---

       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, October 30, 2020, Vol. 21, No. 218

                           Headlines



A Z E R B A I J A N

SOCAR: S&P Alters Outlook to Negative & Affirms 'BB-' ICR


B E L A R U S

FLLC MIKRO: Fitch Withdraws B- LongTerm Issuer Default Rating


D E N M A R K

SAS AB: S&P Cuts ICR to 'SD' on Distressed Debt Restructuring


G E R M A N Y

LUFTHANSA: Posts EUR1.3-Bil. Losses in Quarter Ended September


I R E L A N D

PEARL FINANCE 2020: S&P Assigns Prelim. BB- Rating on E Notes


K A Z A K H S T A N

VTB BANK: S&P Affirms 'BB+/B' ICRs on Improving Asset Quality


L I T H U A N I A

MAXIMA GRUPE: S&P Alters Outlook to Negative & Affirms 'BB+' ICR


N E T H E R L A N D S

SELECTA GROUP: S&P Lowers ICR to 'SD' on Recapitalization Plan
SIGMA HOLDCO: Moody's Lowers CFR to B2, Outlook Stable
WP/AV CH II: Moody's Reviews B2 CFR for Upgrade on NEC Corp. Deal


T U R K E Y

RONESANS GAYRIMENKUL: Fitch Lowers LongTerm IDR to B, Outlook Neg.


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

EG GROUP: Moody's Lowers Corp. Family Rating to B3, Outlook Stable
HGEC CAPITAL: Owes GBP4.5 Million to More Than 50 Investors
INTU METROCENTRE: S&P Lowers ICR to 'B', On Watch Negative
JD WETHERSPOON: Egan-Jones Lowers Sr. Unsecured Ratings to B-
JELLYFISH SOLUTIONS: Operates Under CVA Due to Covid-19 Impact

LAURA ASHLEY: Next Enters Into Partnership to Sell Home Products
LECTA LTD: Moody's Assigns Caa1 CFR, Outlook Negative
ST. ANDREW STREET HOTEL: Goes Into Liquidation, 34 Jobs Affected
VICTORIA PLC: Fitch Affirms BB- LT IDR & Alters Outlook to Stable


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Mentor X

                           - - - - -


===================
A Z E R B A I J A N
===================

SOCAR: S&P Alters Outlook to Negative & Affirms 'BB-' ICR
---------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on State Oil Company of the
Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) to negative from stable, and affirmed
its 'BB-' rating, although S&P considers that SOCAR's stand-alone
creditworthiness has weakened.

The negative outlook reflects that S&P could downgrade SOCAR if, as
a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it downgrades the
sovereign, SOCAR's assets or liquidity deteriorate, or government
support to the company weakens.
On Oct. 23, 2020, S&P revised our outlook on Azerbaijan
(BB+/Negative/B) to reflect risks from the ongoing military
escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

S&P believes that Azerbaijan's ability to support SOCAR could
diminish if its credit quality deteriorates, or the conflict shifts
the government's priorities.

The outlook revision follows a similar action on the sovereign,
which resulted from the escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.  S&P said, "Our outlook on Azerbaijan is now negative,
given our view that the military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh could
undermine the country's already anemic economic growth, weaken its
fiscal and external positions, and pressure the country's financial
system. If the sovereign's credit quality deteriorates, we believe
it could weaken the government's ability to support SOCAR." The
military conflict and ongoing social and economic pressure from the
COVID-19 pandemic could also shift the government's priorities from
supporting investments of government-related entities (GREs), such
as SOCAR, to other social or military needs.

S&P said, "We continue to view SOCAR as one of the government's
main assets in the country's key oil and gas sector. The government
fully owns SOCAR, is heavily involved in its strategy and
decision-making, and has a record of providing sizeable equity and
debt funding for the company's capital expenditure (capex). Only
about 10% of SOCAR's debt is guaranteed by the government though.
SOCAR's day-to-day management is quite autonomous, and the
company's structure is complex and difficult to monitor (including
international or trading operations, given the absence of
centralized treasury management or consolidated financial plans).
At this stage, it remains unclear whether the recent establishment
of Azerbaijan Investment Holding in August 2020 to manage GREs will
have any implications for SOCAR, because the list of assets to be
transferred to the holding and the holding's role have yet to be
clarified.

"We assume limited impact on SOCAR's business or liquidity from the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in our base case, but downside risks
can't be ruled out.  At this stage, in our base case, we do not
include any direct damage to the safety of SOCAR's employees,
domestic operations, exports, production assets, or liquidity,
because this is difficult to predict. We understand that SOCAR's
main oil and gas assets are located relatively far from the
conflict zone, and that only the export pipelines run about 30-40
kilometers from Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani authorities reported
an attempted missile attack in the area close to export pipelines
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), which was
prevented by Azerbaijan's military forces. We note that
international oil majors are the shareholders and operators of
Azerbaijan's largest oil and gas projects, Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli
(ACG) and Shah Deniz, where SOCAR only has equity stakes (25% and
10%, respectively, plus a 49% stake in Southern Gas Corridor CJSC,
which holds 6.67% in Shah Deniz). As of now, SOCAR's domestic
operations, exports, and capex continue uninterrupted, and any
additional security costs are on the government. SOCAR's management
doesn't expect any changes to the planned commissioning of the
Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in November 2020, which would enable
exports of up to 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas from
Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz project via the SGC to Southern Europe.
Also, we understand that despite the hostilities in
Nagorno-Karabakh, SOCAR continues to have access to debt financing
from domestic and international banks, and its cash held with
domestic banks remains available.

"If the conflict continues, however, we cannot rule out the risk of
asset damage, weaker local demand, payment arrears, or additional
mandates on GREs, such as SOCAR, to support domestic customers who
face pressure from the pandemic and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Currently, we apply a 25% haircut to SOCAR's cash to reflect
relatively weak quality of the local banking system. If its cash
becomes not fully available, we may switch to a 100% haircut, which
would further weaken SOCAR's metrics. We have therefore revised our
assessment of SOCAR's stand-alone credit profile downward to 'b-'.

"We expect SOCAR's leverage to remain high, with negative free
operating cash flow (FOCF) and FFO to debt potentially falling
below 12% in 2020-2022.  Regardless of how the situation in
Nagorno-Karabakh develops, we expect SOCAR's FOCF in 2020-2022 to
be materially negative, only partly covered with equity injections
from the government. Under our base case, we expect FFO to debt of
9%-12% in 2020-2022, if capex cuts or equity contributions do not
fully offset lower oil and gas prices and OPEC+-related production
cuts. Still, interest coverage is robust, and working capital
fluctuations, which are difficult to predict, could support metrics
somewhat above 12%."

Despite plummeting oil and gas prices in second-quarter 2020,
SOCAR's EBITDA decline for the first half of the year was
relatively manageable (Azerbaijani manat [AZN] 2,138 million [about
$1.3 billion] compared to AZN2,571 million at half-year 2019). The
company reported a massive working capital outlay of AZN676 million
under International Financial Reporting Standards and significant
capex of AZN1,788 million, leading to strongly negative AZN847
million FOCF, which wasn't fully covered with a AZN373 million
equity injection from the government. S&P said, "Based on S&P
Global Ratings' oil price assumptions (Brent at $40 per barrel
[/bbl] by year-end 2020, $50/bbl in 2021-2022, and $55/bbl
thereafter), and assuming SOCAR complies with Azerbaijan's
commitments to cut oil production under the OPEC+ agreement, we
expect SOCAR's EBITDA will decline to about AZN4.0 billion in 2020,
and gradually rebound to AZN4.2 billion-AZN4.7 billion in
2021-2022, compared with AZN4.8 billion in 2019. We expect only
limited upside from the expected commissioning of the TAP pipeline
to Europe later in 2020 that would enable the company to export up
to 10 bcm of gas to Southern Europe." This is because SOCAR is only
a minority shareholder in the project value chain, the ramp-up will
be gradual, and most profits from oil and gas exports will accrue
to the government via the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan and a stake
in the SGC, and not to SOCAR.

The negative outlook reflects potential downside from the sovereign
and highlights risks that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict further
exacerbated by the pandemic and lower oil prices could weigh on
SOCAR's liquidity and operations, or shift the government's
priorities in supporting state-owned entities.

S&P said, "In our base case, we expect that SOCAR's liquidity will
remain manageable, its domestic operations and exports will
continue uninterrupted, and S&P Global Ratings-adjusted FFO to debt
will be about 9%-12% in 2020-2022. We also expect that the
government's willingness and ability to provide extraordinary and
ongoing support to SOCAR will remain solid."

S&P could downgrade SOCAR if:

-- S&P downgrades Azerbaijan;

-- The government's ability and willingness to support SOCAR
materially weakens, for example if the government focuses more
resources for social and military purposes rather than cofinancing
SOCAR's new oil and gas projects;

-- SOCAR's liquidity materially weakens, which could happen if the
local financial system comes under pressure, making a large part of
SOCAR's cash balances effectively unavailable, or if SOCAR loses
access to international bank funding; or

-- There is material damage to SOCAR's operations or exports that
cannot be easily repaired, which however is not our base-case
scenario.

S&P could revise the outlook to stable if all of the following
conditions apply together:

-- S&P revises the outlook on Azerbaijan to stable;

-- There are no signs of weakening state support to SOCAR; and

-- SOCAR's liquidity and capital structure remain manageable.




=============
B E L A R U S
=============

FLLC MIKRO: Fitch Withdraws B- LongTerm Issuer Default Rating
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has maintained FLLC Mikro Leasing's (ML) 'B-'
Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) on Rating Watch Negative
(RWN) and simultaneously withdrawn the ratings.

The ratings have been withdrawn for commercial reasons.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Unless noted, the key rating drivers for ML's IDRs are those
outlined in its Rating Action Commentary in April 2020.

The RWN reflects prolonged pressure on ML's financial and funding
profile stemming from the pandemic-related economic downturn and
ongoing political instability in Belarus. Fitch has not resolved
the RWN as ML's short-term funding profile in the current
environment gives rise to elevated refinancing risk while the
company's access to third party funding remains uncertain. The
effects of the ongoing market instability on ML's solvency also
remains uncertain.

Fitch expects macroeconomic and political instability to further
pressure funding availability for ML, given its concentrated
funding profile. Related-party borrowings were substantial, at 52%
of total loans at end-8M20. These are loans from its parent holding
company, which in turn are backed by bonds privately placed in the
EU. Another 47% was raised from local banks, while the share of a
local Russian state-owned bank substantially decreased to 16% (36%
at end-1Q20).

ML has a sizable (EUR6.5 million) related-party loan maturing in
mid-November 2020, but management informed us refinancing has been
agreed. Fitch believes related-party funding is less
confidence-sensitive but is susceptible to liquidity outflows at
parent level.

Fitch expects decreased business activity and trade to affect ML's
core SME clientele. The weakening of the Belarusian rouble will add
to asset quality pressure since most lease receivables are in
foreign currency (FC). ML's customer base is vulnerable to economic
shocks but this is mitigated by a good record of payment discipline
in recent years. Peak credit losses were a low 2% (in 2016) of
total loans. Default probability is considered high but collateral
of reasonable liquidity (vehicles) helps limit final losses. The
secondary car market in Belarus correlates with rouble
depreciation, which also underpins collateral coverage and payment
discipline.

The magnitude of credit losses in coming months will determine the
financial performance and effect on ML's solvency. Leverage,
defined as debt/tangible equity, has improved to 6.3x at end-1H20
(8.6x at end-2019) largely as a function of profit retention amid
only moderate portfolio growth. In Fitch's view, leverage will
remain under pressure in the mid-term. Positively, further
amortisation of the lease book amid shallow new business
origination could offset pressure on capital adequacy stemming from
credit losses and further FC balance-sheet inflation.

