/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/020319.mbx         T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                           E U R O P E

             Tuesday, March 19, 2002, Vol. 3, No. 55


                            Headlines

* F R A N C E *

BULL SA: EU May Launch Probe on Rescue Aid

* G E R M A N Y *

AUTO BECKER: Car Dealer Crashes Into Insolvency
CARGOLIFTER AG: Sells First Transportation Balloon
KIRCHGRUPPE: Premier Unit Will Need EUR500MM to Survive
KIRCHGRUPPE: Renews Assurance Among Formula One Carmakers

* I R E L A N D *

AIB GROUP: CEO Keating to Leave Allfirst in September

* I T A L Y *

BLU SPA: TIM Set to Acquire Blu Assets

* P O L A N D *

ELEKTRIM SA: Bondholders Reject Debt Repayment Proposal
ELEKTRIM SA: Megadex Unit Signs EUR87MM Contract With Fortum

* S W I T Z E R L A N D *

SWISSAIR GROUP: Administrator Sends Interim Report to Judges

* U N I T E D   K I N G D O M *

ARTHUR ANDERSEN: Chief Ormerod Seeks Buyer for U.K. Unit
BIG FOOD: Faces Rebuke From FSA
BRITISH AIRWAYS: Seeks Immunity on Joint Venture With Iberia
BRITISH AIRWAYS: Set to Give Pay Cuts and Deferred Bonuses
CONSIGNIA PLC: May Sell Property to Raise GBP1.8BB
CORDIANT GROUP: Falls 12.8% on Banking Woes
CORUS GROUP: Will Sell Aluminum Units to Cut Debt
MG ROVER: Unions Say No to Strike
RALEIGH UK: Will Shut Down Last U.K. Factory
ROYAL DOULTON: Emerges Winner Over Rights Issue
ROYAL DOULTON: Will Axe 1,000 Workers
TELEWEST COMMUNICATIONS: Moody's Cuts Debt Ratings to Caa3
THUS PLC: Shares Drop Ahead of Demerger Completion
VAUXHALL: 1,100 Workers Lose Job on Plant Closure


===========
F R A N C E
===========


BULL SA: EU May Launch Probe on Rescue Aid
------------------------------------------

The European Commission may launch a formal investigation on the
French government's provision of 450 million euros ($397.2
million) in aid to cash-strapped technology company Groupe Bull
SA, the Wall Street Journal reports.

A week ago, France has agreed to lend Bull a further 350 million
euros ($309 million), on top of the 100 million euros already
granted in December.

French authorities described both payments as "rescue aid,"
Commission spokesman Michael Tscherny said. Rescue aid is meant
to cover short-term cash-flow difficulties. Commission officials
added that it does not have to be paid back if a company presents
a viable restructuring plan within six months.

Bull, whose product offerings range from software to hardware to
services, has shaken from one restructuring plan to the next
without ever recovering fully. For the financial year 2001, it
reported a net loss of 253 million euros, following a loss of
242.8 million euros in 2000.

The company in the past two years has sold many assets, including
its smart card business and most of its European IT services
division.

The company said it would cut 1,500 jobs. Its workforce has
shrunk from about 46,000 in 1988 to 10,700 at the end of 2001.


=============
G E R M A N Y
=============


AUTO BECKER: Car Dealer Crashes Into Insolvency
-----------------------------------------------

Car dealer Auto Becker has applied for insolvency proceedings
last Wednesday for Auto Becker GmbH & Co KG and for Auto Becker
Verwaltungs GmbH, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.

The company has suffered from a slip in mass business with the
Opel and Nissan brands, the report added.

Other companies within the group are unaffected by the problems.
According to administrator Frank Kebekus, the company's
dealership and repair business will still continue.

Around 100 employees are affected by the insolvency, and are
reported not to have received their pay installment for February.


CARGOLIFTER AG: Sells First Transportation Balloon
--------------------------------------------------

CargoLifter AG, the cash-strapped manufacturer of airships, has
sold its first CL 75 AC transportation balloon.

