks capital markets have been disrupted and extremely volatile due to Covid-19, resulting in SSE choosing to adapt its funding plans for 20/21.  With bond markets recovering recently we have taken this window of opportunity to issue SSE's first dual tranche senior Euro bond. With Sterling equivalent proceeds of around £975m this issuance will significantly help cover our refinancing and funding requirements for the remainder of the year, as we continue our low carbon investment programme."