/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCREUR_Public/160805.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

            Friday, August 5, 2016, Vol. 17, No. 154


                            Headlines


C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C

NEW WORLD: AHG Opposes Bid to Remove Citibank's Creditor Claims


F R A N C E

SPIE SA: S&P Affirms 'BB' CCR, Outlook Positive


G E R M A N Y

NESCHEN AG: Concludes Blue Cap Asset Purchase Agreement


G R E E C E

ALPHA BANK: S&P Raises Counterparty Credit Rating from 'SD'
SINEPIA DAC: Fitch Assigns 'B-(EXP)sf' Ratings to 4 Note Classes


I R E L A N D

ALLIED IRISH: S&P Affirms BB+/B' Rating, Outlook Positive
ION TRADING: S&P Affirms 'B+' CCR, Outlook Stable


I T A L Y

GOLDEN BAR 2016-1: DBRS Assigns B(sf) Rating to Class D Notes
QUARELLA SPA: September 4 Deadline Set for Tender Offers


L U X E M B O U R G

LEHMAN BROTHERS: September 1 Claims Filing Deadline Set


N E T H E R L A N D S

ARES EUROPEAN: S&P Affirms BB Rating on Class E Notes
AXALTA COATING: S&P Assigns 'B+' Rating to $850MM Sr. Notes
WOOD STREET: S&P Raises Rating on Class E Notes to BB+

* NETHERLANDS: Atradius Expects Company Bankruptcy Rate to Drop


R U S S I A

CENTROCREDIT BANK: S&P Affirms 'B/B' Counterparty Ratings
VNESHECONOMBANK: Resolves Liquidity Problems, Chairman Says


S P A I N

ALIER: Reaches Agreement with Creditors, Exits Insolvency
NH HOTEL: S&P Raises Long-Term CCR to 'B', Outlook Stable
UNION FENOSA: Fitch Affirms 'BB' Subordinated Debt Rating


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

ARROW GLOBAL: S&P Raises Counterparty Credit Rating to 'BB-'
MIRA LIMITED: Oct. 3 Deadline Set for Pre-July 14, 2015 Claims
UNIQUE PUB: S&P Lowers Rating on Class N Notes to 'B (sf)'


X X X X X X X X

* BOOK REVIEW: Risk, Uncertainty and Profit


                            *********


===========================
C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C
===========================


NEW WORLD: AHG Opposes Bid to Remove Citibank's Creditor Claims
---------------------------------------------------------------
Andrea Dudik at Bloomberg News reports that the Ad Hoc Group
opposes efforts of OKD and its insolvency administrator to deny
Citibank's creditor claims that arise from its role of security
agent on behalf of international bondholders.

"We believe that an independent court will review Citibank's
appeal based on sound legal reasoning and return the claim to its
rightful place in the insolvency process," Bloomberg quotes
Roman Parik, AHG's spokesman, as saying in a statement.

AHG says the decision of the insolvency administrator to remove
these claims from proceedings hurts Czech Republic's reputation
among foreign investors.

                  About New World Resources

New World Resources N.V. is owned and controlled by New World
Resources Plc, an English public limited company domiciled in the
Netherlands that is admitted for trading on the London Stock
Exchange, where it maintains a Premium Listing, along with the
Warsaw Stock Exchange and the Prague Stock Exchange.

The ultimate parent and indirect majority owner of NWR is CERCL
Mining B.V., a privately-held Dutch company, which owns a
controlling majority of the shares of NWR Plc.

NWR's primary role in its corporate group has been to issue debt
(primarily in the form of secured and unsecured notes) and to
loan the corresponding proceeds to its wholly-owned operating
subsidiaries.  These operating subsidiaries conduct coal mining
and exploration operations in the Czech Republic and Poland.  The
operating subsidiary conducting mining operations in the Czech
Republic is critical to the local economy in that country.
Collectively, these operating subsidiaries employee over 11,500
workers (and utilize an additional 3,000 contractors), and many
major steel groups -- including some operating in the U.S. -- are
reliant on their coal.

As of July 15, 2014, NWR had outstanding gross external debt of
approximately EUR825 million (exclusive of amounts it owes under
certain intercompany obligations).  Of this debt, EUR500 million
in principal amount plus accrued interest is owed to the
beneficial holders of the 7.875% Senior Secured Notes due May 1,
2018.  NWR also owes EUR275 million in principal amount plus
accrued interest to the beneficial holders of its 7.875% Senior
Unsecured Notes due January 15, 2021.

NWR applied to the Chancery Division (Companies Court) of the
High Court of Justice of England and Wales, on July 28, 2014, for
an order directing it to convene separate meetings for two
classes of creditors only, namely, the existing senior secured
noteholders on the one hand, and the existing senior unsecured
noteholders.

NWR filed a Chapter 15 bankruptcy petition (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Case
No. 14-12226) in Manhattan, New York on July 30, 2014, to seek
recognition of the UK proceeding.

Neither the Debtor's parent nor any of its operating subsidiaries
have commenced insolvency proceedings in the UK Court or any
other court within any jurisdiction.

The U.S. case is assigned to Judge Stuart M. Bernstein.



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


SPIE SA: S&P Affirms 'BB' CCR, Outlook Positive
-----------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings said it has affirmed its 'BB' long-term
corporate credit rating on French multi-technical services
provider SPIE SA.  The outlook is positive.

S&P also affirmed its 'BB' issue ratings on the EUR400 million
revolving credit facility (RCF) and EUR1,125 million senior
unsecured term loan A.

The affirmation primarily reflects SPIE's first-half results for
2016, including a decline in revenues with an EBITDA margin
increase of 24 basis points.  Additionally, S&P's expectation is
that SPIE's credit metrics will improve from 2016 given its
inclusion of surplus cash in our net debt calculation now that
its private equity owners hold a smaller stake in the company.

SPIE's improving margins reflect management's clear execution
strategy, despite a tougher-than-expected economic environment in
some key markets, such as France and the oil and gas segment.
S&P continues to view SPIE's meaningful market shares in its main
markets such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, as
well as the diversity of services offered, as beneficial.

Given the gradual exit of the private equity sponsors, S&P
expects SPIE's financial policy framework to become more
supportive for improved credit metrics.  S&P anticipates
shareholders' returns will be reasonable and, given the
acquisitive nature of SPIE, S&P expects acquisitions to remain in
line with the stated financial policies.  S&P anticipates SPIE's
adjusted debt to EBITDA ratio to remain below 4x after December
2016 and S&P Global Ratings-adjusted funds from operations (FFO)-
to-debt to reach levels near 20%.

S&P believes that the corporate credit rating on SPIE is still
constrained by its geographic concentration in European markets,
especially in France; exposure to the volatile oil and gas
sector; relatively lower margins compared with other facilities
services providers; and still relatively high leverage.

S&P's base case assumes:

   -- Group revenue growth of 2%-3% in 2016, 2017, and 2018,
      improving compared with 1.2% in 2015.  Revenues will be
      driven by solid growth from Germany and central Europe due
      to the consolidation of recent acquisitions, and partially
      mitigated by declines in revenues from France and from the
      oil and gas and nuclear segments;

   -- Weaker macroeconomic environment and consumer confidence in
      the U.K. and the rest of Europe following the Brexit vote,
      moderately affecting SPIE's operations;

   -- Slightly improving adjusted EBITDA margins of close to 6%
      from 5% in 2015, through margin improvements in all
      segments and particularly lower exceptional costs;

   -- About EUR75 million spent on bolt-on acquisitions per year,
      relatively in line with previous years;

   -- Stable capital expenditures (capex) at about 1% of total
      revenue; and

   -- First dividends to be paid by the company in 2016 with the
      adoption of an initial dividend pay-out ratio of about 40%
      of adjusted net profit.

Based on these assumptions, S&P arrives at these credit measures
for the next one-to-two years:

   -- Adjusted debt to EBITDA of about 3x-4x; and
   -- Adjusted FFO to debt of close to 20%.

The positive outlook reflects S&P's view that adjusted credit
metrics will improve, despite SPIE's mixed operating performance,
such that even after accounting for significant working capital
swings S&P could still take a positive rating action.  S&P
expects that generated cash flow will be in line with an
aggressive financial risk profile for 2016, but show signs of
improvement in 2017.  For 2016, this includes adjusted FFO to
debt of just below 20% and adjusted debt to EBITDA of less than
4.0x, while S&P forecasts adjusted FFO to debt in the low 20%
range with adjusted debt to EBITDA nearing 3.5x in 2017.  S&P
anticipates that SPIE will continue to generate significant
positive free operating cash flows.

S&P could consider raising the rating if SPIE's adjusted FFO to
debt moves sustainably into the 20%-30% range and adjusted debt
to EBITDA moves below 3.5x -- a level that would require further
deleveraging or an improvement in margin levels.  Additionally,
establishing a track record for maintaining conservative
financial leverage levels could result in an upgrade.

S&P could consider lowering the rating if unexpected adverse
operating developments -- such as sudden contract losses with
established clients -- resulted in a sizable shortfall in sales
and margin levels.  Adjusted FFO to debt sustained below 20% and
debt to EBITDA above 4x could lead to a downgrade.


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


NESCHEN AG: Concludes Blue Cap Asset Purchase Agreement
-------------------------------------------------------
The insolvency administrator of Neschen AG, Arndt Geiwitz and
Neschen GmbH, a subsidiary of Munich-based Blue Cap AG,
concluded a purchase agreement to acquire the main assets of
Neschen AG and the operative Filmolux subsidiaries of Neschen
B.V.

On July 1, 2016 a previously closed sales contract was canceled
because the release of securities by the hedge funds Sandton
Financing III (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l could not be ensured on time.
In the meantime an agreement was achived with Sandton.  Now a new
purchase agreement has been concluded, which takes the time
delays into account.  The continued existence of the company
Neschen is assured.

Neschen AG is a Germany-based company engaged in the manufacture
of self-adhesive and laminating products.


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G R E E C E
===========


ALPHA BANK: S&P Raises Counterparty Credit Rating from 'SD'
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings said that it has raised its long- and
short-term counterparty credit ratings on four Greek banks, Alpha
Bank A.E. (Alpha), Eurobank Ergasias S.A. (Eurobank), National
Bank of Greece S.A. (NBG), and Piraeus Bank S.A. (Piraeus) to
'CCC+/C' from 'SD'.  The outlook on all four banks is stable.

At the same time, S&P affirmed all of its issue ratings on the
four banks.

                             RATIONALE

On July 22, 2016, the Greek government partly relaxed capital
controls imposed in June 2015.  The most important change
concerns new cash deposits made in Greek banks, either in Greece
or from abroad, which can now be withdrawn without any
restrictions.  S&P views the lifting of this ban as a significant
relaxation, as it could allow for cash deposits to be brought
back into the banking system, raising confidence in the Greek
banking sector.  S&P expects some minor deposit inflows in the
coming months.  Of note, since the beginning of 2014, domestic
deposits of EUR46.5 billion left the banking system until capital
controls were imposed from end-June 2015.

One of the most significant elements of the current capital
control framework is the EUR840 limit on cash withdrawals every
two weeks.  S&P believes that this restriction is likely to stay
in place for a significant period of time.  However, S&P has
observed that the Greek economy and population have largely
adjusted to this cash withdrawal limit in the last year by
increasing their use of electronic payments.  For example, S&P
estimates that the four Greek banks doubled the number of debit
cards issued in the second half of 2015, while debit card
turnover almost tripled in the first half of 2016 relative to the
first half of 2015.

In light of these developments, S&P raised its long-term and
short-term issuer credit ratings on Alpha Bank, Eurobank, NBG,
and Piraeus to 'CCC+/C' from 'SD'.