Under the agreement, Heavy Lift Canada, Inc., headquartered in
Calgary/Alberta, will receive this new means of transport based
on "Lighter-than-Air" technology in December 2002 and deploy it
in full commercial operation for the transport of oilfield
equipment over ice roads in Canada's Arctic and Alaska.

The sales contract will first of all cover one transportation
balloon with a diameter of 61-meters.

Heavy Lift Canada has also secured the option to purchase 25 more
CL 75 AC for $10 million each.

CargoLifter AG will buy a 20% stake of Heavy Lift Canada, Inc.,
in order to profit from the operations of the "Lighter-than-Air"
systems as well.

Cargolifter's liquid assets are sufficient until April or May
this year, the March 13 edition of the Troubled Company Reporter
Europe said, citing the paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.


KIRCHGRUPPE: Premier Unit Will Need EUR500MM to Survive
-------------------------------------------------------

Kirch Group's loss-making pay television Premiere will need at
least half a billion euros ($442.9 million) in fresh funds to
remain in operation, one source told Reuters Saturday.

Premiere chief Georg Kofler will present a business plan on the
operation's funding requirements at a supervisory board meeting
today.

A source said that the plan includes reduction in costs,
especially in film rights purchasing. According to estimates from
German bank WestLB, program costs for the pay TV operation are
expected to amount to some 3 billion euros over the next four
years.

The savings are intended to help Premiere, which is losing some
$2 million a day, reach an operating profit within two years with
between 3.2 and 3.4 million subscribers instead of the 4 million
originally budgeted for. The operation currently has some 2.5
million subscribers.

A solution to the problems at Premiere is key to resolving
Kirch's $5.7 billion debt pile and averting the collapse of the
group.


KIRCHGRUPPE: Renews Assurance Among Formula One Carmakers
---------------------------------------------------------

KirchGruppe's senior executives gathered last Thursday to hatch
out a new proposition for the car manufacturers involved in
Formula One, the Financial Times reported.

The Munich-based media giant, which controls the broadcasting and
marketing rights to F1 through its 58% stake in the company SLEC,
has shown sign of assurance to the car makers when it paid about
$2 billion for its holding. It will not, however, compromise
free-to-air coverage.

Speed, the Kirch company, has yet to receive the manufacturers'
own proposals for F1's future. Kirch holds through Speed 73.5%
stake in F1's broadcasting and commercial rights, a matter which
they had discussed with promoter Bernie Ecclestone in Geneva last
week.

However, the Speed management is getting awry that the carmakers
is serious about putting a rival championship against Formula One
beginning 2007.

Speed's London-based chairman Alexander Ritvay described the
breakaway of the carmakers as catastrophic, considering that no
championship at this time, can afford to sustain the present
level of global interest in F1.

The carmakers and the big multinational sponsors that support
their F1 teams, are interested only to capture the widest
possible audience, while they show concerns that Kirch will seek
to restrict coverage to its pay-TV operations.

It has to be noted that more than 300 million television
audiences on free-to-air services watch each grand prix.

Kirch has been rumored for months to be looking at a possible
sale of the F1 rights, as its debts -- estimated to be more than
$5 billion -- continue to mount.

Some of Germany's biggest banks and investors alike have been
urging KirchGruppe to sell assets to reduce its debts or face
possible bankruptcy.


=============
I R E L A N D
=============


AIB GROUP: CEO Keating to Leave Allfirst in September
-----------------------------------------------------

Susan Keating, head of Allied Irish Banks' U.S. subsidiary
Allfirst Bank, is set to resign in September after surviving a
cull at the scandal-rocked bank, the Sunday Times newspaper said.

The looming departure follows the dismissal last Thursday of six
Allfirst treasury officials blamed for failing to uncover the
transactions by rogue trader John Rusnak that resulted in $691
million in losses over the past five years.

Singled out were Allfirst executive vice president and treasurer
David Cronin and Allfirst senior vice president Robert Ray.

Also dismissed were Jan Palmer, senior vice president of
Allfirst's treasury operations administration; Lawrence Smith,
assistant vice president of operations and financial analysis;
Michael Husich, head of internal audits, and Lou Slifker, a team
leader in the internal audit unit.

An AIB official said the report on Keating leaving is a "complete
speculation."