ML has ESG Relevance Scores of '4' for Management Strategy,
Governance Structure, Group Structure and Financial Transparency as
Fitch believes the company has (i) an aggressive business strategy,
with a high risk appetite and rapid growth, (ii) an underdeveloped
corporate governance framework, with a high related-party exposure,
(iii) sizable intra-group cash flow and (iv) weak quality of
financial disclosure all of which moderately affect ML's rating.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Rating sensitivities are no longer relevant given the rating
withdrawal.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

FLLC Mikro Leasing: Group Structure: '4', Financial Transparency:
'4', Management Strategy: '4', Governance Structure: '4'

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.




=============
D E N M A R K
=============

SAS AB: S&P Cuts ICR to 'SD' on Distressed Debt Restructuring
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit ratings on
Scandinavian Airline SAS AB to 'SD' from 'CC'.

The downgrade follows SAS's announcement of the completion of its
recapitalization plan.   SAS exchanged a part of its SEK2,250
million senior unsecured bond due 2022 into about 547 million
common shares, at SEK1.16 per share. The remaining SEK1,615 million
was converted into new hybrid notes. In addition, at the same share
price, SAS offset SEK1,500 million of subordinated perpetual
capital securities with about 1,164 million of common shares. S&P
views such debt restructuring as distressed, since the lenders are
receiving less value than promised under the original securities.




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

LUFTHANSA: Posts EUR1.3-Bil. Losses in Quarter Ended September
--------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Miller at The Financial Times reports that Germany's Lufthansa
warned of a worsening outlook on Oct. 20, despite delivering better
than expected results, in part due to a modest surge in demand for
flights over the summer.

The airline recorded losses of almost EUR1.3 billion in the three
months to the end of September, the FT discloses.

But the Frankfurt-based carrier said that for the next few months,
it would offer only a quarter of the flights compared with the same
period last year, due to the resurgence of coronavirus in many
countries, the FT relates.

The group, which received a EUR9 billion bailout from Angela
Merkel's government in June, had previously said it was expecting
to offer 50% of its pre-crisis capacity over the winter, allowing
it to break even, the FT notes.

Aircraft passenger numbers have slumped since the beginning of the
year as pandemic curbs have grounded flights around the globe, the
FT relays.

This year, Lufthansa, which includes brands such as Austrian,
Brussels, Swiss and Eurowings airlines, has made an operating loss
of more than EUR4 billion, compared with EUR1.7 billion in profits
in the first nine months of 2019, the FT states.

The lower than expected third-quarter losses were in part due to
holidaymakers making the most of eased lockdowns, the FT relays,
citing preliminary estimates released by the company on Oct. 20.

Helped by bailouts from Germany and Switzerland, Lufthansa, as
cited by the FT, said it had roughly EUR10 billion in liquidity,
and was "also in a position to withstand further burdens from the
coronavirus pandemic".

However, the group is still burning EUR1 million every 90 minutes,
chief executive Carsten Spohr said this month, as it battles to
reduce its fixed costs, the FT notes.

Lufthansa, which has warned that it has at least 22,000 surplus
staff as a result of the pandemic, has tens of thousands of workers
enrolled in furlough schemes and is in negotiations with unions
over job cuts, the FT discloses.




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

PEARL FINANCE 2020: S&P Assigns Prelim. BB- Rating on E Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings has assigned preliminary credit ratings to Pearl
Finance 2020 DAC's class A1, A2, B, C, D, and E notes. S&P's
preliminary ratings on the notes reflect our evaluation of the
underlying real estate collateral.

The transaction is backed by one senior loan, which is secured on a
pan-European portfolio of 61 light industrial and warehouse assets
in six European jurisdictions. The portfolio comprises 644,306
square meters of accommodation and is valued at EUR560.1 million as
of July 2020. The current loan-to-value ratio is 59.9% for the
securitized debt.

The two-year loan (with three one-year extension options) is
interest-only and while it includes cash trap covenants, there are
no default covenants prior to a permitted change of control.

The loan proceeds will be used in order to refinance the borrowers'
existing indebtedness. Furthermore, payments due under the loan
facility agreement primarily fund the issuer's interest and
principal payments due under the notes.

As part of EU and U.S. risk retention requirements, the issuer and
the issuer lender (Bank of American Merrill Lynch International
DAC) will enter into a EUR16.8 million (representing 5% of the
securitized senior loan) issuer loan agreement, which ranks pari
passu to each class of notes. The issuer lender will advance the
issuer loan to the issuer on the closing date. The issuer will
apply the issuer loan proceeds as partial consideration for the
purchase of the securitized senior loan from the loan seller.

S&P said, "Our preliminary ratings address Pearl Finance 2020's
ability to meet timely interest payments and of principal repayment
no later than the legal final maturity in November 2032. Our
preliminary ratings on the notes reflect our assessment of the
underlying loan's credit, cash flow, and legal characteristics, and
an analysis of the transaction's counterparty and operational
risks."

  Ratings List

  Class   Prelim. rating   Prelim. amount (mil. GBP)
  A1        AAA (sf)         158.5
  A2        AA+ (sf)          21.0
  B         AA- (sf)          32.5
  C         A- (sf)           40.4
  D         BBB- (sf)         34.2
  E         BB- (sf)          32.0




===================
K A Z A K H S T A N
===================

VTB BANK: S&P Affirms 'BB+/B' ICRs on Improving Asset Quality
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB+/B' long- and short-term issuer
credit ratings on VTB Bank (Kazakhstan). The outlook remains
stable. S&P also affirmed its 'kzAA' national scale rating on the
bank.

S&P said, "We affirmed the ratings because we believe the bank's
regulatory capital and liquidity buffers will allow it to withstand
the pressures from adverse operating conditions in Kazakhstan,
caused by the economic downturn and the COVID-19 pandemic. On top
of that, we believe VTB Bank (Kazakhstan) will remain of strategic
importance to the VTB group and receive potential shareholder
support if needed. Consequently, we believe that VTB Bank
(Kazakhstan) will remain a highly strategic subsidiary of VTB Bank
and continue benefiting from its parent's operational, managerial,
and financial support under almost all foreseeable circumstances.
As a result, our long-term rating on VTB Bank (Kazakhstan) is one
notch below our assessment of the group credit profile."

The operating environment is weighing on VTB Bank (Kazakhstan)'s
stand-alone operations, due to its small size, narrow market share,
and geographic concentration in Kazakhstan. With total assets of
Kazakhstani tenge 267.8 billion (about $641 million) on Oct. 1,
2020, the bank ranks among the country's top 20 banks. S&P said,
"We expect that the bank will continue to follow its strategy and
develop its core business operations focusing on retail clients and
small and midsize enterprises, with the aim for the latter two
business segments to account for a combined 70% of the loan book by
year-end 2022. We expect the parent to facilitate the bank's growth
plans for 2020-2021, which we expect to be higher than the market
average."

S&P said, "Contrary to our expectation, parent VTB Bank retained
100% of net profits in 2019 in order to support future growth
prospects, which also speaks in favor of the shareholder's
commitment of support. At the same time we would not exclude a 100%
dividend payout ratio starting from 2021, as the macroeconomic
environment stabilizes. We forecast our risk-adjusted capital ratio
will be between 4.6%-5.0% in 2020-2021, on the back of high lending
growth and credit costs of 3.1%-3.6% of total loans (below the
market average of 5%) while the net interest margin will remain
high at about 6.5%-7% during the same period.

"We positively view that the bank has completed the cleanup of its
loan book. However, we expect that the current macroeconomic
conditions may add pressure on future asset quality. We view as
positive that VTB Bank (Kazakhstan) has adopted more conservative
underwriting standards and that its risk management procedures are
under the parent's close supervision. As a result, we anticipate
the bank's Stage 3 loans will rise marginally to around 15% of
total loans over the next two years, compared with 14% as of Aug.
1, 2020. We also expect it will maintain a conservative
provisioning policy with coverage of nonperforming loans staying
above 60% through 2020-2021.

"We assess VTB Bank (Kazakhstan)'s funding in line with that of its
domestic peers. We believe that the bank's funding base is rather
diversified and stable, which is reflected in the stable funding
ratio of above 150% as of Oct. 1, 2020. We did not see a
deterioration in customer confidence in the first eight months of
the year; on the contrary, the bank built a sufficient liquidity
cushion, which we view as positive in the current macroeconomic
environment.

"Our stable outlook on VTB Bank (Kazakhstan) mirrors that on the
bank's parent, Russia-based VTB Bank. The rating on VTB Bank
(Kazakhstan) will likely move in tandem with that on VTB Bank,
reflecting our view of group support over the next 12 months.

"We would lower our rating on VTB Bank (Kazakhstan) if we lowered
our rating on VTB Bank. Although not our base-case scenario, we
could lower the rating by two notches if we anticipate a weakening
of the parent's long-term commitment to the Kazakh market and to
its subsidiary in particular.

"A positive rating action on VTB Bank (Kazakhstan) is unlikely over
the next 12 months. However, if we were to take a positive rating
action on the parent, we would likely take a similar rating action
on VTB Bank (Kazakhstan), as long as we continue to consider it a
highly strategic subsidiary."




=================
L I T H U A N I A
=================

MAXIMA GRUPE: S&P Alters Outlook to Negative & Affirms 'BB+' ICR
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Maxima Grupe to negative
from stable, and affirmed its 'BB+' ratings on the company and its
senior unsecured debt.

S&P said, "The negative outlook reflects our expectations that,
over the next 12-18 months, Maxima's adjusted leverage and FFO to
debt could get stuck between 2.9x and 3.1x and 27% and 29.5%,
respectively. The outlook also reflects our view that Maxima's
sluggish deleveraging could weigh on the financial strengths of
sole shareholder Vilniaus Prekyba."

Expected weak cash flow in 2020 and a likely intensification of
market challenges in 2021 will probably slow deleveraging. In 2020,
the group should report a material increase in profitability thanks
to improving earnings generation. This stems from an absence of
significant integration expenses in Poland and further
cost-optimization, sound cost control in the Baltics, and gradual
strengthening of earnings in Bulgaria. This would translate to an
S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA of EUR350 million-EUR360
million, versus EUR328 million in 2019. However, this is likely to
be offset by negative reported discretionary cash flow after lease
payments of EUR25 million-EUR50 million, largely due to exceptional
working capital related cash outflows related to a change in
payment terms in Poland, yielding leverage between 2.9x and 3.1x.
S&P said, "In our view, leverage this high brushes the upper bounds
for the rating level and is likely to remain there due to
heightened competition in the group's third- and fourth-largest
geographies, Latvia and Estonia, in 2021. For instance, Lidl's
arrival in these two markets will most likely push prices down,
which would then constrain margins. That said, growing earnings and
cash flows in other markets should counter most of the pressure.
For instance, Maxima has already posted stronger EBITDA in Poland
and Bulgaria in the first half of 2020. We expect that Maxima's
EBITDA generation will remain flat in 2021 versus in 2020."

S&P said, "Consequently, over the next 12-18 months, Maxima's
deleveraging could stagger below the thresholds for the 'BB+'
rating. So far this year, Maxima has deleveraged slower than what
we anticipated in our 2019 base case and when we first assigned the
rating in 2018. Against a relatively high point of 3.2x in 2019, we
expect S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage at 2.9x-3.1x in
2020-2021 compared with our previous leverage expectation of
2.7x-2.9x for the same period. Similarly, FFO to debt could remain
below 30% in 2020-2021, versus our previous expectations of about
30% in 2020, and exceed 30% in 2021. Furthermore, we note that even
though the application of International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) 16 resulted in a higher lease liability than
anticipated, deleveraging is still slower than our initial
forecasts.