The upgrades reflect the banks' fragile financial profiles in the
context of a weak economic and operating environment in Greece, a
high level of nonperforming exposures, and poor profitability.
S&P anticipates that the four banks' funding positions will
remain highly unbalanced, resulting in their continued reliance
on liquidity facilities provided by the European authorities to
cover their needs.  As such, S&P expects that the European
authorities' support will still be crucial in ensuring the banks
meet their financial commitments over the next 12 months.

Reliance on emergency liquidity assistance has gradually
decreased in the last year by EUR32 billion, however, it still
remains a vital funding source, supporting 15% of the Greek
banking sector's assets.  As of end-June 2016, another 9% of
assets were funded by the European Central Bank's (ECB) main
refinancing operations, which have been increasingly relied upon
since June 22, 2016, when the ECB reinstated its waiver on the
eligibility of Greek bonds to be used as collateral for
refinancing operations.

                             OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects S&P's opinion that, despite the
banks' fragile financial profiles, it do not expect Greek banks
to face a near-term default on their obligations.

S&P could lower the ratings if it sees deterioration in the
banks' liquidity positions due to banks losing access to funding
provided by the European liquidity support mechanisms, or if S&P
foresees such support being insufficient to meet the four banks'
financing needs.

Any positive rating action would require increased confidence in
the banking system and a significant improvement in the
macroeconomic environment.  This would result in the banks
becoming less reliant on ECB funding, returning to profitability,
and improvements to asset quality.

RATINGS LIST

Upgraded; Outlook Action
                                  To                 From
Alpha Bank A.E.
Eurobank Ergasias S.A
National Bank of Greece S.A.
Piraeus Bank S.A.
Counterparty Credit Rating       CCC+/Stable/C      SD/--/SD

Ratings Affirmed

Alpha Bank A.E.
Senior Unsecured                 CCC+
Subordinated                     CC

Alpha Group Jersey Ltd.
Preference Stock*[1]             D

EFG Hellas (Cayman Islands) Ltd.
Senior Unsecured*[2]             CCC+

ERB Hellas plc
Senior Unsecured*[2]             CCC+
Senior Unsecured*[2]             CCC+p
Subordinated*[2]                 CC

Piraeus Group Finance PLC
Commercial Paper*[3]             C

*[1] Guaranteed by Alpha Bank A.E.
*[2] Guaranteed by Eurobank Ergasias S.A.
*[3] Guaranteed by Piraeus Bank S.A.


SINEPIA DAC: Fitch Assigns 'B-(EXP)sf' Ratings to 4 Note Classes
----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Sinepia D.A.C. asset-backed
floating-rate notes expected ratings as follows:

EUR150 million Class A1: 'B-(EXP)sf'; Outlook Stable
EUR35 million Class A2: 'B-(EXP)sf'; Outlook Stable
EUR50 million Class A3: 'B-(EXP)sf'; Outlook Stable
EUR88.8 million Class A4: 'B-(EXP)sf'; Outlook Stable
EUR259.1 million Class M: Not rated
EUR64.9 million Class Z: Not rated

The transaction is a granular cash flow securitization of a
EUR648 million static pool of fully drawn floating-rate loans to
Greek SMEs, originated and serviced by National Bank of Greece
S.A. (NBG).

The assignment of the final ratings is contingent on the receipt
of final documents conforming to information already received.

KEY RATING DRIVERS
Sovereign Cap
The class A notes are capped at 'B-sf', driven by sovereign
dependency, in accordance with Fitch's Criteria for Sovereign
Risk in Developed Markets for Structured Finance and Covered
Bonds.

Significant Amount of Protection
The rated notes (EUR323.8 million) benefit from solid credit
enhancement provided by 100% over-collateralization (OC) from the
EUR647.8 million portfolio; strictly sequential amortization
during the life of the transaction; an initial gross excess
spread of about 2.4% provided by the difference between the
weighted average (WA) margin of the loans (4.2% at closing) and
the WA margin of the rated notes; and a short portfolio weighted
average life (WAL) of 2.3 years.

Positive Portfolio Selection
Against a backdrop of exceptionally high levels of credit risk,
due to the severe economic crisis, the portfolio has been
positively selected from the originator's balance sheet. This was
mainly achieved via the removal of refinanced and delinquent
loans. Based on internal ratings, Fitch has assigned a one-year
probability of default (PD) to the securitization portfolio of
7.7%, which implies an average five-year PD of 5.1% and a
lifetime portfolio default probability of 26.4% at the 'B-sf'
stress level.

Limited Recoveries
Given the limited amount of historically data available on
recovery rates, Fitch has assumed a lifetime base case recovery
rate of 15% on defaulted receivables. The portfolio comprises
82.5% secured loans, mainly secured by commercial real estate
property. Fitch has given no credit to real estate collateral in
the portfolio, given that secured recoveries remain depressed due
to various factors such as government moratoriums on
repossessions, drop in real estate valuations and a dysfunctional
secondary market.

RATING SENSITIVITIES
The structure is resilient to the potential variability of key
model assumptions, given the large OC buffer provided to the
rated notes and that limited recoveries are already captured in
Fitch's base case assumption.

The model-implied ratings on stressed defaults and recovery rates
as follows:

Current ratings: Class A notes: 'B-sf'
Increase in default rates by 50% and decrease in recovery rates
by 50%
Class A notes: 'B-sf'

DUE DILIGENCE USAGE
No third party due diligence was provided or reviewed in relation
to this rating action.

DATA ADEQUACY
Fitch reviewed the results of a third party assessment conducted
on the asset portfolio information, which indicated no adverse
findings material to the rating analysis.

Overall, Fitch's assessment of the asset pool information relied
upon for the agency's rating analysis according to its applicable
rating methodologies indicates that it is adequately reliable.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION
The information below was used in the analysis.
-- Loan-by-loan data provided by the servicer as at 7 July 2016
-- Originator's observed default rates for the period 2011-2015
-- Dynamic arrears and prepayment for the period 2011-2015
-- Static recovery data for the period 2007-2015



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I R E L A N D
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ALLIED IRISH: S&P Affirms BB+/B' Rating, Outlook Positive
---------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its ratings on the three domestic
Irish banks.  Specifically, S&P affirmed the ratings on:

   -- Bank of Ireland (BOI) at 'BBB-/A-3'.  The outlook is
      positive.

   -- Allied Irish Banks PLC (AIB) at 'BB+/B'.  The outlook is
      positive.

   -- Permanent TSB PLC (PTSB) at 'BB-/B'.  The outlook is
      stable.

S&P affirmed its ratings on KBC Bank Ireland on June 28, 2016.

The affirmations reflect S&P's expectation that Ireland's
macroeconomic recovery will remain largely supportive of banking
system profitability and financial profiles despite the
uncertainty following the U.K.'s vote to leave the EU (Brexit), a
prolonged low interest rate environment, and the overhang of
legacy issues.

Ireland's real GDP grew at a robust rate in 2015 even adjusting
for technical accounting effects related to Ireland's large
export sector that inflated the official headline growth rate of
26.3%. Absent Brexit, S&P's base-line expectation was that
Ireland would record real GDP growth of 3%-4% annually over the
next three years and unemployment would decline further to around
7.5% by 2017. Although the negative effects of Brexit are
uncertain at this early stage, in our view, it is reasonable to
assume that real GDP growth will be modestly lower than S&P's
central expectation before the referendum.  Following the
referendum, S&P revised down its 2017 growth forecast to 3.2%
from 3.8%.  Although direct trade links with the U.K. have
reduced over the years, S&P considers that small and midsize
enterprises (SMEs) in labor intensive sectors such as
agriculture, food processing, and tourism are substantially
reliant on U.K. trade.  The sharp depreciation of the pound
sterling will make Irish exports less competitive.

Nationally, house prices rose by 6.6% over the past 12 months as
of June 2016.  Although house price increases have moderated in
the past few months, in part due to the central bank's
macroprudential measures, S&P expects the gap between demand and
supply of new housing to persist.  Against this favorable
backdrop, S&P expects credit losses to remain exceptionally low.
This will be due to a combination of further provision releases
(albeit not to the same extent as in 2015) and declining inflows
into new defaults.  Low interest rates will also support
affordability.  S&P now expects domestic systemwide credit losses
to average around 30 basis points (bps) over 2016 and 2017
(compared with a net systemwide provision release of around 55-60
bps in 2015).  Notwithstanding low loan losses, the structural
supply shortages in the housing market due to low building
activity, low levels of mortgage demand, and overall muted credit
growth suggest that the unwinding of pre-crisis economic
imbalances is still a work-in-progress.

Private sector deleveraging increasingly supports S&P's
assessment of credit risk in the economy.  S&P estimates that
private sector credit (S&P calculates this as loans to the
household sector and domestic non-financial corporations by
credit institutions as per central bank data) to GDP at end-2015
was 81%, representing a continuation of the deleveraging trend
over the past few years. That said, S&P considers that household
indebtedness in Ireland remains high compared with peers.  For
example, the household debt-to-disposable income ratio was 168%
at year-end 2015.  This compares to 127% for the U.K. and 64% for
Italy.

The banking system's large stock of nonperforming loans are some
of the most significant challenges facing the industry, in S&P's
view.  S&P estimates that NPLs were a high 20% of systemwide
loans at end-2015 (down from 28% at end-2014) although provision
coverage of NPLs at around 51% remains adequate, in S&P's base-
case view of macroeconomic fundamentals.  While S&P views this
level of provision as satisfactory, a persistently high stock of
NPLs does represent tail risk and poses a drag on a return to a
normalized credit profile for Irish banks.  For example, S&P
could see a rise in re-default rates for restructured loans if
sharper-than-expected deterioration in the post-Brexit
macroeconomic environment puts pressure on more vulnerable
borrowers such as SMEs linked to U.K. trade.

S&P expects further declines in NPLs to be gradual partly because
the remaining stock represents the more difficult cases.
Furthermore, legal bottlenecks and the slow process of creditors
being able to recover collateral act as significant hurdles to
rapid reductions in NPLs.

AIB and BOI performed poorly in the adverse stress scenario of
the EBA's EU-wide stress test.  AIB's fully loaded common equity
Tier 1 (CET1) ratio in 2018 fell to 4.3%, from a starting point
of 13.1% at year-end 2015.  This makes AIB the second-worst
performer in the stress test, after Italian bank Banca Monte dei
Paschi di Siena (MPS, not rated).  BOI's fully loaded CET1 ratio
in 2018 fell to 6.2% from a starting point of 11.3%, making it
the fourth-worst performer in the stress test.

The main reason for this poor performance was weak asset quality
and losses on defaulted loans.  The stress test makes certain
simplifying assumptions to promote comparability, such as a
static balance sheet position.  In addition to a sharp rise in
defaulted loans, this assumption is particularly punitive for
Irish banks as low-yielding tracker mortgages and expensive
liabilities that mature during the exercise are assumed to be
replaced with similar assets and liabilities.  That said, the
results are consistent with S&P's view that, while Irish banks
have made substantial progress in reducing the stock of NPLs and
strengthening their credit fundamentals, they remain vulnerable
to a sharp downturn.

Although there has been a significant improvement in the pre-
provision profitability and earnings capacity of most Irish banks
over the past few reporting periods, S&P believes further
material improvements are unlikely excluding one-off factors.
Improving net interest margins (NIM) has primarily been due to
deposit repricing, a decline in other funding costs (partly due
to redemption of expensive legacy instruments), and better
margins on new lending.  S&P do not expect further material
increases in NIM in part because deposit re-pricing in the
domestic Irish market has largely run its course for now, with
the possible exception of PTSB and to a lesser extent AIB.  The
large portfolios of tracker mortgages will continue to weigh on
margins as long as low interest rates persist.  In addition,
banks are coming under some public and political pressure to
reduce mortgage rates.  Finally, S&P expects net loan growth to
remain muted over the next few years.  The central bank's
industrywide investigation into documentation and disclosure on
legacy tracker mortgages will take some time but could result in
customer redress charges for some banks.

