European companies are selling more bonds to retail investors than they have since the collapse in 2003 of Italian dairy company Parmalat, highlighting how the corporate sector has been forced to seek pockets of demand to raise cash amid the market turmoil.

In a trend not seen in such volume for some six years, companies such as German carmakers Volkswagen and Daimler and media group Bertelsmann have sold over €4bn ($5.16bn) of bonds this year in denominations as low as €1,000 to the retail investor base.