"The Baltics market has felt more strain than we anticipated from
competition from large international food retailers, accentuating
the group's potential volatility in earnings. We used to view the
market's overall modest size and its saturation as limiting
potential competitive pressure. However, in 2016-2021, Lidl will
have entered all three Baltic countries, materially disrupting the
competitive landscape. After Lidl entered the Lithuanian market, we
understand that Maxima is losing its market share, with its market
share in its home country declining to about 32% in 2020 from 33%
in 2019. Lidl will now enter Latvia and Estonia in 2021, where
Maxima holds dominant market shares (about 25.5% and 17.0%,
respectively in 2019). This makes Maxima more sensitive to Lidl's
push in these markets, as Maxima is building some of its
competitive advantage on price positioning and price perception. In
our view, this could create volatility in earnings and profit
margins, since Maxima will have to defend its positions."

Vilniaus Prekyba's financial strength could weaken if Maxima's
deleveraging doesn't pick up. Maxima is part of Vilniaus Prekyba, a
wider group that includes a fairly well geographically diversified
pharmacy business, Euroapotheca UAB, real estate business Akropolis
Group UAB (essentially operating in the Baltics), as well as ERMI
Group UAB, retail operations of construction, finishing materials,
and household products in Lithuania and Estonia. These entities
were positive contributors to the group's overall profitability and
cash flow in 2019. This is shifting in 2020, however, due to
strained profitability in some of the businesses, because of
recessionary conditions (for example, in the Lithuanian real estate
market in 2020). As such, in 2020, we expect the group's
profitability to remain rather flat. S&P said, "We anticipate that
the wider group's leverage will be 2.9x-3.1x in 2020. In 2021,
because we think that Maxima's earnings will remain flat and its
cash flow will be below our previous expectations, alongside some
uncertainty on the development of the group's other businesses, we
see a risk that Vilniaus Prekyba will not deleverage to well below
3.0x. This is why we think deleveraging at Vilniaus Prekyba may
also slow down."

Positively, Maxima's creditworthiness remains supported by the
business' resilience and sound market position amid competitive
headwinds and COVID-19-related setbacks. S&P said, "We consider
food retail nondiscretionary and less cyclical than other sectors.
This leads us to assume that Maxima's operating performance should
remain afloat despite the weak macroeconomic conditions caused by
the pandemic. We expect that Maxima will post positive
like-for-like sales (LFL) in 2020 driven by a sound performance of
its existing store bases, although we expect LFL sales growth to
slow in the second half of the year, after 1.2% growth in the first
half of the year. That said, we believe that Maxima's competitive
pricing and attractive assortment will help the group to maintain
its customer base. We understand that Maxima will increase its
focus on growing its e-commerce business under the Barbora brand,
which remains small at less than 1% of 2019 consolidated revenue.
The group has already launched additional pick-up service in
Lithuania in 2020, and plans to roll-out this service in Latvia and
Estonia. We anticipate that total revenue could rise 3%-5% in 2020
from about EUR4 billion in 2019. In 2021 we expect further growth
of the topline, albeit dimmed by competitive pressure in Latvia and
Estonia, being offset by solid expected expansion of Polish and
Bulgarian operations, resulting in revenue growth of 2%-4%. We also
anticipate that Maxima will remain more profitable than its
European peers in 2020-2022, which we regard as beneficial for the
rating on Maxima. We expect S&P Global Ratings-adjusted margins be
at 8.1%-8.6% in 2020-2022."

Maxima's discretionary cash flow should remain positive even within
a more challenging market landscape in 2021, supporting the
deleveraging prospects. Moderate working capital inflows, alongside
stable earnings and growing capex, should translate into S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted free operating cash flow (FOCF) expanding to
EUR195 million-EUR205 million in 2021 from expected EUR150
million-EUR160 million in 2020, and from EUR193 million in 2019.
S&P expects discretionary cash flow to grow from expected EUR60
million-EUR70 million (before lease payments) in 2020 to EUR95
million-EUR105 million (before lease payments) in 2021 considering
the annual dividend of EUR85 million-EUR100 million, a per Maxima's
dividend policy.

S&P Global Ratings acknowledges a high degree of uncertainty about
the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. The current consensus
among health experts is that COVID-19 will remain a threat until a
vaccine or effective treatment becomes widely available, which
could be around mid-2021. S&P said, "We are using this assumption
in assessing the economic and credit implications associated with
the pandemic. As the situation evolves, we will update our
assumptions and estimates accordingly."

S&P said, "The negative outlook reflects our expectations that over
the next 12-18 months Maxima's deleveraging will take longer than
we initially expected. Over 2020-2021, we forecast adjusted debt to
EBITDA of 2.9x-3.1x and FFO to debt of 27%-29.5%, amid intensifying
competition in Latvia and Estonia. In addition, the negative
outlook reflects our view that the weaker performance of the Maxima
Grupe could weigh on Vilniaus Prekyba's financial strength, since
the food retailer represents more than 70% of group earnings." This
would prevent deleveraging at the group level, suggesting that
Vilniaus Prekyba's leverage would remain around 3.0x and that FFO
to debt not improve above 30% in 2020.

S&P could lower the ratings on Maxima if:

-- Maxima significantly underperformed our base case including a
material decline in operating performance, with dropping
profitability because of intensifying market competition, or a
weaker macroenvironment in the Baltics or Poland, weighing on
margins and cash flows;

-- Maxima's or Vilnius Prekyba's current financial policies became
less prudent, either due to increased dividends or large-scale,
debt-funded acquisitions that kept leverage at about 3.0x or above
and FFO to debt below 30% at either Maxima or the wider group
level; or

-- Liquidity of both Maxima and Vilnius Prekyba were to
deteriorate.

S&P could revise the outlook to stable if Maxima deleveraged well
below 3.0x on an adjusted basis while strengthening its FFO to debt
above 30% on a sustained basis, supported by the financial policy.
This could stem from Maxima's growing profitability on the back of
cost control and efficiency measures more than offsetting
competitive pressure on the group's profitability in Latvia and
Estonia.

An outlook revision to stable would also hinge on Vilniaus
Prekyba's progress deleveraging, such as its leverage reduces well
below 3.0x and its FFO comfortably exceeds 30% sustainably, as well
as low releveraging risk at both Maxima and Vilniaus Prekyba.




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

SELECTA GROUP: S&P Lowers ICR to 'SD' on Recapitalization Plan
--------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on pan-European
vending machine operator Selecta Group B.V. to 'SD' (selective
default) from 'CC', and its issue ratings on the senior secured
notes to 'D'. S&P left leaving the 'CCC' issue rating on the super
senior revolving credit facility (RCF) unchanged, since it views
the extended RCF tenor as adequately compensated by the new
interest rate step-up in fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2023 (FY2023),
and financial maintenance covenants.

The recovery ratings remain unchanged, with meaningful recovery
prospects on the senior secured notes (rounded estimate: 50%) and
very high prospects on the super senior RCF (rounded estimate:
95%).

S&P said, "Following the completion of the sanction hearing, we
downgraded Selecta to 'SD' because we expect that the group will
complete its debt exchange and undergo its recapitalization in the
coming days.   In our view, the debt exchange is distressed and
tantamount to default with senior secured lenders receiving less
than the original promise of the debt instruments. Nevertheless, we
positively assess the amendment to the current super senior RCF. We
view the 25 basis points (bps) uplift starting at the beginning of
FY2023, and the new financial maintenance covenants, which will
replace the existing draw-stop covenant, as sufficient compensation
for the extended tenor to Jan. 1, 2026.

"As a result, we will reassess Selecta's creditworthiness and
ratings.   We are reviewing the group's new capital structure, with
the existing notes expected to be replaced by euro and Swiss franc
first-lien notes amounting to EUR693 million (maturity in April
2026), second-lien notes of EUR240 million (maturity in July 2026),
and EUR416 million of new preference shares (redemption date of
October 2026) issued by a new holding company. We will also analyze
the issuer's forward-looking capacity and willingness to service
that debt, evaluating the group's strategy, operating performance,
and liquidity position."


SIGMA HOLDCO: Moody's Lowers CFR to B2, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service downgraded Sigma Holdco BV's, corporate
family rating (CFR) to B2 from B1 and its probability of default
rating (PDR) to B2-PD from B1-PD. Sigma Holdco BV is the parent
company of Upfield B.V., the global leading manufacturer of
margarine spread.

Concurrently, Moody's has downgraded to B2 from B1 the ratings on
the EUR4,328 million guaranteed senior secured first lien term loan
facility due in July 2025 and the EUR700 million guaranteed senior
secured first lien revolving credit facility ("RCF") due in January
2025, borrowed by Upfield B.V. and Sigma US Corp, and to Caa1 from
B3 the ratings on the EUR685 million guaranteed senior unsecured
notes and the $525 million guaranteed senior unsecured notes due in
May 2026, issued by Sigma Holdco BV. The outlook has been changed
to stable from negative for both entities.

"The downgrade reflects our view that substantial restructuring
costs and lower than expected cash generation will result in
prolonged weakness in Upfield's credit metrics, which are no longer
commensurate with the existing B1 rating category," says Paolo
Leschiutta, a Moody's Senior Vice President and lead analyst for
Upfield.

"The stable outlook recognises the strong business profile of the
company and our expectation that cash generation will turn positive
next year. However, the rating is weakly positioned and failure to
demonstrate improvement in key credit metrics and liquidity over
the next 6 to 12 months could result in further downward pressure,"
added Mr Leschiutta.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The downgrade reflects Moody's view that the company's
profitability and cash generation will remain weaker than
originally assumed when the rating was initially assigned in 2018,
resulting in a prolonged deterioration in the company's credit
metrics at least until 2022. The complex separation process from
Unilever N.V. (Unilever, A1 stable), which was completed in
mid-2020, resulted in significant restructuring costs and in higher
than Moody's had anticipated cash outflows, mainly related to
working capital management. In addition, the company's significant
investments in its transformational programme are also depressing
cash flow generation, translating into higher debt. The company
still has to achieve part of its transformation savings, and in
Moody's view, some might materialize beyond 2021.

Furthermore, the company's rating was already weakly positioned
following the acquisition of Arivia in January 2020, which resulted
in an increase in debt with only limited EBITDA contribution.

Although Upfield has only been marginally affected by the
coronavirus outbreak, and mainly because of its direct exposure to
the food service industry through its Upfield Professional (UPro)
division (ca. 10% of 2019 revenue), the pandemic reduces visibility
on future results while the current metrics offer only limited
flexibility to absorb additional shocks.

In addition, the company's profitability remains exposed to
potential adverse movements in commodity prices, which might be
challenging to pass entirely to customers given the current
economic environment and the generally high competition in some of
the company's markets, and sustained volatility in emerging market
currencies. Upfield generates 20% of its revenues in emerging
markets.

Upfield generates approximately 9% of its revenues in the United
Kingdom and higher import tariffs or a further weakening in the
British pound owing to a hard Brexit might strain the company's
profitability in the UK.

More positively, Moody's notes that the company has completed the
complex carve-out process from Unilever, including the
implementation of a new IT platform across all of its markets, new
human resources, logistic and finance functions and the
renegotiation of over 600 contracts. With the separation process
now complete, there is enhanced visibility as to sustained positive
free cash flow generation. In addition, the Arivia acquisition will
offer a good platform to further grow in adjacent categories
improving the company's product diversification. Despite a
challenging year, Moody's also acknowledges the company's success
to generate positive revenue growth in both 2019 and the first half
of 2020, for the first time since 2014.

Overall, Moody's expects the company's financial leverage, measured
as Moody's adjusted gross debt to EBITDA, to remain well above 8.0x
this year, which is seen as high for the B2 rating. The rating,
however, assumes that the company will be able to improve its cash
generation and credit metrics so that its leverage reduces to
between 8.0x and 7.0x over the next 12 to 18 months. Failure to
maintain top-line stabilization, to demonstrate operating margin
improvements on the back of lower restructuring costs and to reduce
financial leverage could lead to further downward pressure on the
rating. In this context, Moody's notes the event risk resulting
from potential acquisitions, as demonstrated with the debt-financed
acquisition of Arivia in 2019.