Although wholly or partially government-owned institutions
continue to dominate the Irish banking system, S&P expects this
ownership to be temporary (although complete divestment will
likely take a few years).  The government reduced its stake in
PTSB to 75% in 2015 following its successful capital raise.  In
the post-Brexit environment and the more difficult market
sentiment toward European banks in general, S&P now expects a
delay in the sale of a first tranche of AIB shares.

                             OUTLOOK

BOI

S&P has raised BOI's stand-alone credit profile (SACP) to 'bbb'
from 'bbb-' reflecting S&P's view that capitalization, as
indicated by the risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio, is
comfortably and sustainably above 7%. It was 7.3% at year-end
2015 and S&P expects it to be 8.5%-9.0% by end-2017.  The RAC
ratio could further benefit from an improvement in S&P's view of
macroeconomic risks that BOI faces, which in turn would lower the
S&P Global Ratings risk weights S&P applies to its exposures.

At the same time, S&P has applied a negative notch of adjustment
in the rating to reflect BOI's high stock of NPLs relative to
peers in other countries and its exposure to post Brexit
macroeconomic uncertainties.  BOI's NPL ratio of 11.6% at end-
2015 remains higher than peers with similar SACPs despite good
progress in reducing the stock of defaulted loans.  Furthermore,
with approximately 45% of its loan portfolio in the U.K., BOI is
exposed to a macroeconomic slowdown and falling asset prices in
the region -- including in Northern Ireland where economic
conditions are weaker than the average for the U.K.  S&P
currently ascribes a negative trend to our view of U.K. economic
risk.

The positive outlook on BOI indicates that S&P may raise the
ratings on the bank over the next one-to-two years if S&P
perceived that the negative impacts of Brexit on BOI's earnings
profile were manageable and the group had made further progress
on reducing NPLs.  S&P would reflect this by removing the
negative notch of adjustment.

An upgrade might also follow if S&P included a notch of support
for additional loss-absorbing capacity (ALAC) if S&P deemed that
BOI's subordinated buffers would exceed our 4.75% ALAC threshold
over a two-year horizon, or potentially longer, in response to
clear regulatory requirements.

S&P could revise the outlook back to stable if it perceived that
BOI's dividend policy, risk appetite, and earnings predictability
did not warrant an upward revision of the bank's issuer credit
rating.

                               AIB

The positive outlook reflects S&P's view that, in the coming 12-
18 months, it could revise upward its anchor for commercial banks
in Ireland, including AIB, to reflect the decreasing
macroeconomic risks that they face in their domestic market.
This would follow an improvement of S&P's economic risk
assessment for Ireland under its Banking Industry Country Risk
Assessment methodology.

Although less likely at this stage, an upgrade could arise if S&P
included one notch of ALAC support into our long-term rating on
AIB.  The bank's ALAC buffer would need to increase substantially
to exceed the required thresholds (4% if the anchor remains at
'bb+', 5% if it improves to 'bbb-').

S&P could revise the outlook to stable if it observed that
economic recovery had stalled, indicating that the economic risks
faced by Irish banks were not declining, as well as if Brexit had
adverse effects on AIB's earnings profile and its ability to
reduce NPLs.

The stable outlook on AIB UK reflects S&P's view of its steady
intrinsic creditworthiness.

PTSB

The stable outlook on PTSB reflects S&P Global Ratings' view that
PTSB's capitalization and earnings capacity will remain
commensurate with S&P's expectations at this rating level over
the next 12-18 months.  The stable outlook also reflects that an
improvement in S&P's view of Irish economic risk is unlikely, in
itself, to lead us to upgrade PTSB.  This is because S&P
continues to believe that PTSB lags its peers in the path to
recovery and sustainable profitability.

S&P would lower the ratings if PTSB's path to earnings recovery
were to stall or if S&P observed setbacks in the execution of its
restructuring plan in the uncertain post-Brexit environment.  S&P
could also lower the rating if it perceived that PTSB's franchise
had been negatively affected by its prolonged restructuring,
indicated by reducing market shares and weak profitability in its
core banking proposition.

S&P would raise the ratings if it perceived that PTSB's earnings
capacity and profitability materially outperformed S&P's
expectations, such that capitalization (as measured by S&P's RAC
ratio) improved sustainably above 10%.  This would depend on S&P
taking a more favorable view of its combined assessment of PTSB's
capitalization and risk profile.  An upgrade could also follow if
S&P perceived a clear path to building ALAC buffers over its two-
to-four-year projection period.

RATINGS SCORE SNAPSHOTS

BOI
                            To                   From

Issuer Credit Rating        BBB-/Positive/A-3    BBB-/Positive/A-
3

SACP                        bbb                  bbb-
Anchor                     bbb-                 bbb-
Business Position          Strong (+1)          Strong (+1)
Capital and Earnings       Adequate (0)         Moderate (-1)
Risk Position              Adequate (0)         Adequate (0)
Funding and                Average and          Average and
  Liquidity                 Adequate (0)         Adequate (0)

Support                     0                    0
ALAC Support               0                    0
GRE Support                0                    0
Group Support              0                    0
Sovereign Support          0                    0

Additional Factors          -1                   0

AIB

Issuer Credit Rating            BB+/Positive/B

SACP                            bb+
Anchor                         bb+
Business Position              Adequate (0)
Capital and Earnings           Adequate (0)
Risk Position                  Adequate (0)
Funding and                    Average and
Liquidity                      Adequate (0)

Support                         0
ALAC Support                   0
GRE Support                    0
Group Support                  0
Sovereign Support              0

Additional Factors              0

PTSB

Issuer Credit Rating            BB-/Stable/B

SACP                            bb-
Anchor                         bb+
Business Position              Moderate (-1)
Capital and Earnings           Adequate (0)
Risk Position                  Adequate (0)
Funding and                    Below Average
Liquidity                      and Moderate (-1)

Support                         0
ALAC Support                   0
GRE Support                    0
Group Support                  0
Sovereign Support              0

Additional Factors              0

BICRA SCORE SNAPSHOT*

IRELAND
                                To                   From

BICRA Group                     6                    6
Economic risk                   6                    6
Economic resilience             Low risk             Low risk
Economic imbalances             High risk            High risk
Credit risk in the economy      Very high risk       Very high
risk

Industry risk                   6                    6
Institutional framework         High risk            High risk
Competitive dynamics            Intermediate risk    Intermediate
Systemwide funding              High risk            High risk

Trends
Economic risk trend             Positive             Positive
Industry risk trend             Stable               Stable

*BICRA--Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment economic risk
and industry risk scores are on a scale from '1' (lowest risk) to
'10' (highest risk).

RATINGS LIST

Allied Irish Banks PLC

Ratings Affirmed

Allied Irish Banks PLC
Counterparty Credit Rating             BB+/Positive/B

AIB Group (U.K.) PLC
Counterparty Credit Rating             BB+/Stable/B

Allied Irish Banks PLC
Senior Unsecured                       BB+
Subordinated                           B+
Subordinated                           D
Commercial Paper                       B

Allied Irish Banks N.A. Inc.
Commercial Paper*                      B
Commercial Paper*                      BB+
*Guaranteed by Allied Irish Banks PLC.

Bank of Ireland

Ratings Affirmed

Bank of Ireland
Counterparty Credit Rating             BBB-/Positive/A-3
Certificate Of Deposit                 BBB-/A-3

Bank of Ireland
Senior Unsecured                       BBB-
Subordinated                           BB
Junior Subordinated                    B+
Preference Stock                       B+
Commercial Paper                       A-3

Bank of Ireland U.K. Holdings PLC
Junior Subordinated*                   B+
*Guaranteed by Bank of Ireland.

Permanent TSB PLC

Ratings Affirmed

Permanent TSB PLC
Counterparty Credit Rating             BB-/Stable/B
Certificate Of Deposit                 BB-/B

Permanent TSB PLC
Senior Unsecured                       BB-
Senior Unsecured                       BB-/B


ION TRADING: S&P Affirms 'B+' CCR, Outlook Stable
-------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings said that it had affirmed its 'B+' long-term
corporate credit rating on Ireland-headquartered ION Trading
Technologies Ltd. (ION Trading), a wholly owned subsidiary of ION
Investment Group Ltd.  The outlook is stable.

At the same time, S&P assigned its 'B+' long-term corporate
credit rating to ION Trading's wholly owned financing
subsidiaries ION Trading Technologies S.a.r.l and ION Trading
Finance Ltd.

In addition, S&P assigned its 'B+' issue rating to the company's
proposed new EUR200 million first-lien term loan due 2023, in
line with S&P's rating on the company's existing first-lien term
loan and its US$40 million senior secured revolving credit
facility (RCF).  The new term loan will be issued by the two
financing subsidiaries.  The '3' recovery rating on all first-
lien debt instruments is unchanged, indicating S&P's expectation
of meaningful recovery in the event of a payment default, with
recovery prospects in the lower half of the 50%-70% range.

The affirmation primarily reflects S&P Global Ratings'
expectation that, despite the increase in leverage from the
proposed recapitalization, ION Trading's solid operating
performance and healthy free operating cash flow (FOCF)
generation prospects will enable the company to reduce its
leverage to below 5.5x in 2017. ION Trading is seeking to issue a
EUR200 equivalent incremental first-lien term loan.  The company
intends to use the proceeds to repay its EUR37.5 million term
loan taken over with the Lab49 acquisition in February 2016.  The
remainder will be distributed to ION Investment Group (IIG) in
the form of a dividend.  S&P expects the maturity of the existing
term loans to be extended in line with the new loan.

"Our view of ION Trading's financial risk profile continues to
reflect its highly leveraged credit metrics.  Our assessment of
ION trading's business risk profile continues to reflect the
company's very narrow product focus on trading solutions for
electronic fixed-income markets and its high industry and end-
customer concentration (its top 10 clients accounted for 40% of
revenues in 2015).  These constraints are partly offset by the
group's large recurring revenue base and high client retention.
The mission-critical nature of ION Trading's products to its
financial services customers supports revenues and client
retention, as does our view of favorable industry prospects for
ION Trading's solutions.  We see continued growth in outsourcing
of information technology functions to third-party providers like
ION Trading, and increasing compliance, risk-management, and
regulatory requirements for financial institutions creating
additional demand for new products from ION Trading," S&P said.

The stable outlook on ION Trading reflects S&P's assumption that
the company will maintain strong EBITDA margins of more than 45%,
continue to generate solid FOCF, and deleverage to below 5.5x in
2017.

S&P could lower the rating if:

   -- ION Trading pursued debt-financed acquisitions or further
      shareholder distributions that pushed the leverage ratio
      above 6x;

   -- Sales fell due to a severe financial crisis or increased
      competition;

   -- ION Trading's adjusted EBITDA margin declined to below 40%
      as a result of increasing competition or complexities in
      the integration of acquired companies; or

   -- EBITDA interest cover dropped below 2.5x.

Upside is unlikely over the next 12 months, given the higher
leverage resulting from the recapitalization.  S&P could raise
the rating by one notch if adjusted debt to EBITDA declines
sustainably below 4.5x, and at the same time the company
maintains its high profit margins above 45%.


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


GOLDEN BAR 2016-1: DBRS Assigns B(sf) Rating to Class D Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings Limited assigned ratings to the notes issued by
Golden Bar (Securitisation) S.r.l. Series 2016-1 (the issuer) as
follows

-- Class A Notes: A (sf)
-- Class B Notes: BBB (sf)
-- Class C Notes: BB (sf)
-- Class D Notes: B (sf)

DBRS's ratings of the notes address the timely payment of
interest and full payment of principal by the legal final
maturity date for the Class A notes in accordance with the terms
and conditions. For the Class B, Class C notes and Class D notes
DBRS's ratings address ultimate payment of interest and full
payment of principal by the legal final maturity.

