At the first domestic conference dedicated to corporate bonds, Escont Partners provided its analytical overview of the market situation and highlighted the expectation that more and more companies are ready, with their interesting and quality projects, for the capital market – information that is among the most important for investors when tracking new investment opportunities.
While for years it has been said in Croatia that bonds are a “story for the big players,” this conference clearly showed that a new trend is emerging: small and medium-sized enterprises are raising capital through bonds, and private investors are gaining access to instruments that were until recently reserved for states and large corporations. Escont Partners takes on the role of an expert advisor who understands both sides – companies that want to grow and investors seeking meaningful returns.
As a more convincing example of this new trend, Koykan — a street-food brand — presented at the conference, which successfully raised capital through bonds in 2025, opened planned locations in three countries and five cities, and delivered everything that was previously communicated to investors. Stores financed by bonds have not remained on paper; today they are open or in the final stages of opening, and revenue and business volume have significantly increased in the meantime.
Semi-annual coupon payments: a model that builds trust with investors
Bonds from previous issues of Qela (a company for electric vehicle chargers) and Koykan pay interest twice a year – and some investors have already received their first coupon payments. This is one of the ways issuers build trust with investors, who have placed their confidence in them.
Koykan, through its bond issuance for financing operations in 2026, presented a very understandable and transparent instrument, which Escont Partners helped shape so that investors easily understand three key pieces of information: what the yield is, how long it lasts, and what the money is financing. In this case, it is a development bond with a fixed interest rate of 6.25% per annum, a maturity period of three years, semi-annual interest payments, and a minimum investment starting from €1,000. For larger investors, from €50,000 and above, a convertible bond is available with an option for future conversion into equity, under pre-defined conditions.