Although the company's leverage will remain high for a B2 rating,
the rating continues to be supported by the strong business profile
of the company reflecting its (1) significant scale and strong
portfolio of brands; (2) leading global market position, with a
substantial global market share of around 32% of the spread and
margarine segment (according to Euromonitor); (3) extensive
geographic diversification; and (4) potential for high
profitability and cash flow generation once restructuring costs
reduce. The rating also reflects Moody's expectations that the
company's operating performance will improve, driven by savings
from the value creation transformation programme and the more
efficient cost structure as a result of the carve-out from
Unilever.

LIQUIDITY

Moody's views Upfield's liquidity as adequate but significant cash
outflows related to the carve out process, the restructuring
programme and the Arivia acquisition have reduced available
liquidity. The rating agency notes that the company has currently
only limited availability under its EUR700 million RCF which is
currently almost fully drawn and cash available on balance sheet
has eroded during 2020. The company had EUR508 million of cash on
balance sheet as of June 2020, but in Moody's view, this will erode
in the second half of the year. The full availability under the RCF
was seen as an important buffer to cover the potential cash
generation shortfall when the rating was assigned, which is no
longer the case.

More positively, Moody's expects the company to turn free cash flow
positive in 2021, with around EUR200 million of cash generation,
and notes that the company does not have any material debt
maturities until 2025 and its financial covenants offer ample
leeway. If the RCF is drawn by more than 40%, the springing senior
leverage covenant of 8.5x will be tested quarterly. Headroom under
this covenant was ample as of June 2020 when the ratio stood at
5.3x.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The B2-PD PDR, in line with the B2 CFR, reflects a 50% corporate
family recovery assumption applicable for mixed bank/bond debt
structures. The B2 ratings of both the term loans and the RCF
reflect the first-lien nature of these facilities with no
structural subordination because of the guarantee structure.
However, the security package only covers material assets in the UK
and the US, and share pledges, intercompany receivables and some
bank accounts in other jurisdictions. The Caa1 senior unsecured
rating on the EUR1,050 million equivalent notes reflect the
contractual subordination of the notes to the term loans and RCF.

RATIONALE FOR STABLE OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that the company's
cash generation over the next 12 to 18 months will improve on the
back of lower restructuring costs and incremental savings from the
value creation programme. The rating, however, remains weakly
positioned and failure to demonstrate ability to generate positive
free cash flow within the next 6 to 12 months could result in
further negative pressure.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

Positive pressure on the rating in the short term is unlikely, but
could materialize if Upfield improves free cash flow generation
which will be used to reduce debt so that its Moody's adjusted
gross debt/EBITDA reduces below 7.0x on a sustained basis.

Conversely, negative pressure on the rating could materialize if
the group's FCF generation remains negative in 2021 with no
evidence of improved underlying and reported earnings. Failure to
reduce its Moody's-adjusted gross/EBITDA below 8.0x by 2021 or
further deterioration in its liquidity could result in further
negative rating pressure. Further debt funded acquisitions before
actual improvements in free cash flow generation could also excerpt
downward pressure on the rating.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS

Issuer: Sigma Holdco BV

Downgrades:

Probability of Default Rating, Downgraded to B2-PD from B1-PD

Corporate Family Rating, Downgraded to B2 from B1

Backed Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture, Downgraded to Caa1
from B3

Outlook Action:

Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative

Issuer: Upfield B.V.

Downgrade:

Backed Senior Secured Bank Credit Facilities, Downgraded to B2 from
B1

Outlook Action:

Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Consumer
Packaged Goods Methodology published in February 2020.

COMPANY PROFILE

Sigma Holdco BV (Upfield) was formed in 2018 from the carve out of
Unilever's spread business. The assets were rebranded as Upfield
(previously known as Flora Food Group) in August 2018. With revenue
of EUR2.8 billion and company's normalised EBITDA of EUR684 million
in 2019, the group is a global manufacturer of food spreads,
primarily producing margarine, which accounts for around 84% of its
turnover. The group also produces other products, including creams,
vegetable cooking oils and other spreadable products. Upfield is
geographically diversified operating in 95 countries across both
developed (representing around 80% of turnover) and emerging
markets, with no material concentration risk in any one market. Its
largest markets are the US, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands.
Sigma Holdco is controlled by funds managed and advised by Kohlberg
Kravis Roberts & Co. Inc.


WP/AV CH II: Moody's Reviews B2 CFR for Upgrade on NEC Corp. Deal
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service placed on review for upgrade the B2
corporate family rating and the B2-PD probability of default rating
(PDR) of WP/AV CH Holdings II B.V. (Avaloq), the top entity in
Avaloq's restricted group. Concurrently, Moody's has placed on
review for upgrade the B2 rating on the CHF 350 million senior
secured term loan B and the CHF 60 million senior secured revolving
credit facility (RCF), both borrowed by WP/AV CH Holdings III B.V.
The outlook has been changed to ratings under review from stable.

The review follows the announcement that NEC Corporation (NEC,
unrated) has agreed to acquire Avaloq for an enterprise value
("EV") of around CHF 2.05 billion, equivalent to a Moody's
estimated 23x EV to EBITDA multiple. NEC will acquire 100% of
shares in Avaloq, which is currently owned 45% by Warburg Pincus
and the remainder by its founders and management. Following the
acquisition, Avaloq will remain being an own operating entity,
headquartered in Switzerland, but will be fully consolidated within
NEC Corporations financial accounts.

RATINGS RATIONALE / FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR
DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

The acquisition of Avaloq by NEC Corporation is credit positive as
the company will be owned by a much larger group of significant
financial strength. The repayment of the outstanding term loans is
expected and, hence, the stand-alone financial profile of Avaloq
will improve.

From a strategic perspective, Avaloq will benefit from getting
access to NEC's broad variety of digital solutions and NEC's
customers' base.

A near-term upgrade of Avaloq's ratings is dependent on the
successful conclusion of its acquisition by NEC, which is subject
to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The
transaction is expected to be closed until April 2021. The ratings
could be confirmed at the existing level should the acquisition not
be performed.

As Moody's has noted prior to the review process, downwards
pressure if leverage (Moody's adjusted) remains sustainably above
5.5x (6.5x before the capitalization of software development
costs), FCF/debt declines towards 0% on a sustained basis as well
as an any sign of a deterioration in liquidity.

Prior to the rating process, Moody's said that upward rating
pressure could arise if leverage (Moody's adjusted) is sustained
below 4.0x, FCF/debt increases sustainably above 10% and EBITDA
exceeding the 2016 levels.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS

Moody's takes into account the impact of environmental, social and
governance (ESG) factors when assessing companies' credit quality.
Avaloq's ratings factor in its current minority private equity
ownership, illustrated by its high financial leverage.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Software
Industry published in August 2018.




===========
T U R K E Y
===========

RONESANS GAYRIMENKUL: Fitch Lowers LongTerm IDR to B, Outlook Neg.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Turkish property company Ronesans
Gayrimenkul Yatirim A.S.'s (RGY) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating
(IDR) and senior unsecured rating to 'B' from 'B+' and removed them
from Rating Watch Negative (RWN). The Outlook on the IDR is
Negative.

The downgrade reflects material foreign currency risk as almost all
of RGY's debt is denominated in euros or US dollars, but revenue is
in Turkish lira, which has depreciated more than 40% in 2020. This
has weakened credit metrics and may mean meeting debt covenants
will be difficult, especially if the lira further depreciates.

The company is also exposed to the weak Turkish economy and retail
market, which are still suffering from the effects of the pandemic.
To help tenants and maintain occupancy, RGY has granted rent
forgiveness and discounts, which has lowered rental income.

The Negative Outlook reflects the ongoing uncertainty around the
economy and lira.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Weakened Economy Affecting Retail Sector: The Turkish economy
remains volatile, with Fitch forecasting GDP to contract by 3.2% in
2020, but grow more than 5.0% in 2021. Retail markets have been
weak since 2018 and 2019, but Turkey's 73-day lockdown of shopping
centres starting on 20 March to try to slow the spread of the
coronavirus magnified this weakness. RGY collected no rent from
retailers, excluding supermarkets and pharmacies, during this
period.

Footfall has been slow to recover since lockdown ended, although
collection rates have recently improved to above 90%. Occupancy
rates remain healthy at around 95%, but this partly reflects RGY
granting rent forgiveness and discounts. While these steps have
assisted struggling tenants, they have also reduced rental income.
Given the ongoing uncertainties around the economy and the
pandemic, the ability and timing of tenants and RGY to recover
towards pre-pandemic operational levels is uncertain.

Weak Lira Aggravating Leverage Metrics: The Turkish lira has been
highly volatile since 2018, but has depreciated more than 40% since
the beginning of 2020 and shows little sign of stabilising. Over
90% of RGY's debt is denominated in euros or US dollars, but since
October 2018, the government has prohibited Turkish companies from
linking contracts to foreign currencies. Despite hedging 12% of
debt with FX forwards and holding around 10% of debt in lira, the
company remains significantly exposed to currency volatility.

Fitch expects currency depreciation, combined with lower EBITDA, to
increase Fitch calculated proportionally consolidated net
debt/EBITDA to around 16x in 2020, well beyond its negative rating
sensitivity. While Fitch forecasts cash flow leverage to improve to
around 12.5x in 2021 and around 11.5x in 2022, there remains
considerable uncertainty regarding this recovery

Increased Risk of Covenant Breach: The depreciation in the Turkish
lira and fall in rental income have meant the company is at risk of
breaching its covenants. There is limited headroom under the
combined interest coverage ratio covenant for the company's
Eurobond and the loan-to-value covenant, which will both next be
measured at YE20. Continued lira depreciation could lead to these
covenants being breached.

If a breach under the combined interest coverage ratio covenant
occurred, RGY could cure it using available cash, but under the
bond documentation it is only able to do this twice. If a breach
under the LTV covenant occurred, the company would likely require
an equity injection to cure this, but there is no limit to the
number of times this can be done. The company also has covenants on
its secured debt, but Fitch believes it has the ability to
negotiate waivers with lenders should breaches of these occur.

Secured Debt Dominates Capital Structure: At June 2020, only around
11% of assets were unencumbered, down from around 20% at end-2019.
This was caused by the company raising secured debt at the
previously unencumbered Kucukyali Hilltown mall, the sale of
Mecidiyekoy Office and the euro valuation decline of investment
property. The high level of secured debt is putting unsecured debt
holders in an increasingly subordinated position and limits the
company's flexibility to manage its capital structure.

Manageable Refinancing Risk: Around EUR293 million of debt matures
in 2021 and just over EUR200 million matures in 2022. Around EUR90
million of the debt due in in 2021 is related to a secured loan on
Optimum Adana, which matures in May 2021. The asset is good quality
and credit approval has been obtained from the current lender.
However, the deterioration in the Turkish lira has meant certain
terms will have to be re-negotiated.

In addition, around EUR65 million (at share) of secured debt on
Optimum Istanbul matures in November 2021 and around USD50 million
(at share) of secured debt on Optimum Ankara matures in December
2021. As both of these assets are within a JV with GIC, who
guarantees the JV debt on a joint and several bases along with RGY,
Fitch views the refinancing risk of both loans to be low.

Good Asset Portfolio: The company owns and operates a portfolio of
13 mainly destination shopping centres, valued at around EUR2.4
billion at share as of June 2020. The assets are good quality and
spread across seven of Turkey's largest cities, with the highest
concentration of assets in Istanbul. While asset concentration is
high due to the low number of assets, there is no single dominant
asset. The tenant base is good with a mix of local and
international companies with no material concentration and the
weighted average unexpired lease term (to expiry) remains healthy
at 6.4 years. The company has simplified its business by buying out
the majority of its JVs, apart from those with GIC, which will
remain in the portfolio.