The Notes (including the unrated class E notes and Junior Notes)
are variable funding notes backed by a pool of salary assignment,
pension assignment and delegation of payment receivables
originated in Italy by Santander Consumer Bank S.p.A. (the
Seller).

The initial subscription payment equal to the backed initial
portfolio is approximately EUR1.1 billion while the nominal value
of the Notes is EUR1.3 billion. During the four-year revolving
period the Seller can assign a further Portfolio to the Issuer
within certain limits included in the transaction documents.

-- Transaction capital structure, proposed ratings and form and
    sufficiency of available credit enhancement.
-- Credit enhancement levels are sufficient to support DBRS-
    projected expected cumulative net losses under various stress
    scenarios at A (sf) standard for the Class A Notes, at BBB
    (sf) for Class B Notes, at BB (sf) for Class C Notes, at
    B (sf) for Class D Notes.
-- The ability of the transaction to withstand stressed cash
    flow assumptions and repay investors according to the terms
    under which they have invested. For this transaction, the
    rating addresses the payment of timely interest on a
    quarterly basis and principal by the legal final maturity
    date.
-- Santander Consumer Bank S.p.A. capabilities with regard to
    originations, underwriting, servicing and their financial
    strength.
-- DBRS conducted an operational risk review of Santander
    Consumer Bank S.p.A. premises in Turin and deems it to be an
    acceptable Servicer.
-- The transaction parties' financial strength with regard to
    their respective roles.
-- The credit quality of the collateral, historical, and
    projected performance of the seller's portfolio.
-- As the collateral consists of a large percentage of loans to
    individuals working in the public sector, DBRS rating
    analysis assumed the performance of the Class A notes,
    Class B Notes, Class C Notes and Class D Notes to be highly
    correlated with the sovereign rating.
-- The sovereign rating of the republic of Italy, currently at A
    (low).
-- The legal structure and presence of legal opinions addressing
    the assignment of the assets to the issuer and the
    consistency with DBRS's "Legal Criteria for European
    Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

The transaction was modelled in Intex DealMaker.


QUARELLA SPA: September 4 Deadline Set for Tender Offers
--------------------------------------------------------
The officiating judge in Quarella S.p.A.'s composition with
creditors procedure, has ordered a single call for bids both for
the rent of the company specified in the title, which operates in
the marble and quartz agglomerates sector, with a total rental
fee, for a nine-month period of EUR540,000 and for the successive
sale of the company after approval of the composition with the
creditors for an overall sale price not lower than EUR23,500,000,
in addition to the purchase of the warehouse inventory as per the
estimate provided in the complete tender documentation.

Offers must be guaranteed by a bank guarantee of not less than
EUR3,000,000.

Offers must reach the Registry of the Court of Verona, Via dello
Zappatore, Verona, within September 4, 2016.  The envelopes
containing the tenders will be opened in the presence of the
officiating judge on September 5, 2016, at 10:00 a.m.  Should a
tender competition be necessary, it will be held on September 9,
2016, at 10:00 a.m., and in any case the successful tender will
be announced at that time on that day.

Further information on the complete details of the tender
competition, with the respective conditions and attachmetns, can
be received from the Official Receiver Dr. Elio Aldegheri by
sending an e-mail to aldegherielio@gmail.com,addressed to the
creditors, Quarella S.p.A., at rzanotta@quarella.com address
after which the Receiver of the company Quarella S.p.A. will
provide the Dropbox link containing the complete notice of tender
with all the attached documentation.

Interested parties can visit the company directly at its
headquarters, and obtain further information and/or documents
regarding the company on written request sent by email to
Quarella S.p.A., enclosing a copy of the identity document of the
applicant if he/she be a private individual or a copy of the
CCIAA (Chamber of Commerce certificate), and a copy of the
identity document of the legal representative in the case of a
company subject to the signing of a confidentiality agreement.

The Company's head office is at:

          Via Napoleone
          Fraz Ponton
          Sant'ambrogio di Valpolicella
          Verona, Italy


===================
L U X E M B O U R G
===================


LEHMAN BROTHERS: September 1 Claims Filing Deadline Set
-------------------------------------------------------
Me Jacques Delvaux and Me Laurent Fisch, the court-appointed
liquidators of Lehman Brothers (Luxembourg) S.A., disclosed that
by court order of the Luxembourg District Court sitting in
commercial matters, the date for the account closing ("arrete de
compte") in view of the distribution of a third dividend by
Lehman Brothers (Luxembourg) S.A., in judicial liquidation (Trade
Register (RCS) filing reference B39564) (the "Company") with
registered office at 29, Avenue Monterey in L-2163 Luxembourg-
City, has been set to Sept. 1, 2016.

Creditors of the Company who have not yet filed their claim(s)
are requested to file their claim(s) before September 1, 2016,
with the Clerk's office ("greffe") of the Luxembourg District
Court, 2nd Chamber, Cite Judiciaire, L-2080 Luxembourg-City.

Creditors should file any supporting documents with their
claim(s) and indicate, for each claim, its nature, date and
amount.  Creditors should also indicate, if their claim is
privileged by a pledge, mortgage, property reserve or otherwise,
the nature of their privilege and the assets over which their
privilege applies.

Creditors are informed that in case they do not file their
claim(s) before September 1, 2016, they will not be taken into
account for the distribution of the third dividend in conformity
with the rules contained in article 508 of the Luxembourg
Commercial Code.


=====================
N E T H E R L A N D S
=====================


ARES EUROPEAN: S&P Affirms BB Rating on Class E Notes
-----------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its credit ratings on Ares European
CLO VI B.V.'s class A to E notes.

The affirmations follow S&P's analysis of the transaction's
performance and the application of its relevant criteria.

S&P subjected the capital structure to our cash flow analysis to
determine the break-even default rate (BDR) for each class of
notes at each rating level.  The BDRs represent S&P's estimate of
the level of asset defaults that the notes can withstand and
still fully pay interest and principal to the noteholders.

S&P has estimated future defaults in the portfolio in each rating
scenario by applying its updated corporate collateralized debt
obligation (CDO) criteria.

S&P's analysis indicates that the available credit enhancement
for all of the rated classes of notes is still commensurate with
the currently assigned ratings.  Therefore, S&P has affirmed its
ratings on the class A to E notes.

Ares European CLO VI is a cash flow collateralized loan
obligation (CLO) transaction managed by Ares Management Ltd.  A
portfolio of loans to mainly speculative-grade corporates backs
the transaction.  Ares European CLO VI closed in September 2013.
Its reinvestment period will end in October 2017.

RATINGS LIST

Ares European CLO VI B.V.EUR310.5 mil floating-rate notes
including EUR 46 mil subordinated notes

                                   Rating
Class            Identifier        To                  From
A                XS0951527919      AAA (sf)            AAA (sf)
B                XS0951538791      AA (sf)             AA (sf)
C                XS0951552941      A (sf)              A (sf)
D                XS0951555373      BBB (sf)            BBB (sf)
E                XS0951555704      BB (sf)             BB (sf)


AXALTA COATING: S&P Assigns 'B+' Rating to $850MM Sr. Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings said it assigned its 'B+' issue-level rating
and '6' recovery rating to Axalta Coating Systems Dutch Holding B
B.V.'s proposed $500 million and EUR350 million senior unsecured
notes.  The '6' recovery rating indicates S&P's expectation of
negligible (0-10% range) recovery in the event of payment
default.

The company plans to use proceeds to refinance existing debt and
for general corporate purposes.  At the same time, the company
plans to amend and extend its $400 million revolving credit
facility.  The issue level and recovery ratings on the revolving
credit facility remain 'BB+' and '2', respectively.  The '2'
recovery rating indicates our expectation of substantial (70% to
90%, lower half of the range) recovery in the event of payment
default.

The ratings on Axalta, including the 'BB' corporate credit
rating, are unchanged.  The outlook is stable.  The rating
reflects S&P's assessment of the business risk profile as
satisfactory and financial risk profile as aggressive, resulting
in an anchor rating of 'bb'.  No impact of any modifiers is
observed.

RATING ACTIONS

Axalta Coating Systems Dutch Holding B B.V.
Corporate credit action                 BB/Stable/--

New Ratings
Axalta Coating Systems Dutch Holding B B.V.
Axalta Coating Systems LLC
Proposed $500 mil sr unsecd nts        B+
  Recovery rating                       6
Proposed EUR350 mil sr unsecd nts       B+
  Recovery rating                       6


WOOD STREET: S&P Raises Rating on Class E Notes to BB+
------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its credit ratings on Wood Street
CLO IV B.V.'s class B, C, D, and E notes.  At the same time, S&P
has affirmed its 'AAA (sf)' ratings on the class A-1 and A-2
notes.

The rating actions follow S&P's assessment of the transaction's
performance using data from the July 2016 trustee report.

S&P subjected the capital structure to a cash flow analysis to
determine the break-even default rate (BDR) for each rated class
at each rating level.  The BDR represents S&P's estimate of the
maximum level of gross defaults, based on its stress assumptions,
that a tranche can withstand and still fully repay the
noteholders.  In S&P's analysis, it used the portfolio balance
that it considers to be performing (EUR247,413,182), the current
and covenanted weighted-average spread (3.786% and 2.50%,
zespectively), which S&P adjusted for pay-in-kind (PIK) and pay-
if-you-can (PIYC) assets, and the weighted-average recovery rates
calculated in line with S&P's corporate collateralized debt
obligation (CDO) criteria.  S&P applied various cash flow
stresses, using its standard default patterns, in conjunction
with different interest rate stress scenarios.  In addition, S&P
gave no benefit to one position, an ORA (Obligations
Remboursables en Actions), due to the position's terms of
conversion.  Due to this position's low market value, in S&P's
opinion excluding this asset did not have a material impact on
the resulting ratings.

Since S&P's previous review in March 2015, the aggregate
collateral balance has decreased by 29.5% to EUR247.5 million
from EUR351.0 million.

Over this period, the class A-1 notes have amortized by about
EUR103 million, to about EUR20 million.  In S&P's view, this has
increased the available credit enhancement for all rated classes
of notes.  S&P have also noted that there are no defaulted assets
in the portfolio, and the proportion of assets in the 'CCC'
rating category ('CCC+', 'CCC', or 'CCC-') has fallen to 3.3%.

Non-euro-denominated assets now comprise 9.8%, up from 8.5% of
the aggregate collateral balance.  A cross-currency swap
agreement hedges these assets.  In S&P's cash flow analysis, it
considered scenarios where the hedging counterparty does not
perform, and zhere the transaction is therefore exposed to
changes in currency rates.

S&P has also applied its nonsovereign ratings criteria.  S&P has
considered the transaction's exposure to sovereign risk because
some of the portfolio's assets -- 11.4% of the transaction's
total collateral balance-are based in Spain and Italy.  In a
'AAA' rating scenario, S&P has limited credit to 10% of the
transaction's collateral balance to correspond to assets based in
these sovereigns in S&P's calculation of the aggregate collateral
balance.

Taking into account the results of S&P's credit and cash flow
analysis and the application of its current counterparty and
nonsovereign ratings criteria, S&P considers that the available
credit enhancement for the class B, C, D, and E notes is
commensurate with a higher rating than previously assigned.  S&P
has therefore raised its ratings on these classes of notes.

S&P has affirmed its 'AAA (sf)' ratings on the class A-1 and A-2
notes because its analysis indicated that the available credit
enhancement for these classes of notes is commensurate with the
currently assigned ratings.

Wood Street CLO IV is a cash flow collateralized loan obligation
transaction that securitizes loans to primarily speculative-grade
corporate firms.  The transaction is managed by Alcentra Ltd.

