UK Gilts

UK Gilts are UK government debt securities issued by the United Kingdom Debt Management Office on behalf of HM Treasury and listed on the London Stock Exchange; so-called because in former times the debt certificates had gilded edges. The DMO issues two different types of securities: conventional gilts and index-linked gilts. The former, which make up around 75% of outstanding UK government debt, are standard bonds that pay fixed-rate semi-annual coupons over their life and repay principal at maturity. Coupons on index-linked Gilts are indexed to the UK Retail Prices Index (RPI).