Parent Influence Limited by Shareholder Agreement: Group holding
company Ronesans Emlak Gelistirme Holding and Singapore's GIC have
entered into a shareholder agreement that adequately ring-fences
RGY from its parent companies to allow Fitch to assess RGY on a
standalone basis. Both key shareholders must provide consent for
all major decisions, including dividends. RGY retains separate
financing with no cross-defaults or guarantees to the wider holding
group.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

As a company operating within Turkey, RGY faces a number of risks
that markedly differ from other rated real estate companies that
are reflected in its rating. This includes exposure to a highly
volatile economic and political environment, which continue to
impact retail markets. Turkey also remains vulnerable to
geopolitical risks.

While the pandemic has significantly affected retail markets across
Europe in 2020, the effects in Turkey hit retail markets that have
been relatively weak since 2018, when the lira began to notably
depreciate. This heightened FX exposure also differentiates RGY
from other rated EMEA real estate companies. Lira volatility has
significantly affected RGY's debt metrics as nearly all of its debt
is denominated in foreign currencies. While most real estate
companies based in eastern European can index their leases to euros
or dollars to match their capital structure, RGY cannot do so owing
to the 2018 government decree that prohibits Turkish companies from
indexing or denominating their leases or contracts in foreign
currencies. In the case of UAE-based real estate companies, the
dirham is pegged to the dollar, significantly reducing FX risk.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

  - Like-for-like rental income to decline by around 29% in 2020.
Fitch expects like-for-like rental income to recover by around 25%
in 2021, driven by a reduction in tenant incentives and an ability
to pass on Fitch forecast inflation of 11% onto tenants

  - Capex limited to maintenance capex of around TRY20 million per
year from 2020-2023

  - Disposals of around TRY350 million per year from 2021-2023,
related to the sale of non-core land

  - No dividends paid from 2020-2023

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

  - Greater visibility over, and improvement in, RGY's liquidity
position as well as headroom against Eurobond and secured debt
covenants

  - Implementation of an effective and sustainable means of hedging
the Turkish lira relative to its foreign currency-denominated debt

  - Net debt/EBITDA below 10.5x over a sustained period

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

  - Further weakening of Turkish economic conditions or a further
significant depreciation in the Turkish lira

  - Net debt/EBITDA above 11.5x over a sustained period

  - Reduced headroom in Eurobond and secured debt covenants leading
to a breach of covenants

  - Failure to address refinancing risk at least 12 months ahead of
these debt maturities, including clarifying the expected currency,
interest rate and tenor of refinanced debt

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Satisfactory Liquidity: At end-June 2020, and pro-forma for the
Mecidiyekoy office sale, RGY had available cash of TRY1.05 billion
(EUR136 million). Around 95% of this cash is held in hard currency.
This is more than sufficient to cover the TRY46 million (EUR6
million) of loan amortisations in H2 2020. However, the company has
TRY2.26 billion (EUR293 million) of debt maturities and
amortisation payments in 2021, which will have to be re-financed.

Fitch expects the company to use some of its available cash to
refinance upcoming secured debt maturities (at Optimum Istanbul and
Optimum Ankara) with a lower level of gross debt to provide greater
headroom under its covenants. This cash may also be used to cure
covenant breaches and to pay interest on the Eurobond, particularly
if cash is retained at the JV level. The company has no committed
capex.

All euros-to-Turkish lira translations have used the TRY/EUR
exchange rate of 7.71 at 30 June 2020.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.




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

EG GROUP: Moody's Lowers Corp. Family Rating to B3, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service downgraded the corporate family rating of
Blackburn, England-based fuel forecourt operator EG Group Limited
to B3 from B2 and its probability of default rating (PDR) to B3-PD
from B2-PD. Moody's has also downgraded to B3 from B2 and to Caa2
from Caa1 the ratings on EG's first and second lien instrument
ratings respectively of the debt issued by its subsidiaries EG
Finco Limited, EG Global Finance plc., EG America LLC and EG Group
Australia Pty Ltd. The outlook on the ratings has been changed to
stable from negative.

The rating action reflects Moody's view of the company's limited
progress in terms of financial reporting and governance, with
regards to internal controls and board composition, relative to its
substantially increased scale and complexity following large-scale
M&A activity in the last two years. Moody's understands that this
has contributed to the recent resignation of its auditors and their
replacement with new auditors. Moody's also acknowledges that the
group's 2019 accounts received an unqualified opinion by Deloitte
and understands that the appointment of KPMG as new auditor
followed an extensive on boarding process, that there have been no
accounting or auditing disputes between EG and Deloitte, and that
Deloitte continues to audit the group's Australian operations. The
rating action also reflects the company's still meaningful gap
between pro-forma debt metrics and debt metrics based on audited
financial figures, albeit reducing and expected to be at the lowest
level ever in Q3 2020. More positively, Moody's anticipates an
improvement in the company's pro-forma debt metrics in 2020, with
leverage expected to have reduced to around 6.7x in Q3 2020, the
lowest level achieved by the company since its inception following
strong reported results, the realization of synergies from previous
acquisitions and no significant M&A activity in the last 12
months.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The B3 CFR reflects Moody's view of the company's: 1) lack of
independent directors despite its much increased size following
several large acquisitions completed during the last two years; 2)
a gap between audited reported debt metrics and pro-forma debt
metrics including the annualised contributions from the acquired
businesses and the full year impact of cost savings initiatives
already actioned albeit acknowledging that this gap is expected to
be at the lowest level ever in Q3 2020; 3) risk of additional and
debt-funded M&A activity; and 4) still elevated leverage, albeit
reducing.

More positively, the rating also reflects the company's 1) wide
geographic diversity and increased scale, with strong bargaining
power with suppliers and opportunities to employ best practices
group-wide; 2) exposure to the growing convenience grocery segment
and historically (before the lockdowns) stable fuel demand
patterns; 3) a good track record in the integration of recent
acquisitions; and 4) its resilient performance during the lockdown
months both in terms of EBITDA generation and liquidity profile.

In terms of governance, EG references the Wates Corporate
Governance Principles for Large Private Companies. The Wates
principles suggest that the size a board should be guided by the
scale and complexity of the company and that companies should
consider the value of appointing independent non-executive
directors, including a chairman. EG's board currently comprises its
four shareholders, with two of them holding the position of group
Co-CEOs, but not a chairman, although Moody's understands that it
is actively seeking the appointment of non-executive directors.

The Wates principles also encourages large private companies to
delegate some of the Board functions - such as financial reporting,
risk, succession and remuneration - to committees and that such
committees might benefit from the contribution of an independent
non-executive director. EG has no formal board audit committee,
although it has introduced an internal audit team in Q1 2020 and
plans are in place to further enhance internal controls, which are
particularly important for a group operating in several different
regions of the world and has inherited a number of legacy systems
from its recent and large-scale M&A activity. Furthermore, there is
no remuneration committee nor a nomination committee, which would
be seen as best practice for a company of EG's size.

In terms of financial reporting, the company has made some progress
in disclosing like-for-like EBITDA data since Q1 2020, albeit
unaudited. However, there is a still gap between reported leverage
based on audited annual financial figures and the leverage
calculated on a pro-forma unaudited basis, albeit reducing and
expected to be at the lowest level ever in Q3 2020. In 2019,
Moody's adjusted leverage stood at 11.4x based on audited reported
figures and at 7.5x based on EG's management accounts pro-forma for
the annualised contributions from the acquired businesses and the
full year impact of cost savings initiatives already actioned. On a
last 12 months basis as of 30 September 2020, Moody's adjusted
gross debt to EBITDA (leverage) is expected to have reduced to
around 6.7x pro-forma based on EBITDA calculated including actioned
synergies, compared with Moody's expectations of leverage in a
5.5x-6.5x range for the previous B2 rating.

Although significant uncertainties remain regards the potential
re-introduction of restrictions to personal movement due to the
ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Moody's anticipates that the
company's operating performance will further improve before the end
of 2020 based on a pro-forma EBITDA calculated including actioned
synergies, although the risk of additional debt-funded acquisitions
remains high in the longer term. The company's operating
performance in the second and third quarter of 2020 is expected to
have been resilient thanks to its geographic diversification,
measures implemented by management to reduce costs, a strong
contribution from its non-fuel operations, and to high fuel
margins, in turn driven by the decline in oil prices in early 2020
and by pricing discipline of fuel forecourts operators.

Moody's currently considers EG's liquidity position as adequate,
with cash on balance sheet and available revolving credit
facilities expected to be around $1.4 billion at 30 September 2020
including the positive effect on liquidity of deferred excise taxes
of $600 million, which will reverse at some point during the next
several quarters. The revolving facilities have one springing
maintenance covenant based on net senior secured leverage, tested
only when the facility is drawn by more than 40%. Moody's
anticipates that the revolving credit facilities were fully undrawn
as at 30 September 2020.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The B3 rating of the Senior Secured Credit Facilities, in line with
the CFR, reflects the fact that they represent the majority of the
debt in the capital structure. The relatively small second lien
debt is rated Caa2, reflecting its position behind the first lien
facilities in the event of a default.

OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations that 1) the
opinion of new auditors appointed by the company will not
materially differ from the unqualified opinions of the previous
auditors, 2) the company will implement planned changes in its
governance by appointing non-executive directors to its board, 3)
its key debt metrics will continue to gradually improve from
current levels while liquidity remains adequate, and 4) no further
major acquisitions are made.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

The ratings could be upgraded if the company improves its
governance with regards to internal controls and board composition
as expected for a company of the scale and complexity, and at the
same time its key debt metrics also improve, as evidenced by
Moody's adjusted gross debt to EBITDA (leverage) sustained below
6.5x, with no meaningful gap between reported and pro-forma
leverage. Additionally, adequate liquidity needs to be maintained
at all times.

The ratings could be downgraded if no improvements in governance
and internal controls materialise, or the gap between audited
reported and pro-forma leverage does not reduce from current
levels. A downgrade could also result if leverage increased
sustainably above 7.5x, in case of further significant debt-funded
acquisitions, or if liquidity deteriorates.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Retail Industry
published in May 2018.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS:

Downgrades:

Issuer: EG Group Limited

LT Corporate Family Rating, Downgraded to B3 from B2

Probability of Default Rating, Downgraded to B3-PD from B2-PD

Issuer: EG America LLC

Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility, Downgraded to B3 from B2

Backed Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility, Downgraded to Caa2 from
Caa1

Issuer: EG Finco Limited

Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility, Downgraded to B3 from B2

Backed Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility, Downgraded to B3 from
B2

Backed Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility, Downgraded to Caa2 from
Caa1

Issuer: EG Global Finance plc.

Backed Senior Secured Regular Bond/Debenture, Downgraded to B3 from
B2

Issuer: EG Group Australia Pty Ltd

Backed Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility, Downgraded to B3 from
B2

Outlook Actions:

Issuer: EG Group Limited

Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative

Issuer: EG America LLC

Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative

Issuer: EG Finco Limited

Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative

Issuer: EG Global Finance plc.

Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative

Issuer: EG Group Australia Pty Ltd

Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative

PROFILE

EG is a global retailer operating petrol stations, convenience
stores and food-to-go outlets in the UK, Europe, the United States
and Australia. The group was created through the merger of Euro
Garages and EFR Group in 2016. The business has grown through a
series of acquisitions to become one of the leading independent
motor-fuel forecourt operators in Europe, the US and Australia. The
group is headquartered in Blackburn, England and is owned equally
by funds managed by TDR Capital LLP and the two brothers who
founded Euro Garages, Mohsin and Zuber Issa.