RATINGS LIST

Wood Street CLO IV B.V.
EUR557 Million Senior Secured And Deferrable Floating-Rate Notes

Ratings Affirmed

Class       Rating

A-1         AAA (sf)
A-2         AAA (sf)

Ratings Raised

Class               Rating
            To                From

B           AAA (sf)          AA+ (sf)
C           AA+ (sf)          A+ (sf)
D           A (sf)            BBB- (sf)
E           BB+ (sf)          BB (sf)


* NETHERLANDS: Atradius Expects Company Bankruptcy Rate to Drop
---------------------------------------------------------------
DutchNews.nl reports that credit insurance group Atradius said on
Aug. 4 the number of companies going bust in the Netherlands will
continue to decline this year, despite the impact of Brexit.

According to DutchNews.nl, the company says the number of
bankruptcies will shrink by 6% over 2016, meaning just under
7,000 firms will be forced to call it a day.

Atradius said in 2017, the bankruptcy rate will go down by 4% to
6,600, DutchNews.nl relates.

The company, as cited by DutchNews.nl, said in a statement the
Netherlands has faced economic difficulty in the wake of the 2009
recession, but is going through a period of catch-up growth
mainly driven by higher domestic demand.


===========
R U S S I A
===========


CENTROCREDIT BANK: S&P Affirms 'B/B' Counterparty Ratings
---------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings said that it has revised its outlook on
Russia-based CentroCredit Bank JSC to stable from negative.  S&P
also affirmed its 'B/B' long- and short-term counterparty ratings
on the bank.

At the same time, S&P raised its Russia national scale rating on
the bank to 'ruA-' from 'ruBBB+' on the bank.

The rating actions reflect S&P's view that CentroCredit's funding
and liquidity have improved over the last year, as a result of
the full repayment of funding from the Central Bank of Russia
(CBR) and the reduction of interbank deposits in the bank's
funding mix in the first half 2016.  S&P also takes into account
the large amount of capital in the bank's funding base as a long-
term and stable funding source and the predominantly short-term
and liquid nature of its assets.

S&P therefore has revised its assessment of the bank's funding
profile to average from below average and its liquidity
assessment to adequate from moderate.

S&P views positively that in the first half of 2016 the bank's
share of interbank deposits in total funding declined to 50% from
57%, while the share of customer deposits increased to 40% from
36%.  S&P also notes the bank's funding metrics are significantly
stronger than those of Russian peers, due to a high amount of
capital and liquid assets.  At year-end 2015, S&P's stable
funding ratio was 246%, the highest ratio among all Russian banks
we rate.

S&P's revised assessment of the bank's liquidity reflects its
improved liquidity metrics, which are currently broadly in line
with those of Russian peers.  For example, as of year-end 2015,
broad liquid assets to short-term funding was 1.9x compared with
the average ratio weighted by assets of 2.2x for Russian banks.
S&P thinks that the bank keeps sufficient liquid assets to
sustain a significant outflow of its short-term wholesale
liabilities.

In S&P's view, CentroCredit's capitalization weakened in 2015, as
measured by S&P's risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio, as a result
of significantly increased exposure to Russian equities.  S&P
views Russian stocks as highly volatile and think that the bank's
vulnerability to potential trading losses has increased.
Therefore, S&P revised its assessment of the bank's capital and
earnings to strong from very strong.

At the same time, S&P expects that the bank's capital buffers
will remain strong in the next 12-18 months, since it projects
that its RAC ratio will be in the 13.5%-14.5% range.  S&P also
believes that there are several factors that will support the
bank's strong capitalization going forward.  Firstly, the bank is
undertaking deleveraging, supported by the significant reduction
of its bond portfolio and conservative risk appetite in its loan
portfolio growth.  Secondly, S&P expects that the bank can use
its very high loss provisions created in 2014 to offset possible
trading losses and therefore smooth out losses for the next year
or so.  Finally, S&P expects that the bank will maintain its
ability to generate capital internally through earnings, as shown
by its track record. S&P revised its outlook on the bank to
stable from negative, since it expects that its RAC ratio will
likely stay above 10% in the next 12-18 months.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that CentroCredit's
capitalization, as measured by S&P's RAC ratio, will remain
strong in the next 12-18 months, despite still-high market risk,
while the improvements in the bank's funding and liquidity
profile will likely persist.

S&P could take a negative rating action in the next 12-18 months
if it sees deterioration of the bank's capital adequacy, with its
RAC ratio falling below 10% as a result of an aggressive growth
in equity investments or large trading losses.  S&P could also
lower the ratings in case of deterioration of bank's liquidity
position or funding profile, if, for example, S&P no longer sees
that short-term liabilities are adequately matched by short-term
liquid assets.

S&P views a positive rating action as remote at this moment.  S&P
would consider revising the outlook on CentroCredit to positive
if the bank maintains strong capital buffers and stable asset
quality, increases the amount of recurring non-market related
income, and further decreases its dependence on wholesale
funding. To take such an action, S&P would also need to see broad
stabilization of operating conditions for the Russian banking
sector, notably with evidence of improving asset quality and
stabilizing credit losses.


VNESHECONOMBANK: Resolves Liquidity Problems, Chairman Says
-----------------------------------------------------------
According to Reuters' Denis Pinchuk, Vnesheconombank Chairman
Sergei Gorkov told President Vladimir Putin that Russian state
development bank VEB has solved its problems with liquidity for
this year.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said earlier that VEB which has
lent heavily to loss-making projects would receive RUR150 billion
(US$2.3 billion) from the budget in 2017, the same as in 2016,
Reuters relates.

As related in the Jan. 7, 2016 edition of the The Troubled
Company Reporter-Europe, Bloomberg News disclosed that VEB needed
a rescue and the cost of its bailout could reach RUR1.3 trillion
(US$18 billion), according to some government officials.  The
report noted that VEB was used by Vladimir Putin for years to pay
for "special projects", from the Sochi Olympics to covert
acquisitions in Ukraine to oligarch bailouts.

Vnesheconombank operates to enhance competitiveness of the
Russian economy, diversify it and stimulate investment activity.
It is not a commercial bank, its activity is governed by special
Law - 82-FZ which came into force on June 4, 2007.


=========
S P A I N
=========


ALIER: Reaches Agreement with Creditors, Exits Insolvency
---------------------------------------------------------
PPI Europe reports that Alier has reached an agreement with its
creditors, allowing the firm to exit insolvency and move forward
with its investment.

Alier is a Spanish plasterboard liner and former sack kraft paper
manufacturer.


NH HOTEL: S&P Raises Long-Term CCR to 'B', Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term corporate credit rating
on Spain-based NH Hotel Group S.A. to 'B' from 'B-'.  The outlook
is stable.

At the same time, S&P raised its issue rating on NH's senior
secured debt to 'BB-' from 'B+'.  The recovery rating on the
senior secured debt remains at '1', indicating S&P's expectation
of very high (90%-100%) recovery prospects in the event of a
payment default.

The upgrade reflects S&P's view that NH will maintain its now
stronger liquidity, which S&P considers to be adequate versus
less than adequate previously, coupled with its solid operating
performance that has exceeded S&P's expectations.  To date, S&P
understands that NH has completed about 75% of its planned asset
sales for 2016, while improving working-capital trends through
enhanced controls, all of which help boost our liquidity
assessment.

The upgrade also incorporates the group's turnaround plan, in
response to marked underperformance after the 2008-2009 global
financial crisis.  In 2015 and the first six months of 2016, NH
has improved occupancy rates and revenue per available room
(RevPAR) beyond S&P's expectations, with particular strengthening
in Spain, where it reported double-digit RevPAR growth.  As a
result, profitability, revenues, and EBITDA have increased,
translating into stronger credit metrics.  In S&P's view, this
improvement has mainly followed the group's plan to reposition
capital expenditures (capex), which S&P expects it will finalize
this year.  S&P thinks the plan will enable the group to restore
generating positive free operating cash flow (FOCF) in 2017 and
beyond.  For the 12 months ended June 30, 2016, adjusted debt to
EBITDA improved to about 7.5x and EBITDA interest coverage
surpassed 2.0x.

S&P's assessment of NH's business risk profile remains weak and
continues to take into account S&P's view of NH's business model,
which is centered on operating owned and leased hotels
(approximately 75% of total rooms).  In S&P's opinion, this
concentration contributes to a high and relatively inflexible
fixed-cost base, although S&P notes that the group is taking
steps in renegotiating lease contracts to secure more variable
leases in its structure.  S&P's adjusted EBITDA margins of around
30% for NH in the current financial year are broadly in line with
those of NH's peers.  However, S&P thinks cyclical downturns will
put more pressure on the group's earnings than on asset-light
franchised or managed businesses.

S&P views NH's presence outside Europe as relatively limited.
Its recent acquisition of Hoteles Royal in Latin America is still
far from bearing fruit.  S&P notes the group's weaker performance
in that region, with RevPAR in the first half of 2016 down by 5%,
strongly affected by currency fluctuations.  Still, S&P
recognizes that Latin America represents about 10% of group
revenues.

In addition, although S&P views midsize properties as having
lower cost bases than luxury hotels, S&P believes that NH's key
market segment has relatively low barriers to entry and is
therefore more exposed to competition.  At the same time, S&P
recognizes that NH's strategy is to continue increasing its
presence in the upper upscale category.  On the positive side,
S&P views NH as having a strong position in the midsize hotel
markets of Spain and Italy, with an urban focus.  Its operating
performance is positive overall, with improving occupancy,
available daily rates, and RevPAR.

Overall, S&P views as positive for the ratings NH's current
strategy to move toward a more asset-light ownership model and a
more upmarket segment, while restructuring its cost base to keep
improving profitability, generating positive cash flows, and
reducing debt.

"Our assessment of NH's financial risk profile as highly
leveraged reflects the group's substantial, albeit declining,
levels of adjusted debt and relatively low EBITDA interest
coverage metrics. A large share (about 75%) of the group's
adjusted debt stems from our operating-lease adjustment.  But
even on an unadjusted basis, we view NH's projected financial
debt to EBITDA as high.  S&P Global Ratings' adjusted debt to
EBITDA for NH had decreased to 7.9x as of Dec. 31, 2015, from
8.9x a year before, and we expect it will drop further to about
7.4x by Dec. 31, 2016.  Still, we expect NH's capacity to
generate FOCF will remain constrained over the next 12 months as
it finalizes its investment program.  We understand that NH plans
to sell its Jolly Hotel Madison Towers in New York, which we
currently do not incorporate in our base case. But this potential
deal may be via a sale-and-leaseback transaction, under which we
would typically capitalize the entire sale price.  We would
likely view this as credit neutral," S&P said.

Lastly, S&P notes that the current shareholder dispute, recently
resulting in ousting HNA (29.5% ownership) from the Board of
Directors on account of a conflict of interest, as well as the
unforeseen departure of the CEO, could be a negative for NH's
credit quality.  In particular, in S&P's assessment of its
financial policy, it views the potential for aggressive
shareholder distribution policies as a risk to the rating.

In S&P's base case, it assumes:

   -- GDP growth expectations in NH's main countries of
      operations--Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany
      -- should support group revenue growth over the next two
      years.

   -- 4%-8% growth in revenues for 2016 and a low- to mid-single-
      digit revenue increase in 2017.

   -- Improvement in the adjusted EBITDA margin in 2016 and 2017
      to about 31%-32%, owing to the proposed cost-structure
      plans, although smooth execution could be challenging; and

   -- A ratio of capex to sales of about 10% in 2016, before
      declining to a more normalized 4%-5% from 2017.  This ratio
      excludes the acquisition of Hoteles Royal and any
      additional mergers or acquisitions.

