---

       T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                          E U R O P E

          Tuesday, December 22, 2020, Vol. 21, No. 255

                           Headlines



B E L G I U M

HOUSE OF HR: S&P Affirms 'B' Issuer Rating, Outlook Negative


G E R M A N Y

DEUTSCHE BAHN: Germany Accused of Providing Unfair State Aid


I R E L A N D

CARA GROUP: High Court to Approve Scheme of Arrangement
[*] IRELAND: Insolvent Liquidations Expected to Rise This Month


K A Z A K H S T A N

KAZAKHSTAN TEMIR: S&P Alters Outlook to Pos., Affirms BB- LT Rating
LONDON-ALMATY INSURANCE: S&P Affirms 'BB-' ICR, Outlook Stable


R U S S I A

ENERGOGARANT PJSIC: S&P Upgrades ICR to 'BB', Outlook Stable


S W I T Z E R L A N D

ARYZTA: Rejects Elliott's CHF800-Mil. Takeover Approach


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

AMIGO LOANS: Plans to Cap Compensation, Future Uncertain

                           - - - - -


=============
B E L G I U M
=============

HOUSE OF HR: S&P Affirms 'B' Issuer Rating, Outlook Negative
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'B' issuer rating on the House of
HR and its 'B' issue ratings on its existing debt, with an
unchanged recovery rating of '3' (rounded estimate 55%). S&P also
assigned its 'CCC+' issue rating to the proposed senior unsecured
notes and a '6' recovery rating.

The negative outlook indicates that, despite reduced covenant
pressure, S&P expects debt to EBITDA to remain above 7x in 2021. It
could even exceed 7.5x, given the weak macroeconomic outlook.

Despite recovering business volumes, S&P does not expect adjusted
EBITDA to recover to 2019 levels until 2022, even if the group
undertakes meaningful acquisitions in 2021.

Like many of its peers, House of HR suffered significant volume
declines in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the social
distancing measures introduced by governments in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Volumes began to recover in the third quarter
and remained broadly stable in the fourth quarter, despite a second
wave of lockdowns in many of the group's markets. S&P forecasts
that over the full year, revenue will fall by at least 13%-14%.
Combined with exceptional costs relating to changed working
practices in response to the pandemic, this will trigger a decline
in adjusted EBITDA of 25% or more. The group also faces costs
associated with its proposed EUR200 million senior unsecured notes
issuance to fund planned acquisitions in 2021.

The acquisitions, alongside an anticipated strong organic rebound,
are likely to result in revenue exceeding 2019 levels. S&P said,
"Adjusted EBITDA is still likely to lag 2019 levels, because we
expect the recovery to be stronger in lower-margin business lines.
We also forecast that House of HR will incur integration and other
costs associated with the planned acquisitions. Combined with the
additional EUR200 million in debt, this suggests that adjusted debt
to EBITDA will remain materially higher in the next two years than
it was in 2019. It is unlikely to fall to the 2019 level until 2022
or beyond."

Despite higher adjusted leverage, S&P considers that the group's
cash position and covenant headroom have improved.

As of Sept. 30, 2020, the group had about EUR170 million of cash,
modest revolving credit facility (RCF) drawings, and headroom under
its springing financial covenants of greater than 15%. S&P said,
"Given that cash usage in the fourth quarter of 2020 will be
negligible, we anticipate that the group will have over EUR320
million in cash after the issuance. This should be sufficient to
fund acquisition activity as well as working capital needs in 2021
without requiring the group to draw under its RCF. The group's 6.0x
senior secured net leverage covenant is tested if the facility is
40% drawn at any given quarter-end. We therefore expect that House
of HR will not be subject to any covenant tests over the next 12-18
months, unless its performance materially weakens or it spends more
on acquisitions or shareholder returns than we forecast. Although
leverage may not return to 2019 levels by 2022 or beyond, we would
nevertheless expect covenant headroom to be 15% or greater over the
next two years."

The group has demonstrated greater tolerance for leverage than S&P
expected when it rated it in November 2017, which could be a source
of additional downside risk in future.