HGEC CAPITAL: Owes GBP4.5 Million to More Than 50 Investors
-----------------------------------------------------------
Peter Geoghegan and Andrew Learmonth at openDemocracy report that a
Scottish oil and gas company linked to the man behind the
Democratic Unionist Party's mysterious GBP435,000 Brexit donation
owes at least GBP4.5 million to more than fifty investors.

Glasgow-based businessman Richard Cook signed a deed of trust
between the Scottish company, HGEC Capital Ltd, and a Texas oil
firm run by a man described by a judge almost a decade earlier as
"a repeat offender with criminal convictions for securities fraud",
openDemocracy relates.

HGEC Capital went into administration earlier this year,
openDemocracy recounts.  Documents produced by the administrators
now reveal that the company owes at least GBP4.5 million,
openDemocracy discloses.

The firm's director, Kenneth Campbell, could now be summoned to
court for a "private examination", openDemocracy notes.

Earlier this year, openDemocracy and the Sunday National revealed
Cook's involvement in the HGEC Capital scandal, openDemocracy
recounts.  He made a number of visits to the US on the company's
instruction and also registered the firm's website, openDemocracy
relays.

According to openDemocracy, under the deed of trust signed by Cook,
HGEC Capital - formed in Glasgow in 2018 - agreed to lend US$14.3
million to Texas Gulf Coast Secured Lenders Joint Venture LLC in
return for oil and land rights.

In a brochure allegedly circulated to potential Scottish investors,
HGEC Capital said the current downturn in oil prices presented an
opportunity, openDemocracy notes.  It listed a number of oil and
gas sites in Texas which, it said, were worth US$89,360,000 at the
time, but which it claimed would could be sold for US$666,000,000
in twelve months' time, openDemocracy states.

It seems at least 56 investors handed over cash in the hope that
they would see similar returns, openDemocracy discloses.

Despite the millions invested, administrators say they have, so
far, been able to find only one bank account, containing just
GBP7,700.88, openDemocracy notes.

Ayr Sheriff Court appointed Begbies Traynor as administrators in
February this year following a petition submitted on behalf of an
offshore fund registered in the Cayman Islands, openDemocracy
relates.

In the administrators' latest progress report, lodged with
Companies House, Begbies Traynor says that around GBP1 million was
transferred "to and from" a bank account in the US between April
and June 2018, openDemocracy discloses. However, it has been unable
to find "trace of any further transfers" to the States after this
time, openDemocracy states.

Begbies Traynor say it will ask Mr. Campbell to pay back more than
GBP1 million in HGEC's funds paid to him or "personal payments made
on his behalf", according to openDemocracy.


INTU METROCENTRE: S&P Lowers ICR to 'B', On Watch Negative
----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered to 'B (sf)' from 'BB+ (sf)' and placed
on CreditWatch negative its credit rating on Intu Metrocentre
Finance PLC's fixed-rate secured notes.

Rating Rationale

S&P said, "The downgrade follows our updated review of the
transaction's credit and cash flow characteristics. We believe that
a continued decline in cash flows from the property and the
decrease in the market value of the property, combined with our
view of an increasingly challenging environment for retail tenants,
has worsened the notes' credit metrics."

Specifically, the downgrade to 'B (sf)' reflects the sharp decline
in the market value, the increased loan-to-value (LTV) ratio since
Dec 19 by 19%, the reduction in the interest coverage ratio, and
increase in vacancy rate. Due to such factors, as well as the
challenging external conditions, S&P believes that the notes are
more susceptible to the risk of default and loss under today's
uncertain market conditions.

The CreditWatch negative placement reflects the uncertainty around
the consent solicitation (launched on Oct. 26, 2020) and the
potential effects of additional debt, and the impact that this will
have on the transaction. S&P has yet to receive confirmation as to
its approval and therefore, it has not fully determined the
magnitude of the potential rating impact.

Transaction Overview

The transaction is backed by a fixed-rate interest-only loan
secured on the Intu Metrocentre regional shopping center and
associated retail park, in Gateshead, South West of Newcastle in
the U.K.

Intu Metrocentre until recently was owned by Intu Properties PLC
for nearly 25 years. The shopping center is one of Europe's largest
covered shopping and leisure destinations with over two million
square feet of leasable floor area, as well as multi-story car
parks, comprising almost 10,000 spaces, and a bus/coach park.

The owner and manager of the shopping centre, Intu Properties PLC,
has gone into administration since our last review in May 2020. As
a result, the borrower will likely appoint a new asset manager and
property manager to manage the property on a daily basis by the end
of the month.

The latest reported market value for the property was GBP532.1
million, compared to GBP672.8 million in S&P's last review. This
reflects a 21% decline since its last review in May 2020 and a 44%
decline from the property's peak value of GBP949.1 million in
2016.

The LTV ratio has increased and the interest coverage ratio (ICR)
has decreased since S&P's last review. Based on the updated
information, the transaction has a LTV ratio of 91% and a
historical ICR of 1.4x. This compares with December 2019 figures of
72% and 1.9x, respectively.

The tenant profile remains in line with the tenants that were in
occupation since S&P's last review. The tenants comprise a
combination of internationally and nationally recognized retailers
(such as Next, Primark, Boots, and Marks & Spencer), with the top
10 tenants accounting for 29.5% of the passing rent, with no tenant
contributing more than 5.2%, 1% higher than at its last review.
There are 373 leases in place and the property's weighted-average
unexpired lease term is 8.1 years.

S&P said, "Since our previous review, the property's vacancy level
has increased to 9.2% (from 8.2%) and reported net income continues
to deteriorate, declining by 15%. We understand this is due to a
combination of declining gross income and a spike in operating
costs primarily due to increased void costs and landlord
contributions to the service charge." The increased operating costs
is also associated with the measures that shopping centers have had
to implement to comply with current social distancing measures. The
ongoing company voluntary arrangement (CVAs) and administrations
have shifted an increasing number of tenant agreements to turnover
deals, significantly reducing base rents.

In recent years, more retailers have suffered financial
difficulties, which is being exacerbated by the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic, and there is the risk of further increased
vacancy levels and diminishing rental levels. However, the risk is
somewhat mitigated in the longer term by the shopping center's
strong retail location, and the potential to create value through
other asset management initiatives.

S&P said, "We have calculated the S&P Global Ratings net cash flow
(NCF) using updated reported numbers together with market
information. The analysis has also considered the additional income
sources beyond the contracted rents (such as Intu experiences), as
well as the ground rent due and payable in relation to the asset's
long leasehold tenure.

"We have then applied our 6.4% capitalization (cap) rate against
this S&P Global Ratings NCF and deducted 5% of purchase costs to
arrive at our S&P Global Ratings value. As our S&P Global Ratings
value has resulted in a higher figure than the current market
value, we felt it would be prudent to adopt the current market
value as our S&P Global ratings value, which results in a 6% S&P
value decline since our previous review."

  Loan And Collateral Summary
  Review                    As Of Oct 2020     As Of May 2020

  Data as of           As Of June 2020    As Of December 2019
  Securitized debt balance  GBP485 million     GBP485 million
  Interest coverage ratio   1.4x               1.9x
  Whole LTV ratio           91%                72%
  Net rental income         GBP33.1 million    GBP39.1 million
  Vacancy rate              9.2%               8.2%
  Market value              GBP532.1 million   GBP672.8 million
  Net yield                 5.9%               5.5%

  S&P Global Ratings' Key Assumptions
  Review                         As Of Oct 2020    As Of May 2020

  S&P Global Ratings vacancy    15.0%             10.0%
  S&P Global Ratings expenses    21.0%             14.0%
  S&P Global Ratings net
       cash flow (NCF)          GBP34.6 million   GBP39.1 million
  S&P Global Ratings value      GBP512.0 million  GBP579.0 million
  S&P Global Ratings cap rate    6.4%              6.4%
  Haircut-to-market value        4%                14%
  S&P Global Ratings LTV ratio
  (before recovery rate adjustments)   95%         91%

S&P said, "Our net cash flow is calculated using the current
passing rent, plus the estimated rental value for the reported
vacant space. We have also added back the average other income for
the last four years as we believe that once the shopping center is
fully operational after all the lockdown restrictions, this income
will be available to pay the interest on the loan."

Other Analytical Considerations

S&P said, "We also analyzed the transaction's payment structure and
cash flow mechanics. We assessed whether the cash flow from the
securitized asset would be sufficient, at the applicable rating, to
make timely payments of interest and ultimate repayment of
principal by the legal maturity date of the fixed-rate note, after
considering available credit enhancement and allowing for
transaction expenses and external liquidity support.

"The liquidity facility and issuer debt service reserve account,
which provides not less than 12 months' interest on the notes,
mitigate the risk of interest shortfalls. Our assessment of the
payment structure and cash flow mechanics does not constrain our
rating in this transaction.

"Our analysis also included a full review of the legal and
regulatory risks, operational and administrative risks, and
counterparty risks. Our assessment of these risks remains unchanged
since our previous review and is commensurate with the rating
assigned."

Rating Actions

S&P said, "Our rating in this transaction addresses the timely
payment of interest, payable semi-annually, and the payment of
principal no later than the legal final maturity date in December
2028.

"Together with the ongoing structural shift in the physical retail
sector, we believe that an increasingly challenging environment for
retail tenants is affecting this transaction, reflected in the
continued decline in the reported operating performance and market
value of the property. We have factored this into our analysis when
adopting the current market value as our revised S&P Global value.

"The combination of the above factors results in an S&P Global
Ratings LTV ratio of 95%, which together with transaction-level
considerations, translates into a 'B (sf)' rating for the
fixed-rate secured notes.

"The borrower launched a consent solicitation on Oct. 26, 2020,
which includes raising an additional GBP25 million in debt, which
would rank ahead of the CMBS notes. We believe that the proposed
changes will have a negative impact on the transaction and would
increase the LTV ratio. This would most likely lead to a
deterioration in the transaction's credit quality. If the proposed
changes are implemented, we believe that they may negatively affect
the leverage in the transaction, and hence the rating. We have
therefore placed on CreditWatch negative our rating in this
transaction, in line with our criteria."


JD WETHERSPOON: Egan-Jones Lowers Sr. Unsecured Ratings to B-
-------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company, on October 20, 2020, downgraded the
foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings on
debt issued by J D Wetherspoon PLC to B- from B+. EJR also
downgraded the rating on commercial paper issued by the Company to
B from A3.

Headquartered in Watford, United Kingdom, J D Wetherspoon PLC owns
and operates a group of pubs throughout the United Kingdom.


JELLYFISH SOLUTIONS: Operates Under CVA Due to Covid-19 Impact
--------------------------------------------------------------
Jo Francis at PrintWeek reports that specialist print management
business Jellyfish Solutions is now operating under a CVA after the
Covid-19 pandemic caused a catastrophic drop-off in work.

Creditors of Jellyfish Solutions approved the CVA (Company
Voluntary Arrangement) proposal last month, PrintWeek relates.

The proposal stated that unsecured creditors would be likely to
receive a more than ten-fold better return if the CVA was approved,
than if the business was liquidated, PrintWeek discloses.

Creditors have agreed to the deal that should see them receive
37.42p in the GBP over three years, compared to an estimated 3.22p
should the business have gone into administration, PrintWeek
states.

Insolvency practitioners Andrew Andronikou and Michael Kiely of
Quantuma are the joint supervisors of the CVA, PrintWeek relays.

The firm had been on track to achieve sales of GBP3.95 million in
the year to March 2020, PrintWeek notes.  However, the Covid-19
pandemic "decimated" sales, with client spending on hold and some
of its biggest customers in travel, sport and leisure canning their
promo plans altogether, according to PrintWeek.

Jellyfish had also been in the process of acquiring another print
management business with circa GBP1 million in sales, just as the
pandemic struck, PrintWeek recounts.

He said that the vast majority of the firm's print suppliers, bar
one overseas printer, had backed the CVA plan, PrintWeek relays.