Based on these assumptions, S&P arrives at these credit measures
for NH:

   -- Adjusted debt to EBITDA of between 7.0x and 7.5x in 2016
      and 2017;

   -- Adjusted funds from operations (FFO) to debt of between 5%
      and 7% in 2016 and 2017; and

   -- Adjusted EBITDA interest coverage of between 1.9x and 2.2x
      in 2016 and 2017.

S&P applies a positive comparable ratings analysis modifier to
NH, resulting in S&P's 'B' long-term rating on the group after a
positive one-notch adjustment to S&P's 'b-' anchor.  The modifier
reflects S&P's view that NH's business risk profile is at the
high end of our weak category, particularly compared with its
peers.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that NH will continue to
focus on improving its operating performance, while controlling
working-capital, liquidity, capex, and cost management.  This,
coupled with S&P's expectations of improving profitability and
gradual debt reduction, should continue to strengthen the group's
credit metrics over the next 12 months.  Specifically, S&P
expects NH will post adjusted EBITDA interest coverage above 2x
in 2016 and start generating positive FOCF in 2017.

S&P could lower the ratings if NH's operating performance
deteriorates due to macroeconomic, geopolitical event risks, or
competition.  In this scenario, a significant profit decline
could weaken cash flow, leading to a constrained liquidity,
covenant cushion below 15% or adjusted EBITDA interest going
below 1.5x.  S&P could also take a negative rating action if the
group distributes dividends that are higher than S&P currently
anticipates, undertakes debt-financed acquisitions, or posts
significant negative FOCF.

An upgrade of NH is unlikely over the next 12 months.  Over the
long term, S could raise the ratings if NH's credit metrics and
financial policy support a revision of its financial risk profile
to aggressive.  This could occur if the group sustained a ratio
of total adjusted debt to EBITDA of less than 5x and a ratio of
FFO to total adjusted debt above 12%. In addition, a potential
upgrade would follow positive FOCF generation on a sustainable
basis and greater stability at the group's shareholder level.


UNION FENOSA: Fitch Affirms 'BB' Subordinated Debt Rating
---------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Gas Natural SDG, S.A.'s
Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Negative from Stable and
affirmed the IDR at 'BBB+'.

Fitch said, "The Negative Outlook reflects our expectations that
Gas Natural's financial leverage will be above our negative
rating guideline in 2016 and 2017, reflecting weaker than
previously expected free cash flow (FCF) in these two years."

Fitch said, "The affirmation reflects the company's integrated
strong business profile in both gas and electricity with a
substantial portion of regulated EBITDA (about 60% of 2015
EBITDA) providing cash flow visibility. We expect that the
business mix could gradually improve by 2020 given the capex plan
focused on networks and contracted (or subsidized) electricity
generation."

KEY RATING DRIVERS
Leverage Above Guideline
Fitch said, "The Negative Outlook reflects our expectations that
Gas Natural's funds from operations (FFO) adjusted net leverage
will be above our negative rating guideline of 4x in 2016 and
2017. This largely stems from weaker than previously expected FCF
in these two years, as we project FFO will be negatively affected
by adverse foreign exchange changes for the Latam's exposure and
weaker margins in the gas supply segment (12% of 2015's EBITDA)
and power generation in Spain (14%). At the same time capex and
dividends are higher than in our previous forecasts.

"We previously expected that Gas Natural would reduce its
financial leverage to below 4x in 2016-2017 following the
acquisition of Chile's largest utility company Compania General
de Electricidad SA (CGE; AA-(cl)/Stable) completed in late 2014,
which temporarily increased leverage.

Improvement Expected from 2018
"The Outlook could be revised to Stable if Gas Natural's net
leverage ratio returns to below 4x and projected FCF returns to a
positive territory on a sustained basis. We project the company
could achieve net leverage below 4x in 2018 based on its business
plan for 2016-2020, announced in May 2016, and positive FCF could
be achieved by 2020. For 2018, the company expects its main
financial target, defined as net debt to EBITDA, at 3.0x (net
debt excluding hybrid bonds, finance leases and factoring), the
same as 2015, which would be consistent with our 4x FFO adjusted
net leverage guidance."

Balanced Business Profile
The ratings are supported by Gas Natural's integrated strong
business profile in gas and electricity and solid geographical
diversification. A significant portion of the company's earnings
(about 60% of 2015 EBITDA) are regulated and mainly derived from
its gas and electricity distribution activities in Spain and
Latam, providing cash flow visibility.

Capex Ramp Up
The business plan for 2016-2020 assumes net capex of EUR14
billion (or EUR2.7 billion on average per year), including
EUR1.3 billion investment in new tankers, well above the previous
plan of EUR1.5 billion, which is largely due to the inclusion of
CGE on the new perimeter. The main drivers of growth are new
generation capacity additions (renewables in Spain and CCGT's and
wind largely in Latam under PPA's), investment in networks
(mainly gas networks in Chile, Mexico and Peru) and returns from
the operation of the new vessels. There is visibility on around
70%-80% of the capex targets, although there is a degree of
uncertainty from the regulatory framework for renewables in Spain
after 2019 and gas networks in Chile (under review).

According to management, 80% of the plan will be allocated to
regulated or contracted assets. This will be positive for the
business risk as it will increase the share of regulated and
quasi regulated EBITDA to 75% in 2020 from 69% in 2015 and the
geographical diversification.

Gas Supply and Spanish Generation Under Pressure
The gas supply business including LNG supplies is challenged by
decreased margins, partly due to lower gas prices and reduced gas
price differential between Europe and Asia. In addition to the
commodities challenge, there is an element of changing market
dynamics due to current gas market oversupply (mainly due to US
shale gas but also due to weaker global demand) that is putting
additional pressure on the margins. Lower margins are partially
offset by new gas volumes and increased fleet flexibility after
2018.

Fitch said, "In addition, we expect profitability of power
generation in Spain to be under pressure in 2016-2017 given
expected low baseload prices and potentially higher competitive
pressure and regulatory scrutiny on the supply margins and
ancillary services market in Spain."

KEY ASSUMPTIONS
Fitch's key assumptions within its rating case for the issuer
include:
-- EBITDA of around EUR4.9billion in 2016 with a CAGR of around
    2% for 2016-2020 from 2015. This is considering significant
    growth in Latam regulated and quasi regulated activities,
    fairly stable performance of current regulated business in
    Europe; weak baseload electricity prices and lower margins
    in LNG supplies to be mitigated by higher volumes (new
    procurements contracts and higher fleet activity).
-- Depreciation for all the Latam currencies against EUR and
    flat EUR/US$
-- A halved efficiency program by 2018 compared with management
    expectations and no further efficiencies.
-- Dividends paid to minorities around EUR200 million per year.
-- New debt issued with an additional 100bps over the average
    cost of debt at end 2015.
-- Capex of EUR2.5billion on average for 2016-2020.
-- A total net EUR200 million cash outflow as a result of the
    company's asset rotation plan.
-- Dividends as per the company's current strategic plan based
    on a 70% pay-out ratio and EUR1 per share floor announced by
    the company in March 2016. Fitch assumes this policy to
    remain in place until 2020.

RATING SENSITIVITIES
Negative: Future developments that could lead to negative rating
action include:
-- FFO adjusted net leverage above 4.0x and FFO interest
    coverage below 4.5x on sustained basis and failure to
    generate positive FCF within this business plan.
-- Substantial deterioration of the operating environment or
    further government measures substantially reducing cash
    flows.
-- Substantial decrease in the share of regulated and quasi-
    regulated EBITDA leading to lower cash flow visibility.

Positive: Fitch said, "The Outlook is Negative and we therefore
do not expect an upgrade. Future developments that may
nevertheless lead to positive rating action (revision of Outlook
to Stable) include:
-- Expected FFO adjusted net leverage returning to below 4.0x
    and the projected FCF returning to positive territory."

LIQUIDITY
As of June 30, 2016, Gas Natural had cash of EUR2.8 billion plus
available committed credit facilities of EUR7.1 billion, with
EUR6.8 billion of those maturing beyond 2017, plus EUR0.7 billion
of other undrawn and committed loans and neutral cumulated FCF
projected by Fitch up to end-2017. This is sufficient to meet
debt maturities of EUR6.5 billion over the next 24 months. Since
January, EUR900 million has been raised in the capital markets at
very competitive interest rates.

FULL LIST OF RATING ACTIONS

Gas Natural SDG, S.A.
Long-Term IDR affirmed at 'BBB+', Outlook revised to Negative
from Stable
Short-Term IDR affirmed at 'F2'

Gas Natural Fenosa Finance BV
Senior unsecured rating affirmed at 'BBB+'
Euro commercial paper program rating affirmed at 'F2'
Subordinated hybrid capital securities' rating affirmed at 'BBB-'

Gas Natural Capital Markets, S.A.
Senior unsecured rating affirmed at 'BBB+'

Union Fenosa Preferentes, S.A.
Subordinated debt rating affirmed at 'BB'


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


ARROW GLOBAL: S&P Raises Counterparty Credit Rating to 'BB-'
------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised the long-term counterparty credit
rating on Arrow Global Group PLC to 'BB-' from 'B+'.  The outlook
is stable.

S&P also raised its issue rating on the senior secured notes
issued by Arrow Global Finance PLC to 'BB' from 'BB-'.  The
recovery rating remains '2', indicating S&P's expectation of
recovery in the lower half of the 70%-90% range in case of
default.

The upgrade reflects S&P's view that Arrow Global's financial
policy framework and transparency of target credit ratios has led
to a stable financial risk profile, which S&P believes will be
maintained over the next 12-18 months.  S&P notes that Arrow
Global's credit measures have remained consistently stronger than
its 'B+' rated peers', such as Cabot Financial Ltd., Lock Lower
Holding AS (Lindorff), and Garfunkelux Holdco 2 S.A. (parent of
Lowell and GFKL).  This has remained the case despite the
industry's rapid growth and ongoing consolidation phase over the
past years, in which the use of debt-financed transactions has
become more common.  Arrow Global has grown in scale and, in
S&P's view, is taking steps to enhance the resiliency of its
earnings' profile while maintaining credit measures at these
levels:

   -- Gross debt to S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA of between
      3x-4x (adjusted EBITDA is gross of portfolio amortization);

   -- Funds from operations (FFO) to total debt of between 20%-
      30%; and

   -- Adjusted EBITDA coverage of interest expense of between 3x-
      6x.

S&P projects these ratios will remain within these ranges, albeit
with a slight deleveraging trend on the back of increased
earnings capacity, improving collection capabilities, and
alternative avenues for revenue generation following Arrow
Global's expansion into Portugal and The Netherlands.  S&P's
forward-looking analysis of the company's financial risk profile
applies a 20% weight to year-end 2015 results and a 40% weight to
year-end projections for both 2016 and 2017.

S&P believes that downside to Arrow Global's credit standing over
the medium- to long-term is limited through its listed status and
absence of controlling shareholders, which provides an additional
degree of comfort relative to private equity sponsor-owned peers.
Although not S&P's base case for all private equity sponsor-owned
companies, it believes that such an ownership structure can lead
to financial policies that focus on generating returns in the
short term at the expense of a company's credit standing.

"Our assessment of Arrow Global's business risk profile remains
unchanged, and is constrained by the concentrated nature of the
company's backbook debt portfolios in U.K. financial services
debt.  We believe that the company has taken steps toward
reducing its sensitivities to particular end-markets within the
wider industry.  For example, the recent acquisition of InVesting
B.V. has grown Arrow Global's share of revenue generated by
third-party debt servicing.  We believe this brings an additional
element of stability to its earnings profile while improving
market shares in less mature markets relative to the U.K.
However, we note that its growth in mainland Europe is off a
particularly low base and that the existing concentrations in the
U.K. that constrain our assessment are likely to remain during
our 12-18 month outlook horizon.  Given the role of the Financial
Conduct Authority as regulator of the consumer credit industry in
the U.K., we believe that operational and regulatory risks for
U.K. debt collection companies may increase.  We also believe
that the maturity of the U.K. distressed debt market, which is
dominated by a number of larger incumbents, leads to tougher
competitive dynamics and higher operating standards," S&P said.

