PWLB briefing
Monthly Activity
PWLB Borrowing Activity — Monthly Commentary
September 2026
KPI Snapshot — Latest Month
| Metric | September 2026 | vs PM | vs LY |
|---|---|---|---|
| £ Borrowed | £1,203.1m | ▲129% | ▲127% |
| # Loans | 97 | ▲169% | ▲87% |
| WAR % | 5.28% | ▲4bp | ▲66bp |
| WAL (yrs) | 3.1 | ▼34% | ▼11% |
| Borrowers | 62 | ▲170% | ▲94% |
Volume & Activity
September delivered £1,203.1m across 97 loans — more than double August, the largest month since March 2026, and the largest September in the data back to 2019 (previous high £946m in September 2019). It is 127% up on last September's £530.5m. Unlike August, the growth came from breadth rather than ticket size: the average draw fell from £14.6m to £12.4m while the median held at £10m, and 62 distinct borrowers came to market against 23 in August. Concentration collapsed as a result — the top five took 29.5% of principal against 64.7% last month. Timing was heavily back-loaded into the half-year end: £893m (74%) was drawn after the 15th, £443m in the last three working days and £251m on 30 September alone. Against the rolling twelve-month average of £1.48bn this is still a below-average month, but it closes much of the gap: financial-year-to-date borrowing of £2.97bn across April–September is now 12% below the £3.37bn raised in the same six months of 2025/26, against 38% behind at the end of August.
Rate & Tenor
WAR edged up to 5.28%, 4bp above August and 66bp above last September — again the highest monthly WAR since October 2023 and the sixth consecutive month above 4.8%. The small headline move understates what happened to pricing, because WAL shortened sharply and shorter money is cheaper. The fitted rate-vs-WAL line (excluding the single 30-year-plus deal) is +9bp per year of WAL off a 5.01% one-year intercept, against +12bp and 4.72% in August: the front end has lifted roughly 30bp and the curve has flattened slightly. The cleanest like-for-like read is one-year Certainty bullets: 4.99–5.07% in the first half of the month, 5.22–5.24% in the final week, against 4.94–4.98% for Woking's late-August draws. Loans dated after the 15th carried a WAR of 5.35% against 5.08% before it. Loan-level rates ran from 4.67% (East Dunbartonshire, two-year HRA EIP) to 6.67% (Witney TC, 40-year no-concession EIP). WAL fell to 3.1 years, down 34% on August and 11% on last September, ending a three-month run of extension and the shortest since May.
WAL Distribution & Debt Profile
August's move out the curve reversed in a single month. The 1–3y bucket took £888.3m (73.8%), up from 24.3%, with 3–5y at £126.0m (10.5%) and 5–10y at £140.5m (11.7%) — both sharply down on August's 35% and 38%. There was some activity beyond ten years: £31.0m at 10–20y, almost all Southwark's HRA bullets, and £10.0m at 30–50y from Nottinghamshire for the second month running. The 20–30y bucket saw only £0.3m of parish money, £7.0m sat inside one year, and 50y+ stayed empty.
| Profile | £m | Share | Aug share | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maturity (bullet) | 963.3 | 80.1% | 78.4% | 5.28% |
| EIP | 195.4 | 16.2% | 17.5% | 5.29% |
| Annuity | 44.4 | 3.7% | 4.1% | 5.17% |
Profile mix barely moved even as tenor collapsed. Maturity edged up to 80.1% of principal — the highest bullet share since March 2025 and well above last September's 52.4% — while EIP slipped to 16.2% and Annuity to 3.7%. What changed is where the bullets fall due. August's bullets landed mostly in 2030–2032; September's land almost immediately: £357m in 2027, £229m in 2028 and £188m in 2029, so £773m of single-date repayments inside three years from this month's business alone. Twenty-four loans totalling £347m (29% of the month) are effectively one-year money that will need refinancing next September. This is rolling, not terming out.
Concession
99.8% of principal carried a concession, and the tilt toward Certainty eased. Certainty -20bps took 70.3% (£846.0m, WAR 5.38%, WAL 3.0) against HRA -60bps at 29.5% (£354.6m, WAR 5.03%, WAL 3.5) — Certainty was 81.9% in August and 64.8% a year ago. The two tiers sit 35bp apart on WAR even though the HRA book is half a year longer; adjust for that tenor and the gap is close to the 40bp difference in the discounts themselves. On the concession × WAL heatmap one cell dominates: Certainty at 1–3y (£662.7m), 55% of the entire month. HRA 1–3y is next at £225.6m, followed by Certainty 5–10y (£100.4m), Certainty 3–5y (£66.0m) and HRA 3–5y (£60.0m). HRA also populated 5–10y (£39.0m) and 10–20y (£30.0m, Southwark), and the lone Certainty cell at 30–50y (£10.0m) is Nottinghamshire again. Local Infrastructure, Project, UK Infrastructure Bank and Capitalisation tiers saw no activity. Non-concessionary borrowing was £2.5m across seven parish and town council deals at 5.38–6.67%.