Trade creditors are owed just over GBP1.3 million and the business
has a total deficiency of GBP1.4 million, PrintWeek discloses.

Jellyfish had previously employed between seven-and-eight staff,
but is currently operating with a skeleton staff of three,
PrintWeek notes.

According to PrintWeek, the directors also took out a GBP350,000
CBILS loan via Santander to help tide the firm over, giving
personal guarantees to secure the loan.

The first monthly payment of GBP10,000 under the CVA arrangement is
scheduled for January 2021, PrintWeek states.


LAURA ASHLEY: Next Enters Into Partnership to Sell Home Products
----------------------------------------------------------------
Sahar Nazir at Retail Gazette reports that Next has partnered with
embattled retailer Laura Ashley to sell its home products both
online and in stores in an effort to revive the heritage brand.

According to Retail Gazette, the homewares will be sold across
Next's 500 UK stores and via its website which operates in over 70
countries.

Laura Ashley became the first major retailer to collapse into
administration this year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,
Retail Gazette notes.

Investment firm Gordon Brothers acquired the brand out of
administration in April in a deal that included the retailer's
global brand, its archives and related intellectual property,
Retail Gazette recounts.

The deal did not include any of Laura Ashley's 147 stores, nor its
manufacturing and logistics operations in the UK or Ireland, and
PwC is still seeking a buyer for this part of the business, Retail
Gazette states.

As part of the firm's restructuring plans, Gordon Brothers has said
it will focus on expanding Laura Ashley's portfolio of licensees
and franchisees, boosting its ecommerce presence and developing its
wholesale relationships, Retail Gazette relates.


LECTA LTD: Moody's Assigns Caa1 CFR, Outlook Negative
-----------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service assigned a first-time Caa1 corporate
family rating (CFR) and a Caa1-PD probability of default rating
(PDR) to Lecta Ltd (Lecta), a specialty and coated fine paper
manufacturer. Concurrently, Moody's has assigned B2 ratings to the
EUR115 million guaranteed super senior bank credit facilities due
in 2022 and Caa2 ratings to the EUR256 million guaranteed senior
secured notes issued by Paper Industries Intermediate Financing S.a
r.l., a fully owned subsidiary of Lecta Ltd. The outlook on all
ratings is negative.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The Caa1 CFR recognizes the challenges for Lecta in recovering from
the current difficult trading conditions as a result of the
coronavirus pandemic and the significant decline in demand for CWF
(coated woodfree) paper as well as some execution risk related to
the company's strategic repositioning with a stronger focus on
specialty papers. Moody's expects Lecta's leverage, measured as
Moody's-adjusted Debt/EBITDA, to gradually improve towards 9x next
year and with further gradual improvements thereafter. The
improvement will be driven by a moderate recovery in the operating
performance, supported by conversion projects that will increase
specialty papers capacity and will subsequently lead to EBITDA
margin improvements. Moody's also expects a material improvement in
free cash flow generation around breakeven level through 2022 from
negative free cash flow of EUR70 million for the twelve months
ended June 2020. However, execution risk to improve EBITDA and cash
generation sufficiently to support the group's debt load remains
high, not least because of the uncertain outlook for economic
development and ultimately paper consumption in Lecta's core
markets. While Moody's recognizes the group's progress in moving
its production increasingly towards specialty paper and away from
CWF, Moody's believes that competitive pressures and pricing power
will continue to pose challenges that will require tight cost
control and additional capex spending. Considering the group's
vulnerability to the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic in the
context of its still high debt load, Moody's has defined Social and
Governance risk factors as key drivers of Lecta's rating.

The ratings also consider the improved liquidity and capital
structure as a result of the recapitalization completed in July
2020 which resulted in a significant Moody's adjusted gross debt
reduction of more than €200 million. The new capital structure
materially reduces Lecta's interest expense and will provide
sufficient funds for the conversion of its Condat paper machine 8
to flexible packaging solutions, which had been idled since April
2019.

The Caa1 CFR assigned to Lecta reflects (i) the still sizeable
exposure to CWF paper, which is structurally declining in mature
markets, is often subject to a fairly tough pricing environment and
requires ongoing restructuring and proactive capacity management
along with (ii) limited vertical integration into pulp, with
internal production currently covering just roughly one-third of
its needs, exposing the company to the volatility in pulp prices
and (iii) high leverage of 12.5x Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA for
the 12 months ended June 2020, expected to drop to around 9x next
year.

However, this is offset by the company's market-leading position in
CWF paper in Southern Europe, with good assets located close to end
customers and requiring limited maintenance capital spending
combined with solid and growing market positions in specialty
papers that offer higher average operating profitability than CWF
paper and for most grades underlying demand growth. Lecta also
benefits from good vertical integration into energy and base paper
for specialty papers with the latter covering around 90% of its
needs and manages its own distribution network, which is a source
of additional EBITDA and provides access to a wider portfolio of
customers.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS

Lecta is exposed to the cyclical and structurally declining graphic
paper market. In addition, the company also needs to address the
need to convert production capacities away from secular declining
paper grades. Moody's regards the continuous transformation as a
social risk under its ESG framework, given the substantial
implications for local communities of its production facilities.

Furthermore, Lecta recently had a change in its shareholder
structure following the capital restructuring which Moody's regards
as a governance risk with the absence of creditor friendly
strategy.

The coronavirus outbreak, the government measures put in place to
contain it, and the weak global economic outlook continue to
disrupt economies and credit markets across sectors and regions.
Moody's analysis has considered the effect on the performance of
corporate assets from the current weak economic activity and a
gradual recovery for the coming months. Although an economic
recovery is underway, it is tenuous and its continuation will be
closely tied to containment of the virus. As a result, the degree
of uncertainty around Moody's forecasts is unusually high. Moody's
regards the coronavirus outbreak as a social risk under its ESG
framework, given the substantial implications for public health and
safety.

LIQUIDITY

Moody's views Lecta's liquidity as still adequate supported by
Lecta's reported EUR206 million of cash and cash equivalents on its
balance sheet pro-forma for July 2020 recapitalization, further
supported by the fully undrawn EUR40 million revolving credit
facility. Nevertheless, continued negative free cash flow
generation along with volatile working capital fluctuation add to
the company's relatively sizable exposure to various supply chain
financing arrangements, including factoring, some of which are
short-term in nature and uncommitted.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The Caa2 ratings assigned to the EUR256 million senior secured
notes reflects the priority ranking of the B2 rated super senior
credit facilities which have a sizeable amount that leads to a one
notch difference between the Caa2 senior secured notes and the CFR.
A 50% recovery rate at family level has been assumed given the bond
structure and the presence of the RCF. The senior secured notes
have been issued by Paper Industries Intermediate Fin. S.a r.l., a
wholly owned subsidiary of Lecta Ltd, and are guaranteed on a
secured basis by all major subsidiaries, but the security package
is limited to share pledges, certain bank accounts and receivables.
The revolving credit facility benefits from essentially the same
guarantee and collateral package.

RATIONALE FOR NEGATIVE OUTLOOK

The negative outlook reflects the uncertainty of the shape and pace
of recovery in Lecta's operating performance in 2021 on the back of
sizeable conversion projects that are expected to start during
2021. Furthermore, Moody's expects the Moody's-adjusted Debt/EBITDA
to remain sustainably above 7.0x in the next 12 to 18 months
despite an increasing EBITDA contribution from the structurally
more profitable specialty papers business segment.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

Lecta's ratings could be downgraded if the company is unable to
timely substitute declining volumes in coated wood free products
with a rising share in higher-margin specialty papers.
Quantitatively, the ratings be could downgraded if Lecta is unable
(1) to improve its free cash flow generation to at least break-even
levels, (2) to reduce its reliance on short-term funding, (3) to
successfully execute its transformational projects, and (4) to
improve its interest coverage to well above 1.0x EBIT/interest
expense.

Moody's would consider a positive rating action if Lecta's
operating performance was to improve driven by conversion projects
resulting in (1) free cash flow generation leading to an improved
liquidity profile, (2) increasing EBITDA margin towards the high
single-digit range in percentage terms, and (3) leverage reducing
to below 7.0x Debt/EBITDA sustainably.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Paper and
Forest Products Industry published in October 2018.

COMPANY PROFILE

With legal headquarters in London, Lecta Ltd (Lecta) is a leading
coated fine paper manufacturer in Italy, France, and Spain. The
company also has a growing specialty paper offering and a
distribution business in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France. In
2019, Lecta generated around EUR1.4 billion in sales, with a
workforce of over 3,100 employees.


ST. ANDREW STREET HOTEL: Goes Into Liquidation, 34 Jobs Affected
----------------------------------------------------------------
Emma Newlands at The Scotsman reports that the company that
operated the Hilton Garden Inn in the centre of Aberdeen has
collapsed, with the loss of more than 30 jobs.

It follows no buyers coming forward for the 100-bed hotel at St
Andrew Street in the Granite City, The Scotsman notes.

Blair Nimmo and Geoff Jacobs of KPMG were appointed joint
liquidators of The St Andrew Street Hotel Company, The Scotsman
relates.  

The company was incorporated in 2008, while the hotel had
experienced challenging trading conditions for several years on the
back of the downturn in the oil and gas industry, The Scotsman
discloses.

Consequently, the hotel company experienced funding shortfalls at
various times and required additional support from its shareholders
to keep trading, The Scotsman states.

"Despite a restructuring involving several of its key stakeholders
and taking steps to reduce trading and overhead costs, the company
was still unviable," The Scotsman quotes KPMG as saying.

The hotel closed in March when Covid-19 lockdown measures were
introduced in the UK, which had a major impact on the company's
cash position, The Scotsman recounts.

The directors couldn't secure new funding and, despite marketing
the leasehold interest in the hotel, the lack of sale meant the
directors decided to place the company into liquidation, The
Scotsman relays.

At the time of the appointment, the company had 34 people who had
been on furlough, and they have now all been made redundant as the
business will not be able to reopen and trade, The Scotsman says.


VICTORIA PLC: Fitch Affirms BB- LT IDR & Alters Outlook to Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Victoria PLC's Long-Term
Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Stable from Negative and affirmed
the IDR at 'BB-'. Fitch has also affirmed the group's senior
secured notes at 'BB'/'RR2'.

The Stable Outlook is supported by the new preferred equity of
GBP175 million. The proceeds can only be used to facilitate M&A
activity. While Victoria is yet to make any acquisitions this
financial year, Fitch anticipates some M&A activity will resume in
the second half of the financial year and FY22, resulting in
improved margins and leverage metrics. The results of 1Q (April to
June) further support this, with June's revenue already trading on
pre-pandemic levels.

The company's focus on the residential market seems to be
beneficial. The pandemic has resulted in spending on home
improvement. However, Fitch remains cautious that the longer-term
economic effects could limit demand in 2H21 and FYE22.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Preference Share Issue Supportive: Koch has agreed to acquire an
approximately 10% ordinary share interest in Victoria from an
existing institutional investor, while Victoria has concurrently
agreed to buy back 6.8% of its shares from the same institutional
investor. Koch has also agreed to provide up to GBP175 million in
preferred equity investment in Victoria to support the group's M&A
activities. As part of this agreement Koch has also received
warrants for up to an additional 9% of Victoria's common equity,
subject to exercise options.

Koch's preferred share investment of up to GBP175 million is split
between an initial GBP75 million with a further GBP100 million
available to Victoria over the following 18 months, available for
drawdown at Victoria's discretion. Fitch's base case only includes
the initial GBP75 million preference share drawdowns as agreed,
although Fitch recognises that if larger or great levels of M&A
opportunities are available to the group, the further GBP100
million remains available.