=========
I T A L Y
=========


BLU SPA: TIM Set to Acquire Blu Assets
--------------------------------------

Rome-based mobile phone operator Blu is close to being acquired
by Telecom Italia Mobile, Reuters reported Saturday.

According to the report, TIM will probably make a formal offer at
Blu's shareholder meeting on March 20.

Telecoms group Wind, H3G and Omnitel have filed formal offers to
buy parts of Blu, but only TIM had asked to buy the whole
company.

Blu's leading shareholders, motorway operator Autostrade and
British Telecom Plc, put the group up for sale more than a year
ago after it withdrew from an auction for third-generation mobile
licenses.


===========
P O L A N D
===========


ELEKTRIM SA: Bondholders Reject Debt Repayment Proposal
-------------------------------------------------------

The Management Board of Warszawa-based telecommunications and
power conglomerate Elektrim S.A. would like to announce that on
15 March 2002 the Meeting of Elektrim's Bondholders was held. At
the Meeting Bondholders voted, among others, on the resolution
approving the composition proposal presented by the Company's
Management Board at the first stage of the composition
proceeding. The resolution did not gain the required majority of
votes, which means the Bondholders rejected the proposal.

The Bondholders did not vote on the approval or rejection of new
proposals of debt repayment relating to the bonds that were
presented by the Company's present Management Board under the
proposed composition with creditors.

Elektrim has been suffering serious liquidity problems since
1999, when the then CEO Barbara Lundberg launched an ambitious
and high leveraged round of telecom and cable TV acquisitions.

In January, as reported in the Troubled Company Reporter Europe,
a group of bondholders filed a petition in a Warsaw court calling
for Elektrim's bankruptcy after a December 17 payment default on
the 480 million euros in bonds.

The court dismissed the petition and ordered Elektrim to begin
composition, or debt restructuring proceedings to repay its
bondholders. Elektrim filed its own petition with the Court,
proposing a 40% reduction of its debt and a three-year grace
period for repaying the remainder.

In the composition proceeding, 124 creditors assert claims
totaling PLN2.33 billion ($560 million).


ELEKTRIM SA: Megadex Unit Signs EUR87MM Contract With Fortum
------------------------------------------------------------

The Management Board of Elektrim S.A. on March 12 announced that
Elektrim's subsidiary, Megadex S.A., main provider of power
units, power plant upgrade projects, transformer substations, and
transmission lines, formed an agreement with Finnish power-
contracting firm Fortum Engineering Ltd.

The value of the contract is 87,148,000 euros. In addition, a
three-year servicing agreement for the value of $11,363,730
million has been signed.

Finlandia signed a contract for the construction on a "turn-key"
basis of a gas and steam driven unit of the capacity of 190 MWt
and 95 MWt in Elektrocieplownia "Zielona Gúra".

The realization including the project, delivery of machinery and
equipment, assembly and putting into operation will conclude when
the unit is delivered for operation in July 2004.


=====================
S W I T Z E R L A N D
=====================


SWISSAIR GROUP: Administrator Sends Interim Report to Judges
------------------------------------------------------------

The administrator of SAirGroup, SairLines, Flightlease AG and
Swissair Schweizerische Luftverkehr AG, Mr Karl Wuthrich of the
law firm Wenger Plattner, have written the interim report to
creditors and the debt restructuring judges.

The report has been sent to the judges and was made available in
German to creditors and other interested parties on March 13,
2002 at the administrator's website (www.sachwalter-swissair.ch).

In the Interim Report, the administrator describes his main tasks
since his appointment. Among other things, he states his position
on the further progress of the Phoenix + Project.

At least as far as Swissair is concerned, he assumes that this
can be carried out according to plan. He also describes the
events involved in the sale of the shares and the matters
outstanding in this respect. He draws some preliminary
conclusions about the invitation to register debts and the
responsibility investigation. Then he looks ahead to the rest of
the procedure.

The administrator considers that a six-month extension of the
debt-restructuring moratoria will be necessary.

Finally, annexed to the Interim Report are summaries of the
assets and liabilities (status) of SAirGroup, SairLines, Swissair
Schweizerische Luftverkehr AG and Flightlease AG as at October 5,
2002.

