Institutional Investors
UK Government debt management objective
The debt management objective is: “To minimise over the long term, the cost of meeting the Government’s financing needs, taking account of risk, while ensuring that debt management policy is consistent with the aims of monetary policy.”
Insofar as gilts are concerned, this objective is delivered by:
Decisions made with a long term focus
- Government borrowing is an important tool of fiscal policy in the UK, therefore debt management is conducted so as to support the long term sustainability of government’s access to capital markets
- Debt management avoids short-term strategies that are opportunistic: it has a focus on long-term cost and risk minimisation
Debt management policy principles
- Minimising market uncertainty through principles of openness, transparency, and predictability
- Maintaining a liquid and efficient gilt market and encouraging secondary market liquidity, because government will be a repeat borrower
- Issuing gilts at benchmark points of the yield curve, in large size, to achieve benchmark premia
- Balancing cost and risk considerations:
Cost
Demand: ongoing dialogue with primary dealers and a range of financial institutions to assess the structural demand for gilts
Yield curves: analysing impact of structural demand on shape of nominal and real yield curves, assessing potential premia within the curve
Interest rates: the government takes no view on future path of interest rates – it doesn’t attempt to outpredict the market
Risk
Assess balance of risks, including interest rate risk, refinancing risk, regret risk (i.e. borrowing at fixed rates which turn out to be unfavourable), inflation risk, liquidity and execution risk
In addition, take into account practical considerations, e.g. the number, size, and frequency of operations.
Gilt Operations and Statistics
Some key statistics of the government’s marketable gilt portfolio, as well as the gilt sales in the financial year to date are shown in the table below. The gilt sales in the financial year to date row is updated after each gilt operation; all other data are updated as at COB of the previous working day. Progress relative to the current remit, updated after every gilt operation can be found here.
| Uplifted nominal value of the gilt portfolio (£bn) | |
| Conventional gilts | |
| Index-linked gilts | |
| Average maturity of the gilt portfolio* | |
| Average gilt portfolio yield** | |
| Conventional gilts | |
| Index-linked gilts | |
| Gilt sales in the financial year to date (£bn) | |
*Based on nominal values, including inflation uplift
** Market-value weighted
Please refer to the DMO’s Quarterly Review for a summary of its gilt and Treasury bill operations over the given quarter.
Any investors wishing to participate in a semi-annual investor survey should send their details to policy@dmo.gov.uk.
Upcoming Auctions
Note: Amount on Offer is blank until announced.
| Auction Date | Gilt Name | Maturity Date | Amount on Offer (£mn nominal) |
For further information about upcoming auctions, please see the Calendars section.
For details about previous auctions refer to the Outright Gilt Auctions section.
Useful Links
Debt Management Report 2024-25
Financing and Gilt Announcements
The information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors who want advice on dealing with a non-regulated entity, which gilt or other investment may be best suited to them, or on trading strategies, should consult a professional advisor before making any investment decisions. As gilts are marketable securities, their market value may go down as well as up. Please refer to the Terms of Use for further information.