Pandemic Impact Limited: Despite the effect of April's strict
lockdowns, especially in the UK division and the Spanish division,
the company effectively controlled its costs base and minimised
losses. Fitch expect the company's recovery pre-pandemic levels to
continue until the end of the financial year in March 2021, with 4Q
(January-March 2021) likely to be the strongest. Fitch expects
organic revenue to decline by a total 5% by FYE21, offset by M&A
growth and resulting in total revenue growth of around 7%. Fitch
forecasts revenue to fully recover in FY22, with total revenue
growth 14%; of which 13% will be organic.

Expected Reduction in Leverage Metrics: FFO net leverage position
for FYE20 is 4.2x (previously 4.4x), higher than what Fitch
expected in its previous Fitch Case (3.6x). This is mainly caused
following the full drawdown of GBP75 million revolving credit
facility (RCF), and also some loss on EBITDA margins in 4Q FYE20.
As of September 2020, the company had fully repaid its RCF. Fitch
forecasts FFO net leverage to be within its sensitivity range of
2.0x to 3.5x by the end of FYE22 (previously end of FYE23) due to a
lower than previously expected top-line decline in revenue and
margins. Additionally, Fitch has assumed all equity proceeds have
been utilised through higher M&A proceeds.

Acquisition-based Strategy: Victoria plans to continue its
acquisition-led strategy over the next four years, driven by
available opportunities in its fragmented core markets. The
strategy entails moderate execution risks, and successful
integration and synergy realisation from M&A transactions can be
challenged in a sharp market downturn. However, Fitch views the
management team as experienced and disciplined, with a history of
successful integrations and reasonable acquisition valuation
multiples.

While the group has not undertaken any acquisitions so far in
1HFY21, Fitch expects acquisitions to resume. Fitch expects M&A
expenditure to be higher than its previous forecast for FYE21, with
total M&A expected around GBP40 million for FYE21 supported by
preference share proceeds.

Diversification Limits UK Exposure: Due to Victoria's recent
expansion in Europe, the UK's revenue contribution has reduced to
around 40% of revenue in FYE20. Victoria remains geographically
concentrated with nearly 80% of EBITDA generated in Europe
(including around 30% in the UK). Furthermore, 90% of Victoria's
revenue is exposed to the renovation market, and while construction
markets tend to behave independently across countries, the
renovation market tends to follow similar geographical patterns
given its link to consumer confidence and GDP growth.

Low Customer Concentration, Strong Brand: Victoria's customer base
is diversified, largely composed of small independent retailers and
no exposure to third-party distributors. This limits customer
concentration, with the top 10 representing only 20% of sales in
FY20 and providing Victoria with some pricing power. Victoria has
built a strong brand proposition/loyalty leading to long-term
relationship with its customers. Its operational integration and
manufacturing flexibility enable the group to quickly produce
customisable products, limiting the need to maintain high stock
levels for retailers and working capital.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Victoria is one-tenth the size of Mohawk Industries Inc.
(BBB+/RWN), the world's leading flooring manufacturer, is less
diversified geographically and exhibits higher leverage metrics. In
its view, Victoria exhibits a business profile that is consistent
with the 'BB' category. Its profitability is particularly strong at
the mid-points of its Rating Navigator for Building Products due to
the high-margin ceramic business it has acquired over the last few
years.

However, Victoria's end-market is concentrated on residential and
less diversified than global players such as Mohawk or other large
building products companies such as Compagnie de Saint-Gobain
(BBB/Stable). This is common among small to medium-sized players
such as Hestiafloor 2 (B+/Stable), which is mostly exposed to
commercial (around 90%). Although Gerflor is double the size of
Victoria and offers a broader range of products in the resilient
flooring market with a focus on luxury vinyl tile products, it has
lower profitability and higher leverage, resulting in its rating
being one notch lower than Victoria's.

Fitch views FFO leverage of below 4.0x and FFO net leverage below
3.5x as consistent with the 'BB' category. Although Fitch expects
Victoria's FFO net leverage to increase to 4.4x in FYE21, Fitch
forecasts FFO net leverage to improve back towards 3.0x in FYE22
(March year-end).

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

  - Revenue growth of 6.7% in FY21, of which -5% is organic from
COVID-19 impact.

  - Revenue growing by 14% in FYE22, of which 13% is organic; and
7% in FYE23 of which 3% is organic.

  - EBITDA margin decline to 14.6% FYE21 (13% organic). Recovery
towards 17% in FYE24, supported by M&A activity.

  - Negative working capital flow of around GBP20 million in FYE21
and normalising to historical trends thereafter.

  - Lower capex in FYE21 of around 4.5% of sales; and an average
4.7% for its rating horizon

  - M&A spend of GBP43 million in FYE21 including an earnout of
GBP21.8 million; GBP34 million in FYE22 including an earnout of
GBP11 million; GBP34 million FYE23, GBP42 million FYE24.

  - RCF fully available for the rating horizon.

  - Net equity proceeds of GBP41 million in FYE21 including GBP75
million equity injection, and GBP34 million share buyback.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive
rating action/upgrade:

  - Continued increase in scale and product/geographical
diversification as well as successful integration

  - FFO net leverage below 2.0x

  - EBITDA margin increasing towards 19%

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative
rating action/downgrade:

  - Material drop in EBITDA margin towards 15%

  - Breach of stated financial policy leading to FFO net leverage
above 3.5x for a sustained period

  - Failure to recover from the COVID-19 crisis in the next two
years leading to FCF margin reduced to lower single digits and FFO
net leverage above 3.5x in FYE23.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Good Liquidity Position: As of 30 September 2020, Victoria had
GBP130 million cash on balance sheet, and a GBP75 million RCF that
was fully undrawn. As of 31 March 2021, Fitch expects the company
to have around GBP85 million cash on balance sheet, post the M&A
activity and net equity proceeds.

At the same date, Victoria had GBP453 million unsecured notes,
GBP11.6 million subordinated Business Growth Fund loan maturing on
December 2021, GBP6 million bank overdraft and other unsecured
loans. The company has an extended maturity profile, with no
significant maturity before 2024.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF
RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are
described in the Applicable Criteria.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity.




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

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Mentor X
-------------------------
The Life-Changing Power of Extraordinary Mentors
Author: Stephanie Wickouski
Publisher: Beard Books
Hard cover: 156 pages
ISBN: 978-1-58798-700-7
List Price: $24.75

Order this Book: https://is.gd/EIPwnq

Long-time bankruptcy lawyer Stephanie Wickouski at Bryan Cave
impressively tackles a soft problem of modern professionals in an
era of hard data and scientific intervention in her third published
book entitled Mentor X. In an age where employee productivity is
measured by artificial intelligence and resumes are prescreened by
computers, Stephanie Wickouski adds spirit and humanity to the
professional journey.

The title is disarmingly deceptive and book browsers could be
excused for assuming this work is just another in a long line of
homogeneous efforts on mentorship. Don't be fooled; Mentor X is
practical, articulate and lively. Most refreshingly, the book
acknowledges the most important element of human development: our
intuition.

Mrs. Wickouski starts by describing what a mentor is and
distinguishes that role from a teacher, coach, role model, buddy or
boss. Younger professionals may be skeptical of the need for a
mentor, but Mrs. Wickouski deftly disabuses that notion by relating
how a mentor may do nothing less than change the course of a
protege's life. Newbies to this genre need little convincing
afterwards.

One of the book's worthiest contributions is a definition of mentor
that will surprise most readers. Mentors are not teachers, the
latter of which impart practical knowledge. Instead, according to
Mrs. Wickouski, her mentors "showed me secrets that I could learn
nowhere else. They showed me how doors are opened. They showed me
how to be an agent of change and advance innovative and
controversial ideas." What ambitious professional doesn't want more
of that in their life?

The practicality of the book continues as Mrs. Wickouski outlines
the qualities to look for in a mentor and classifies the various
types of mentors, including bold mentors, charismatic mentors, cold
and distant mentors, dissolute mentors, personally bonded mentors,
younger mentors, and unexpected mentors. Mentor X includes charts
and workbooks which aid the reader in getting the most out of a
mentor relationship. In a later chapter, Mrs. Wickouski provides an
enormously helpful suggestion about adopting a mentor: keep an open
mind. Often, mentors will come in packages that differ from our
expectations. They may be outside of our profession, younger, less
educated, etc . . . but the world works in mysterious ways and Mrs.
Wickouski encourages readers to think about mentors broadly.  In
this modern era of heightened workplace ethics, Mrs. Wickouski
articulates the dark side of mentors. She warns about "dementors"
and "tormentors" -- false mentors providing dubious and sometimes
self-destructive advice, and those who abuse a mentor relationship
to further self-interested, malign ends, respectively. She
describes other mentor dysfunctions, namely boundary-crossing,
rivalry, corruption, and a few others. When a mentor manifests such
behaviors, Mrs. Wickouski counsels it's time to end the
relationship.

Mrs. Wickouski tells readers how to discern when the mentor
relationship is changing and when it is effectively over. Those
changes can be precipitated by romantic boundaries crossed,
emergence of rivalrous sentiment, or encouragement of unethical
behavior or corruption. Mrs. Wickouski aptly notes that once
insidious energies emerge, the mentorship is effectively over. At
this point, certain readers may say to themselves, "Okay, I've got
it. Now I can move on." Or, "My workplace has a formal mentorship
program. I don't need this book anymore." Or even, "Can't modern
technology handle my mentor needs, a Tinder of mentorship, so to
speak?"

Mrs. Wickouski refutes that notion. She analyzes how many mentoring
programs miss the mark. In one of the best passages in the book,
Mrs. Wickouski writes, "Assigning or brokering mentors negates the
most critical components of a true mentor–protege relationship:
the individual process of self-awareness which leads a person to
recognize another individual who will give the advice singularly
needed. That very process is undermined by having a mentor assigned
or by going to a mentoring party." She does not just criticize; she
offers a solution with three valuable tips for choosing the right
mentor and five qualities to ascertain a true mentor in the
unlimited sea of possibilities.

Next, Mrs. Wickouski distinguishes between good advice and bad
advice. She punctuates that discussion with many relevant and
relatable examples that are easy to read and colorfully enjoyable.
This section includes interviews with proteges who have had
successful mentorships. The punchline: in the best mentorships, the
parties harmoniously share personal beliefs and values. Also
important, the protege draws inspiration and motivation from the
mentor. The book winds down as usefully as it started: Mrs.
Wickouski interviews proteges, asking them what they would have
done differently with their mentors if they could turn back the
clock. A common thread seems to be that the proteges would have
gone deeper with their mentors -- they would have asked more
questions, spent more time, delved into their mentors' thinking in
greater depth.

The book wraps up lightly by sharing useful and practical
suggestions for maintenance of the mentor relationship. She answers
questions such as, "Do I invite my mentor to my wedding?" and "Who
pays for lunch?"

Mentor X is an enjoyable read and a useful book for any
professional in any industry at, frankly, any point in time.
Advanced individuals will learn much from the other side, i.e., how
to be more effective mentors. Mrs. Wickouski does a wonderful job
of encouraging use of that all knowing aspect of human existence
which never fails us: proper use of our intuition.

                         About The Author

Stephanie Wickouski is widely regarded as an innovator and
strategic advisor. A nationally recognized lawyer, she has been
named as one of the 12 Outstanding Restructuring Lawyers in the US
by Turnarounds & Workouts and as one of US News' Best Lawyers in
America. She is the author of two other books: Indenture Trustee
Bankruptcy Powers & Duties, an essential guide to the legal role of
the bond trustee, and Bankruptcy Crimes, an authoritative resource
on bankruptcy fraud. She also writes the Corporate Restructuring
blog.



                           *********


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.
Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Joy A. Agravante,
Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A. Chapman,
Editors.

Copyright 2020.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

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

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

The TCR Europe subscription rate is US$775 per half-year,
delivered via e-mail.  Additional e-mail subscriptions for
members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription
or balance thereof are US$25 each.  For subscription information,
contact Peter Chapman at 215-945-7000.


                * * * End of Transmission * * *