S&P believes that the U.K.'s June 2016 vote to leave the EU has
increased the risks of adverse economic developments in the
country.  However, S&P believes that the prudent nature of Arrow
Global's payment plans somewhat mitigates these risks, and S&P
takes account of its resilient performance through the previous
economic downturn.  S&P also notes that Arrow Global has an
adequate liquidity profile and there is minimal currency risk
associated with its debt.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that Arrow Global's
organic growth of its debt portfolios and recent acquisitions and
partnerships will lead to stable credit metrics over the outlook
horizon of 12-18 months.  This scenario is predicated on
continued controlled growth in parts of mainland Europe, the
growing proportion of revenue from third-party servicing fee
income, and the successful integration in the final stages of
U.K.-based credit solutions provider Capquest and early stages of
Dutch-based receivables manager InVesting B.V.

S&P could lower the ratings if it saw a material increase in
management's leverage tolerance, a failure in Arrow Global's
control framework, or adverse changes in the regulatory
environment leading to an erosion of the company's profitability
or operational efficiency.

"We consider an upgrade to be unlikely over the next 12-18
months. We could raise the ratings if we saw materially greater
diversification in the franchise that supported the future
stability of earnings, for instance a material increase in fee
income generated in collection services for third parties to
levels similar to more diversified peers.  We could also raise
the ratings if we believe Arrow Global's credit metrics were to
trend in these categories on a sustainable basis:

   -- Gross debt to adjusted EBITDA between 2x-3x;
   -- FFO to total debt of between 30%-45%; and
   -- Adjusted EBITDA coverage of interest expense of between
      6x-10x.


MIRA LIMITED: Oct. 3 Deadline Set for Pre-July 14, 2015 Claims
--------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Pole, Colin Haig and William Wright, all of KPMG LLP, were
appointed Joint Administrators of MIRA Limited on July 14, 2015.
Immediately following the appointment a sale of the business and
assets of the Company was successfully completed to HORIBA MIRA
Limited ("the Purchaser").

As part of the transaction, an agreement was established with the
Purchaser whereby all liabilities of the Company relating to the
provision of goods and services provided to the Company in the
period prior to July 14, 2015, would be settled in full.
Please contact Stuart Medhurst on 01179 054558 or by email at
stuart.medhurst@kpmg.co.uk by close of business on October 3,
2016, if you have an outstanding pre July 14, 2015, liability
which is due for payment but is yet to be settled by the
Purchaser.  For the avoidance of doubt, this notice solely
relates to unpaid liabilities incurred in the period prior to
July 14, 2015.  Any liabilities incurred after this period should
be directed to your normal contact at HORIBA MIRA Limited.


UNIQUE PUB: S&P Lowers Rating on Class N Notes to 'B (sf)'
----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered to 'B (sf)' from 'B+ (sf)' and placed
on CreditWatch negative its credit rating on The Unique Pub
Finance Co. PLC's class N notes.  At the same time, S&P has
affirmed its 'BB- (sf)' rating on the class M notes and its
'BBB- (sf)' ratings on the class A3 and A4 notes.  S&P has
removed its stable outlook on the ratings on the notes.

S&P has removed our stable outlook on the ratings to reflect its
view that outlooks, which are generally assigned, where
appropriate, to corporate and government entities and some
structured finance ratings, are no longer appropriate for S&P's
ratings on the notes issued by Unique Pub Finance Co., given that
S&P's ratings approach assumes that it can rate through the
insolvency of the borrower.

                        BUSINESS RISK PROFILE

Unique Pub Properties Ltd.'s (Unique) fair business risk profile
is constrained by its exposure to U.K. consumers' discretionary
spending and the structural decline of the U.K. tenanted pub
sector.  The structural decline stems from: the oversupply of
pubs; downward pressure on pub valuations and rental incomes;
falling on-trade beer volumes; growth in off-trade sales, with
more consumers entertaining at home; high alcohol excise duties;
and changing consumer preferences.  These weaknesses are offset
by Unique's large scale and market share, and its strong
operating margins.

Unique's business risk profile reflects the following risk
strengths and weaknesses.

                  STRENGTHS OF THE BORROWING GROUP

Industry Risk

The industry has demonstrated moderate cyclicality relative to
other industries in revenue, and moderately high cyclicality in
profitability.  The U.K. pub market is a cash-generative industry
with high margins (40%-50% for tenanted pub estates and 20%-25%
for managed pub estates).  In S&P's view, this is a defensive
feature as they could be squeezed in unfavorable circumstances.
There are material barriers to entry, including planning and
licensing regulations and economies of scale.

Competitive Position
With 2,349 pubs, as of March 31, 2016, Unique has the U.K.'s
largest securitized pub estate, resulting in a strong market
position.  Its closest peer, Punch Taverns, has a portfolio of
almost 4,000 pubs.  Other rated peers operate a mixed model,
consisting of managed and tenanted pubs, and their securitized
tenanted portfolios are significantly smaller: Marston's Pubs has
960 pubs (out of 1,239), Greene King Retailing 803 pubs (out of
1,489), and Spirit Pub Company only 417 (out of 1,046).  However,
after Greene King acquired Spirit (at the beginning of the 2016
fiscal year), Greene King has 3,100 pubs, including pubs not
included in the securitized portion.

      WEAKNESSES AND MITIGATING FACTORS OF THE BORROWING GROUP

Competitive Position
Unique has historically lacked the diverse revenue generated by a
mixed model, as its only revenue diversity used to be achieved by
optimizing the mix between rent and beer revenue streams.  In the
fiscal year 2015, Unique generated 52.5% of its revenue from
rents, and 47.4% from the supply of beer.  The tenanted model
limits Unique's ability to weather changes in consumer demand,
which, in S&P's view, limits the operating efficiency of an
estate.

Profitability

S&P believes that the biggest risk is currently related to the
Market Rent Option legislation, which is likely to reduce the
profitability of the tenanted pub companies (Pubcos), and
potentially change the whole pub industry dynamics.  However, as
a tenant's lease may only be affected by the Market Rent Option
legislation when some trigger events occur, its effect is not
immediate and it could take up to five to six years for the
effect to fully filter through a tenanted Pubco's estate.  The
business
is highly seasonal, with better trading over the summer months
and is significantly affected by weather.  Key success factors
for running pubs are: a scale leading to purchasing power, a wide
range of product offerings, a well-invested pub estate,
diversification, financial strength, and staff experience.

Industry Risk
The number of operational pubs in the U.K. is decreasing.  This
decline is in line with the falling demand for alcohol
consumption, which is due to growth in the number of food-serving
outlets.  This growth was strongest in the pub sector during the
past 10 years, with the number of pub restaurants with food sales
that exceeded wet sales increasing by 135%, to 6,100 in 2014 from
2,600 in 2001.

                 OPERATING PERFORMANCE FISCAL YEAR 2015

Unique's strategy for enhancing or stabilizing EBITDA involves
the disposal of underperforming pubs.  Although the average
number of pubs in the estate has declined by 5.0% between fiscal
years 2014 and 2015, EBITDA declined by only 1.1%. Over the same
period, EBITDA per pub has increased by 3.1%, which suggests that
the overall quality of the estate has improved.  S&P currently
don't expect a recovery in the medium-term as the U.K. pub
industry is facing considerable and fundamental long-term
challenges.  S&P's base-case scenario assumes a revenue decline
by 1%-2% per year in 2016 to 2018 as it believes that the
continued difficult trading conditions in the U.K. tenanted pub
sector are likely to persist.

                           CREDIT STRUCTURE

Refinancing Risk

The liabilities of the borrower or the issuer are fully
amortizing, mitigating any reliance on access to the market for
new funding.

Interest, Currency and Inflation Risk
There is no currency or interest rate risk in the transaction.

Counterparty Risk
Due to weaker replacement provisions in the related agreements,
S&P do not consider the liquidity facility and bank account
providers to be in line with its current counterparty criteria.
As a result, S&P's ratings may be no higher than its long-term
issuer credit rating on the bank account providers, National
Westminster Bank PLC and Barclays Bank PLC, and the liquidity
facility provider, The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC.

Dividend Policy Risk
Up-streaming of cash to the parent is limited by a rigid set of
covenants.  The requirement to retain excess cash flows is
stronger than S&P typically sees in other transactions.  The
post-enforcement and pre-acceleration priority of payments
requires that all funds be directed into the reserve account if
the debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) falls below 1.5 to 1.0 and
withdrawals may be made for the purpose of covering senior costs
and expenses, as well as payments due under the loans.

                        CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

There is a GBP190 million liquidity facility.  Importantly, the
facility would remain outstanding despite the appointment of an
administrative receiver.  Specifically, the facility's agreement
carves out the appointment of an administrative receiver by the
trustee from the events of default.  In addition, in the event
that the liquidity facility provider does not extend the
available period for the facility before the expiration of a 365-
day period and a substitute provider is not arranged for, the
issuer must draw down the full available amount of the liquidity
facility.

A GBP65 million cash reserve remains outstanding exclusively for
debt service.  This reserve is maintained at GBP65 million until
all of the class A notes have been repaid, amortizing pro rata
with the class N notes thereafter.  S&P also notes that if the
DSCR falls below 1.5 to 1.0, given that more than GBP300 million
of the class A notes have be repaid, all cash is directed into
the reserve account, without limit, under the post-enforcement
and pre-acceleration priority of payment and may not be used for
any purpose other than to cover fees and expenses, and service
the loans according to the priority of payments.

                              COVENANTS

The reported DSCR is based on the amount of principal required
for the total outstanding principal of the loans to be equal to a
targeted amount of total outstanding principal.

Through the application of intercompany receipts and excess cash,
the borrower has made unscheduled principal payment on the class
A3 and A4 notes.  As a result, the outstanding principal balance
of the notes, in aggregate, is lower than the targeted aggregate
outstanding balance by GBP72.4 million, as of March 2016 (down
from GBP124.4 million in March 2013).  For the purposes of the
reported free cash flow (FCF) DSCR, no principal is considered to
be due.  However, in March 2016, GBP11.6 million was due on class
A3 loan (based on a targeted principal balance of GBP312.5
million and an outstanding principal balance of GBP324.1
million).

Over the prior 12-month period, a total of GBP44.98 million
principal payments were due on the class A3 notes that were not
reflected in the reported DSCR.

Looking ahead, S&P projects that, if no other prepayments are
made, principal will become due and payable on the class A4 notes
in March 2019 and will result in an incremental increase of
GBP5.4 million in debt service.  This would have an immediate
effect on the FCF DCSR.

                       RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Brexit
At this time, it is unclear the potential effect that Brexit may
have on the pub industry.  However, S&P has lowered its current
expectations for economic growth.  S&P also assumes that consumer
sentiment will decline, as both changes will decrease
discretionary spending.

Following the referendum, Enterprise Inns PLC has release its
latest results and has signaled its confidence that it would be
able to sustain the positive results despite the headwinds that
S&P expects following Brexit.

Market Rent Option Legislation
After some delays, the "Pubs Code" came into effect on July 20,
2016, which includes the market rent option.  The market rent
option allows publicans, following certain trigger events (e.g.,
a rent review, a significant price increase, or a significant
change in circumstances), to break their beer tie with the Pubco
and buy beer on the open market.  In exchange, the publican would
pay what will most likely be an increase in rent to a market
rate.

Selling beer to publicans typically makes up a significant
portion of a Pubco's earnings and the free-of-tie business model
will pose some downside risk to operating cash flows.  Unique,
falling within the scope of the legislation with over 499 tied
pubs, is partly addressing the market rent option through the
implementation of a more flexible business model involving the
introduction of new leases (see below).  However, there is
uncertainty as to the extent to which this will materialize, with
the full effect likely to be seen after five years.