Top Borrowers
| Borrower | £m | Loans | WAR | WAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnet LBC | 85.0 | 2 | 5.10% | 1.0 |
| Highland Council | 70.0 | 7 | 4.96% | 1.4 |
| Barking & Dagenham LBC | 67.5 | 3 | 5.30% | 2.0 |
| Mayor's Office for Policing & Crime | 67.5 | 3 | 5.50% | 3.0 |
| City of Glasgow Council | 65.0 | 4 | 5.80% | 6.3 |
| Bury MBC | 55.0 | 2 | 5.39% | 2.6 |
| Cardiff Council | 53.0 | 3 | 5.10% | 1.5 |
| Kingston upon Hull CC | 50.0 | 1 | 5.42% | 1.6 |
| North Lanarkshire Council | 45.0 | 2 | 5.34% | 6.6 |
| Croydon LBC | 40.0 | 2 | 5.39% | 4.1 |
| Hillingdon LBC | 35.0 | 2 | 5.87% | 6.3 |
This is the least concentrated month since March: the top five reach only 29.5% and the top ten 49.7%, against 64.7% for the top five in August. Its character has also flipped. August was led by single-purpose 4–6 year bullet programmes; September is led by short-dated cash management — Barnet, Highland, Barking & Dagenham, Cardiff and Hull together raised £325.5m at WALs of two years or less. The longer names — Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and Hillingdon at 6–7 years — paid 5.3–5.9% for it. Highland's 4.96% is the cheapest WAR on the board because five of its seven loans were HRA. Eleven of August's borrowers returned, including MOPAC, North Lanarkshire, Medway, Thanet, Woking and Nottinghamshire.
Notable Transactions
- Barnet LBC — the market move in one borrower. £55m of one-year Certainty Maturity at 5.03% on 11 September, then £30m of the identical product at 5.22% on 30 September. Same borrower, same tier, same tenor: the 19bp gap is genuine repricing through the month, not concession mix. The £55m is also the largest single ticket of the month.
- Highland Council — the concession illustration. On 25 September, a Certainty bullet to October 2027 at 5.34% and an HRA bullet to November 2027 at 4.94%. Near-identical tenor, 40bp apart — exactly the HRA-versus-Certainty discount differential.
- Stirling Council — the same lesson in EIP. Two £5m five-year EIPs on 21 September, both maturing September 2031: 5.17% HRA and 5.57% Certainty. Another clean 40bp.
- MOPAC — back, shorter and dearer. £67.5m in three identical £22.5m bullets on 30 September, this time three-year at 5.50% against August's five-year at 5.41%. Two years shorter and 9bp more expensive; allowing for the curve slope, that is roughly 30bp of repricing in a month for the same borrower and structure.
- Nottinghamshire CC — the long-end marker moves again. £10m Certainty Maturity to November 2072 (46.2y) at 6.43% on 24 September, the only 30-year-plus PWLB drawdown of the month. Against the same council's 6.15% fifty-year print in August, that is 28bp higher in six weeks, and around 70bp above its December 2025 pricing of 5.71–5.78%.
- City of Glasgow — terming out at a price. £65m of Certainty bullets at 6–7 years: £30m to August 2033 at 5.94% on 22 September and three tranches totalling £35m to 2032 at 5.68% on 29 September. Among the leaderboard names, only Hillingdon paid more.
- Southwark LBC — the longest HRA money of the month. £30m in three HRA bullets of 10–12 years on 30 September at 5.64–5.76%, almost the whole of the 10–20y bucket.
- Rate ceiling: parish and town councils. Witney TC at 6.67% (40y EIP, £290k), Kidderminster TC at 6.53% (25y annuity, £50k) and Radstock TC at 6.49% (30y EIP, £1m) — all no-concession and long-dated, setting the top of the range on product and tenor.
Treasurer's Note
September reverses August on structure but not on price: more than double the money, nearly three times the borrowers, but WAL back to 3.1 years and four-fifths of it in bullets. At 5.28%, new PWLB debt is the dearest since October 2023, and the 66bp year-on-year gap is worth roughly £7.9m a year of additional interest on the £1.2bn raised. Three things to carry forward. First, do not read the 4bp headline move as stability — the shift into shorter tenors masked a front end that rose around 25–30bp through the month, with one-year Certainty moving from about 5.00% to 5.24%; check where your own tenor sits before benchmarking against the headline. Second, the refinancing wall has moved closer: £773m of this month's bullets fall due in 2027–2029, £347m of it within a year, so much of the half-year-end surge is rolled money that will be back next September. Third, Nottinghamshire's 6.43% at 46 years is now the long-end marker, 28bp above August's print and around 70bp above last December — if long-dated HRA or capital programme funding has been deferred in hope of a better entry point, the market has moved the other way for three consecutive prints. At the half-year, borrowing stands at £2.97bn, 12% below the same point last year, at a WAR of 5.13% against 4.54%.
For information only; not financial advice. Always verify rates directly with PWLB before making borrowing decisions.
Source: UK Debt Management Office — dmo.gov.uk/responsibilities/local-authority-lending/current-data