For further information, contact the administrator at
www.sachwalter-swissair.ch or Filippo T. Beck, Wenger Plattner,
at telephone 01 914 27 70, fax 01 914 27 88


===========================
U N I T E D   K I N G D O M
===========================


ARTHUR ANDERSEN: Chief Ormerod Seeks Buyer for U.K. Unit
--------------------------------------------------------

John Ormerod, Arthur Andersen's senior partner in the U.K., is
hunting for a buyer for the British unit as the Big Five
accountant threatens to implode under the weight of legal action
in America, the Sunday Times reported.

Andersen, Enron Corp.'s auditor for more than a decade, is
struggling to survive after it was being indicted by the U.S.
Justice Department on charges of destroying documents and
obstructing the government's investigation into the energy
trader's collapse.

Ormerod insisted the British unit "has done nothing wrong."

KPMG is interested in the firm's European units, and Deloitte &
Touche LLP may be talking to the U.K. business about a merger,
the paper said.

Anderson units in Chile, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and
Switzerland have also considered splitting from the stricken firm
and concluding local mergers with rival firms, the paper
reported.

The accounting firm is facing further defections by high-profile
clients in the United States. Sara Lee, Abbott Laboratories,
Brunswick and Northeast Utilities have said they plan to drop the
firm as their auditor.


BIG FOOD: Faces Rebuke From FSA
-------------------------------

Frozen food retailer The Big Food Group Plc, formerly known as
Iceland Group, is set to face rebuke from the Financial Services
Authority for withholding information from investors that its
sales were going into nosedive, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The Big Food Group, which issued three profit warnings in
2001, has been under investigation since last summer and a report
will be published in the next few weeks.

The inquiry by the UK Listing Authority, which now falls under
the umbrella of the FSA, has been looking at whether the frozen
food retailer misled shareholders between September 2000 and
January 2001.

The UKLA has focused on three main incidents when information was
released. The authority has considered an interim statement for
the half-year to the end of July released on September 5, 2000 in
which then executive chairman Malcolm Walker said the company was
making "good progress" and felt "confidence and enthusiasm."

The second was made on December 13, when Walker told City
analysts that management remained "positive on the group's future
prospects."

In a further statement on January 22, 2001, also under
investigation, Iceland admitted that underlying sales had fallen
5.5% during December.

Spokesmen for the Financial Services Authority and Big Food Group
both declined to comment on the report.

For inquiries, contact The Big Food Group plc Chief Executive
Bill Grimsey or Finance Director Bill Hoskins at telephone 020
7796 4133.


BRITISH AIRWAYS: Seeks Immunity in Joint Venture With Iberia
------------------------------------------------------------

Iberia, the Spanish national airline, and British Airways are
preparing to launch an application to the European competition
authorities for antitrust immunity in its joint venture on routes
between the Spain and the U.K.

The filing may be submitted to Brussels within three months. The
agreement is key part of BA's efforts to establish its bilateral
ties within the eight-member Oneworld global airline alliance.

The two airlines' strengths are complemeting each other, with BA
holding a leading position on the North Atlantic and Iberia
leading European airline servicing to Latin America.

Antitrust immunity for the airline's partnership would allow both
parties to share profits and revenues, to co-ordinate schedule
and capacity planning.

British Airways owns a 9% stake in Iberia.


BRITISH AIRWAYS: Set to Give Pay Cuts and Deferred Bonuses
----------------------------------------------------------

British Airways' 44,900 employees are set to receive their
bonuses deferred after the September 11 disaster, as a mode of
crisis measure taken by the airline.

The airline, according to the Financial Times, will also restore
the 50% cut in fees to board members and the 12 members of the
executive management team from April 1. This includes the return
of 15% reduction in pay to chief executive Rod Eddington.

Similarly, it will also reverse the salary cuts of 10% and 5%
respectively to 600 senior and 1,400 middle managers, while the
employee bonus of one week's pay due last November was also
reinstated.

After barely six months, the cuts and deferred payments have
conserved GBP26 million in cash. The payment of the deferred
bonus to employees will now cost GBP15 million.