Introduction Of New Leases

The holders of the notes issued by Unique Pub Finance Co. voted
in favor of a consent solicitation.  Under the asset management
agreement, Unique is only allowed to lease pubs to tenants under
certain lease terms, which are also spelled out in the asset
management agreement, with a limited number being let to
Enterprise Inns.  The approved consent solicitation has not
changed this.  However, the effect is that a greater number of
pubs within the securitized portfolio may be managed by
Enterprise Inns as the tenant under the leases.  The leases are
required to be free-of-tie.

The consent solicitation resulted in amendments to the asset
management agreement that allow Unique to lease pubs to the asset
manager (Enterprise Inns) under lease terms that tie the rental
payment to the operational performance of the pub, which
Enterprise Inns will operated as a managed pub.  Specifically,
the total number of pubs that can be leased to Enterprise Inns is
limited to:

   -- 125 pubs in the period from March 24, 2016 to the interest
      payment date (IPD) falling in March 2017;

   -- 250 pubs in the period from the IPD in March 2017 to the
      IPD in March 2018;

   -- 350 pubs in the period from the IPD in March 2018 to the
      IPD in March 2019; and

   -- 450 pubs thereafter.

The terms of the leases will set the initial rent (in the first
year under the lease) that Enterprise Inns will pay to Unique.
This initial rent will be the greater of the open market rent,
and 110% of the average rent received before the lease plus the
procurement fee Unique received under the beer supply agreement
during the two years proceeding Enterprise Inns' tenancy.

In subsequent years, the rent payable to Unique by Enterprise
Inns will be the greater of:

   -- The maximum of (i) 85% of the pub's prior year net income
      and (ii) the pub's prior year net income less GBP15,000,
      increased annually by the retail price index (RPI); and

   -- The 110% of the average rent received before the lease plus
      the procurement fee Unique received under the beer supply
      agreement during the two years proceeding Enterprise Inns'
      tenancy, increased by annually by RPI.

In effect, the rental income to be realized by Unique is floored
at 110% of the current rent and the procurement fee.  The minimum
10% increase in cash flow for the pubs that would be leased to
Enterprise Inns means that the potential effect may be credit
positive (there is a 10% premium received on both the rent and
the beer-tie income under the beer supply agreement).

Given the current state of the pub industry, S&P sees the gradual
change in strategy of Enterprise Inns toward a portfolio that
includes managed pubs as potentially beneficial to Unique.  This
is because rent payments will be linked to the operating income
of the managed pubs with downside protection through a link to
the previous rent and beer-tie revenue.

                          RATING RATIONALE

S&P's ratings on the notes reflect its assessment of Unique's
(the borrower) fair business risk profile, the estate's
performance and cash flow generating potential, and structural
protection available to the noteholders.

Class A Notes
S&P's ratings address the full and timely payment of interest and
timely payment of principal due on the notes.  S&P bases this
primarily on its ongoing assessment of the underlying business
risk of the borrowers, the integrity of the legal and tax
structure of the transaction, and the robustness of the cash flow
supported by structural enhancements.

Under S&P's cash flow projections that are commensurate with a
'BBB-' stress scenario, it do not expect the class A3 or A4 notes
to experience any interest shortfalls, and S&P expects principal
will be fully repaid according to its terms and conditions.  S&P
has therefore affirmed its 'BBB- (sf)' credit ratings on the
class A3 and A4 notes.

S&P projects that, at the 'BBB-' rating level, its projected cash
flows, along with the credit enhancement the liquidity facility
provides, would be sufficient to meet the interest and principal
obligations on the class A3 and A4 notes.  The cash flows S&P
projects under each rating scenario in its analysis are based on
its view of the borrower's business risk profile.  In addition,
they are guided by the parameters defined in S&P's criteria
"Understanding Standard & Poor's Rating Definitions," published
on June 3, 2009.  S&P has subsequently applied its projected cash
flows available for debt service at each rating level, in line
with the priority of payments.

Class M And N Notes
Under the conditions of the notes, if there are insufficient
funds available to the issuer to pay principal and interest on
the class M and N notes, then the unpaid amounts are deferred and
ultimately due in March 2032, along with accrued interest on the
deferred amounts.  An event of default for the class M and class
N notes may only be called if there is still any principal or
(deferred) interest outstanding at legal maturity in 2032.

S&P expects that the class M and N notes will receive ultimate
principal and interest, along with interest accrued on any
deferred amounts, before March 2032.  Under S&P's cash flow
stress, that is commensurate with a 'BB-' stress and a 'B' stress
for the class M and N notes, respectively.  S&P has therefore
lowered to 'B (sf)' from 'B+ (sf)' and placed on CreditWatch
negative its rating on the class N notes and affirmed S&P's
'BB- (sf)' rating on the class M notes.  S&P has placed its
rating on the class N notes on CreditWatch negative pending its
assessment of the potential effect of Brexit on the pub sector,
which S&P expects would put pressure on its ratings on the class
N notes.

Unique Pub Finance Co. is a whole business securitization (WBS)
of Unique's operating business of a tenanted pub estate in the
U.K. This transaction closed in 1999, and has been tapped several
times since, most recently in 2005.

                    RATING STABILITY CONSIDERATIONS

As business profile risk is a significant factor in S&P's review
of credit risk and in determining stresses, a material change in
a company's business risk profile would likely lead to a material
change in our stresses.  A material weakening of the company's
business risk profile would likely lead us to apply harsher
stresses when considering the ratings in the transaction.

Under S&P's cash flow analysis, it projects that the class A
notes would receive scheduled interest and principal when due at
a level of stress higher than the stress commensurate with a
'BBB-' rating level.  Likewise, S&P projects that the class M
notes would receive ultimate interest and principal, along with
interest on any deferred amounts at a level of stress higher than
the stress commensurate with a 'BB-' rating level.

However, the likely effect of Brexit on the U.K. economy in
general and discretionary spending may affect the pub industry.

The effect of both events may be a downward revision to S&P's
flat case that begins in fiscal year 2017, where S&P assumes no
growth and no decline in EBITDA over the tenor of the
transaction, and a lowering of Unique's business risk profile.
In light of that uncertainty, it would not be prudent to upgrade
the notes at this time.

S&P do not currently see a scenario that would lead it to raising
its assessment of Unique's business risk profile.

RATINGS LIST

Unique Pub Finance Co. PLC
GBP1.778 Billion fixed- and floating-rate asset-backed notes

Class             Rating
         To                   From

Rating Lowered And Placed On CreditWatch Negative

N        B (sf)/Watch Neg     B+ (sf)/Stable

Ratings Affirmed And Stable Outlook Removed

A3       BBB- (sf)            BBB- (sf)/Stable
A4       BBB- (sf)            BBB- (sf)/Stable
M        BB- (sf)             BB- (sf)/Stable


===============
X X X X X X X X
===============


* BOOK REVIEW: Risk, Uncertainty and Profit
-------------------------------------------
Author: Frank H. Knight
Publisher: Beard Books
Softcover: 381 pages
List Price: $34.95
Review by Gail Owens Hoelscher
Order your personal copy today at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1587981262/internetbankrupt

The tenets Frank H. Knight sets out in this, his first book,
have become an integral part of modern economic theory. Still
readable today, it was included as a classic in the 1998 Forbes
reading list. The book grew out of Knight's 1917 Cornell
University doctoral thesis, which took second prize in an essay
contest that year sponsored by Hart, Schaffner and Marx. In it,
he examined the relationship between knowledge on the part of
entrepreneurs and changes in the economy. He, quite famously,
distinguished between two types of change, risk and uncertainty,
defining risk as randomness with knowable probabilities and
uncertainty as randomness with unknowable probabilities. Risk,
he said, arises from repeated changes for which probabilities
can be calculated and insured against, such as the risk of fire.
Uncertainty arises from unpredictable changes in an economy,
such as resources, preferences, and knowledge, changes that
cannot be insured against. Uncertainty, he said "is one of the
fundamental facts of life."

One of the larger issues of Knight's time was how the
entrepreneur, the central figure in a free enterprise system,
earns profits in the face of competition. It was thought that
competition would reduce profits to zero across a sector because
any profits would attract more entrepreneurs into the sector and
increase supply, which would drive prices down, resulting in
competitive equilibrium and zero profit.

Knight argued that uncertainty itself may allow some
entrepreneurs to earn profits despite this equilibrium.
Entrepreneurs, he said, are forced to guess at their expected
total receipts. They cannot foresee the number of products they
will sell because of the unpredictability of consumer
preferences. Still, they must purchase product inputs, so they
base these purchases on the number of products they guess they
will sell. Finally, they have to guess the price at which their
products will sell. These factors are all uncertain and
impossible to know. Profits are earned when uncertainty yields
higher total receipts than forecasted total receipts. Thus,
Knight postulated, profits are merely due to luck. Such
entrepreneurs who "get lucky" will try to reproduce their
success, but will be unable to because their luck
will eventually turn.

At the time, some theorists were saying that when this luck runs
out, entrepreneurs will then rely on and substitute improved
decision making and management for their original
entrepreneurship, and the profits will return. Knight saw
entrepreneurs as poor managers, however, who will in time fail
against new and lucky entrepreneurs. He concluded that economic
change is a result of this constant interplay between new
entrepreneurial action and existing businesses hedging against
uncertainty by improving their internal organization.
Frank H. Knight has been called "among the most broad-ranging
and influential economists of the twentieth century" and "one of
the most eclectic economists and perhaps the deepest thinker and
scholar American economics has produced." He stands among the
giants of American economists that include Schumpeter and Viner.
His students included Nobel Laureates Milton Friedman, George
Stigler and James Buchanan, as well as Paul Samuelson. At the
University of Chicago, Knight specialized in the history of
economic thought. He revolutionized the economics department
there, becoming one the leaders of what has become known as the
Chicago School of Economics. Under his tutelage and guidance,
the University of Chicago became the bulwark against the more
interventionist and anti-market approaches followed elsewhere in
American economic thought. He died in 1972.


                            *********

Monday's edition of the TCR delivers a list of indicative prices
for bond issues that reportedly trade well below par.  Prices are
obtained by TCR editors from a variety of outside sources during
the prior week we think are reliable.  Those sources may not,
however, be complete or accurate.  The Monday Bond Pricing table
is compiled on the Friday prior to publication.  Prices reported
are not intended to reflect actual trades.  Prices for actual
trades are probably different.  Our objective is to share
information, not make markets in publicly traded securities.
Nothing in the TCR constitutes an offer or solicitation to buy or
sell any security of any kind.  It is likely that some entity
affiliated with a TCR editor holds some position in the issuers'
public debt and equity securities about which we report.

Each Tuesday edition of the TCR contains a list of companies with
insolvent balance sheets whose shares trade higher than US$3 per
share in public markets.  At first glance, this list may look
like the definitive compilation of stocks that are ideal to sell
short.  Don't be fooled.  Assets, for example, reported at
historical cost net of depreciation may understate the true value
of a firm's assets.  A company may establish reserves on its
balance sheet for liabilities that may never materialize.  The
prices at which equity securities trade in public market are
determined by more than a balance sheet solvency test.

Each Friday's edition of the TCR includes a review about a book
of interest to troubled company professionals.  All titles are
available at your local bookstore or through Amazon.com.  Go to
http://www.bankrupt.com/booksto order any title today.


                            *********


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., Fairless Hills,
Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C., USA.
Valerie U. Pascual, Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez,
Joy A. Agravante, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A. Chapman,
Editors.

Copyright 2016.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
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Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
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members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription
or balance thereof are US$25 each.  For subscription information,
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202-362-8552.


                 * * * End of Transmission * * *