The telecoms sector faces the greatest refinancing needs of any non-financial corporate sector over the next three years, as $2,100bn of European corporate debt is set to mature.

These companies face the combined difficulty of needing to refinance debt as banks want to lend less, the cost of funding has increased and the investor base has shrunk. While some companies have tried to be proactive – refinancing debt when opportunities arise – market conditions have been so difficult and volatile recently that it has left many waiting.