Beginning July, however, BA will impose a management pay freeze
and had already cancelled management bonus payments due in July,
reflecting the still troubled market.

The company is in difficulty going across the negotiating table
with its trade unions to implement cost cuts. It is seeking an
annual savings of GBP650 million a year including the elimination
of 5,800 more jobs.

Three weeks ago, it had transferred 2.5 million bookings to the
Amadeus system and reshuffled 500 offices world wide as part of
the modernization of its sales and reservation system.

It added that it had been struck by systems problems in its
Amadeus computer sales and reservation system, which hamper
booking of customers by telephone to an average of 40 minutes.

Fears had set it that these delays will affect adversely the
airline while the industry begins to show signs of recovery since
the September terrorist attacks.

BA has also confirmed restructuring of Deutsche BA, its failing
German subsidiary, will lower its costs to meet the expected rise
in competition in Germany from no-frills operators.


CONSIGNIA PLC: May Sell Property to Raise GBP1.8BB
--------------------------------------------------

State-owned postal group Consignia may sell 1.8 billion pounds
worth of property to raise cash.

The Independent newspaper, without identifying its sources, said
Land Securities and Mapeley, a property investment group backed
by investment guru George Soros, had held informal talks with the
former postal monopoly.

A Consignia spokesman declined to comment on the report.

Consignia is struggling to slash 1.2 billion pounds ($1.7
billion) from its 8-billion-pound cost base in order to restore
profitability.


CORDIANT GROUP: Falls 12.8% on Banking Woes
-------------------------------------------

Shares in advertising firm Cordiant have tumbled 12.8% at 70p as
worried investors pulled out ahead of the firm's annual results,
the Independent News reported.

"Cordiant have large amounts of debt and that's got the market
worried," a trader said on Friday.

Some speculated the company was having serious trouble getting
its bankers to relax certain conditions attached to its
borrowings.

Cordiant, headed by the chief executive Michael Bungey, had made
it clear the figures would be released in the second half of this
month, giving no specific date.

The London-based advertising group, which owns the financial PR
agency Financial Dynamics, has long been in talks with its
bankers to try to persuade them to relax the covenants attached
to its borrowings.

Cordiant has been plagued by problems, including three profit
warnings in 2001, the loss of the carmaker Hyundai as a client,
as well as the departure of the chief spin-doctors Nick Miles and
Hugh Morrison from Financial Dynamics. The company has made a
total of 1,100 workers (from 9,500) redundant in 2001.


CORUS GROUP: Will Sell Aluminum Units to Cut Debt
-------------------------------------------------

Corus Group Plc, Europe's second-largest steel group, is poised
to sell its aluminum units in Europe and the U.S. for as much as
$1.4 billion to cut debt and raise money to boost its core
business, the Sunday Telegraph reported, without citing sources.

Credit Suisse First Boston may organize the sale, which should be
completed by summer. Aluminum groups such as Pechiney SA and
Alcan Inc. may be interested in Corus' operations, although some
may be constrained by anti-trust objections, particularly from
the European Commission.

The disposal will relieve the pressure on Corus's balance sheet.
The group's debts are thought to stand at 1.6 billion pounds. It
would also generate the cash to invest in key plants such as its
vast steel mill at Port Talbot.

The aluminum operations generate sales of more than 1 billion
pounds a year. Unlike the group's main steel mills, aluminum has
continued to make modest profits. In the first half of 2001,
aluminum reported an operating profit of 36 million pounds,
compared with a loss of 239 million pounds from steel.

The main aluminum unit has mills in Koblenz in Germany, Duffel in
Belgium and Cap de la Madeleine in Canada. There is also an
aluminum extrusions business making a wide range of parts and
sheets for the building and transport industries. This employs
1,500 people and has plants in Germany, Belgium and China.

Corus' head of investor relations, John Bowden, declined to
comment on the newspaper's report.


MG ROVER: Unions Say No to Strike
---------------------------------

MG Rover employees voted "no" to strike, pulling away the fear of
industrial action from the industry, the Financial Times
reported.

Members around 3,000 out of 4,000 voted not to strike according
to TGWU and Amicus unions.

The management and unions are said to be at odds as caused by the
latter's discontent over the British carmaker's handling of
flexible working.

Sir Ken Jackson, general secretary of Amicus, which claims 1,000
members at Longbridge, said: "Common sense has prevailed. A
strike would have dealt a fatal blow to MG Rover. Now both sides
need to work harder than ever to secure the future of the plant."

It had agreed to pay employees for hours worked over a benchmark
requirement between 1999 and 2002.

Workers at the Longbridge plant in south Birmingham had twice
rejected a 2.5% pay increase and changes to flexible working
practices, to the chagrin of unions, which had recommended the
deal.

Resentment had increased when the group refused to cancel a
"debt" of hours owed by those whose services was less in demand
according to unions.

According to Bob Beddow, human resources director at MG Rover,
there was a deeper problem, that is, there are still people at
Longbridge who do not want flexible working at all, even though
it is greatly needed to maintain competitive advantage.

MG Rover took the result of the election as good news, a signal
for the company to return to business.

Now, employees working extra hours will bank 75% of the time and
be paid for the balance. A similar formula will apply to staff
with a time debt. Night shifts will be excluded from flexible
working, according to the deal pushed through by workers.


RALEIGH UK: Will Shut Down Last U.K. Factory
--------------------------------------------

Raleigh UK, a bicycle manufacturer for 115 years, decides to
close its Triumph Road base in Nottingham, the company's last
factory in the U.K., with a loss of 280 jobs.

The closure of the assembly operation and the job cuts have been
brought about by the decision of the company's former U.S. owner
to sell the existing site to Nottingham University.

Raleigh declared that it could not continue to maintain the
business and remain profitable.

Raleigh chairman Phillip Darnton said the business remained
committed to supplying quality cycles and plan to outsource all
assembly and manufacturing activities in other countries. Darnton
refused to name the possible countries.

According to the Independent News' Saturday issue, about 100
employees will be retained to man its U.K. design and marketing
activities.

The sale has left Raleigh looking for a new base from the end of
next year.


ROYAL DOULTON: Emerges Winner Over Rights Issue
-----------------------------------------------

Royal Doulton emerged triumphant in the election over rights
issue, favoring the ceramics and giftware company a 19.9 million
pounds ($27 million) rights for restructuring plans, the
Financial Times reported.

The ceramics company was able to overcome the attempt of
Waterford Wedgwood to stop Royal Doulton's restructuring.

Trade rival, Waterford Wedgwood, in the same meeting claimed that
Royal Doulton failed to act in the best interests of the
shareholders in a Stock Exchange announcement.

Sir Anthony O'Reilly, who chaired the "No" votes of Waterford
Wedgwood accounted for 95% of those cast against the rights
issue, allowing Royal Doulton to raise 30 million pounds in new
debt facilities.

The only opponent of the restructuring was the Irish group, which
has a 20.6% stake in Royal Doulton. The business will hopefully
gain full profit by 2004.

"Practically everybody, except for a trade competitor, voted for
the motion," Hamish Grossart, chairman of Royal Doulton said.

Some institutions strongly resented Waterford Wedgwood's recent
behavior towards Royal Doulton. Its actions were packed as an
attempt to establish minority control of a business when it was
at its weakest. Waterford Wedgwood was not able to flaunt this
impression when it decided not to canvass other investors.

Waterford Wedgwood said its offer of 24 million pounds in cash
amounted to 67% of the enterprise value of Royal Doulton for a
brand that represented only 16% of its turnover. It was also 5
million pounds more than the proceeds of the rights issue.

Aside from a series of commercial collaborations with Royal
Doulton suggested by Waterford Wedgwood, it also offered $17
billion (12 million pounds) three-year, secured loan at a
discounted rate.

On the other hand, the Irish group confirmed in a report that it
had hoped to buy Royal Albert, one of three core brands around
which Royal Doulton plans to rebuild its business.

Redmond O'Donoghue, group chief executive of Waterford Wedgwood,
added that it had shunned a full takeover bid for market
concentration reasons.


ROYAL DOULTON: Will Axe 1,000 Workers
-------------------------------------

About 75% shareholders at Royal Doulton have voted for the
restructuring plans proposed by the Stoke-on-Trent-based ceramics
group that could raise much-needed investment funds but mean the
loss of up to 1,000 jobs.

According to a report from BBC News, the Baddeley Green factory
in Stoke-on-Trent will be closed, while production in Indonesia
will be increased.

Waterford Wedgwood, which recently increased its holding in Royal
Doulton to around 21%, have opposed to the measures.

Royal Doulton, which carries the brands Minton and Royal Albert,
employs 1,800 people in Staffordshire and almost 5,000 people
worldwide. It currently has debts estimated at 26 million pounds.


TELEWEST COMMUNICATIONS: Moody's Cuts Debt Ratings to Caa3
----------------------------------------------------------

Moody's Investors Service said Friday it has lowered the debt
ratings of London's cable services provider Telewest plc,
Telewest Finance (Jersey) Limited, and Telewest Communications
Networks Limited (TCN).

Affected ratings are Telewest Communications Networks Limited's
senior secured bank facility rating downgraded from Ba2 to B2,
Telewest Communications plc's senior implied rating downgraded
from Ba3 to Caa1, the senior unsecured issuer rating downgraded
from B2 to Caa3 and senior unsecured bond rating downgraded from
B2 to Caa3, and Telewest Finance (Jersey) Limited's senior
unsecured bond rating downgraded from B2 to Caa3.

The downgrade reflects Moody's concerns regarding Telewest's
ability to grow into its highly leveraged capital structure given
the company's slowing overall revenue growth trends (8% pro-forma
growth in 2001 versus 16% in 2000), continued high levels of cash
burn (over GBP 600mm in 2001), and Moody's perception of a
challenging operating and/or competitive environment for the
company's different businesses.

The downgrade also reflects Telewest's significantly weakened
access to capital over the past year which has diminished its
financial flexibility and likely reduced the company's ability to
strengthen its balance sheet through the issuance of subordinated
capital.


THUS PLC: Shares Drop Ahead of Demerger Completion
--------------------------------------------------

Shares in Scottish telecom firm Thus plc have plummeted 15.6% to
20.23 pence on market jitters, ahead of its demerger from
Scottish Power, Reuters reported Friday.

A recent decline in the company's shares meant the close of the
trading of its shares on Friday. Thus will be delisted from the
FTSE 250 index for mid-sized companies to the FTSE Small Cap
index, which attracts much less attention from investors.

Scottish Power, Thus' parent company, will distribute its
majority stake as a one-off bonus among its own shareholders, who
will received their Thus shares 5 p.m. Friday. Scottish Power's
distribution of around 50 ordinary Thus shares for every 100
Scottish Power shares held will be fully completed on Friday.

Launched in January and underwritten by Scottish Power, proceeds
of the share issue will be used to repay a 260-million-pound debt
Thus owes to its parent.

Thus has fallen from 67 pence four months ago and more than 800
pence at the height of the technology and media boom in March
2000. The company is now valued at 258 million pounds.


VAUXHALL: 1,100 Workers Lose Job on Plant Closure
-------------------------------------------------

Car manufacturer Vauxhall will stop manufacturing cars in Luton
factory on Thursday because of an expected fall in demand for
vehicles in the Vectra market, bringing the loss of 1,100 jobs.

The closure will leave Vauxhall with only one plant in the UK, at
Ellesmere Port on Merseyside.

General Motors, Vauxhall's parent, made the decision on Luton in
December 2000 as part of a European cost-cutting plan.

Some vehicle production will remain at Luton at the adjacent IBC
van plant, which makes the Vivaro.

                                  ***********

      S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Troubled Company Reporter -- Europe is a daily newsletter co-
published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Trenton, NJ
USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, DC USA. Kimberly MacAdam,
Salve M. Mordeno and Maria Lourdes Reyes, Editors.

Copyright 2002.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic
re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior
written permission of the publishers.

Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
be reliable, but is not guaranteed.

The TCR Europe subscription rate is $575 per half-year, delivered
via e-mail.  Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the
same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance
thereof are $25 each.  For subscription information, contact
Christopher Beard at 240/629-3300.


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