S&P said, "Since we initially rated it, the group has undertaken
two further debt issuances and a refinancing, plus a EUR287 million
shareholder return in October 2019, and now proposes a EUR200
million debt issuance to fund future acquisitions. Adjusted debt to
EBITDA was 5.7x after the 2019 refinancing and, until the pandemic,
we had assumed this would fall below 5.0x in 2020. We now expect
metrics to remain weaker than they were in 2019 until at least
2022. Although our revised expectations remain commensurate with a
'B' rating, a further increase in leverage tolerance could be a
source of downside risk for the ratings over the coming years.

"The negative outlook indicates that, despite reduced covenant
pressure, we expect debt to EBITDA to remain above 7x in 2021. It
could exceed 7.5x, given the weak macroeconomic outlook. Leverage
at such levels would be commensurate with a lower rating, in our
view.

"We could lower the rating if performance did not improve as
forecast or if financial policy decisions suggested that leverage
would remain high or pressure on liquidity would increase."
Specifically, S&P could lower the rating if:

-- S&P expected leverage to remain above 7.5x in 2021, and not to
fall sharply thereafter.

-- The group's financial policy decisions were to become more
shareholder-friendly, in S&P's view.

-- A prolonged economic downturn caused free operating cash flow
to turn negative.

-- S&P anticipated heightened near-term liquidity pressure.

S&P sees limited upside potential for the rating in the near term
as it considers the group likely to tolerate debt to EBITDA
remaining above 5.5x over the medium term. However, S&P could take
a positive rating action if:

-- Revenue and EBITDA improved more than expected, such that debt
to EBITDA approaches 5.0x.

-- House of HR took extraordinary measures to bring debt to EBITDA
down to 5.0x and committed to maintaining leverage at or below that
level.




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

DEUTSCHE BAHN: Germany Accused of Providing Unfair State Aid
------------------------------------------------------------
Erika Solomon and Javier Espinoza at The Financial Times report
that Germany has been accused of providing unfair state aid to
Europe's largest railway company Deutsche Bahn in a complaint to
the EU Commission.

Transport provider FlixMobility has filed the complaint, saying
Berlin has delayed a request to Brussels to allow a EUR5 billion
capital increase to Deutsche Bahn because of fears it will be
rejected for breaking state aid rules.

At the same time, Berlin is repeatedly lifting Deutsche Bahn's debt
ceiling, enabling it to raise more money in bonds in the markets
that investors consider state-backed, according to the Munich-based
transport provider.

Germany's Bundestag on Dec. 16 agreed to raise Deutsche Bahn's debt
ceiling once more to EUR32 billion and plans a further increase to
EUR35 billion next year as it tries to help the company deal with
its biggest ever losses.

FlixMobility, which partners with private bus and train operators
across Europe and the US, says the lifting of the debt ceiling
gives Deutsche Bahn an unfair competitive advantage.

The company thinks the commission would be likely to impose
measures to ensure fair competition, as countries that hand out
more than EUR250 million of aid must make sure that it is not
distorting the market.




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

CARA GROUP: High Court to Approve Scheme of Arrangement
-------------------------------------------------------
Breakingnews.ie reports that the High Court will approve a survival
scheme for the Cara group of pharmacies in the New Year providing
certain additional information is provided.

Mr. Justice Denis McDonald indicated on Dec. 18 that the court
would approve an examiner's scheme of arrangement for the group
whose controlling shareholders are former RTE Dragons' Den
presenter Ramona Nicholas and her husband Canice Nicholas,
Breakingnews.ie relates.

However, he said he first wanted a supplemental report to the one
already provided by examiner Ken Tyrell outlining proposals for
restructuring and a EUR14.1 million new investment in the group
which has 13 stores mainly in the north-east, Breakingnews.ie
notes.

The judge did so after he was furnished with a confidential
agreement between the Nicholas directors, including concerning
their employment, and the main creditor Elm Corporate Credit which
is owed EUR14 million, Breakingnews.ie recounts.

The court heard Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas had initially opposed the
appointment of the examiner but now supported it, Breakingnews.ie
notes.  The group, involving a dozen related companies, suffered
pre-tax losses of some EUR4.6 million between 2016 and 2019,
Breakingnews.ie discloses.

Earlier, Neil Steen SC, for the examiner, said the survival plan
involves a EUR14.1 million investment from an investor who was
independent of previous shareholders, Breakingnews.ie relays.  It
also involves the surrendering of at least one retail outlet lease
while the remainder will continue on reduced rents negotiated with
the landlords, according to Breakingnews.ie.

The plan will involve a restructuring of its historical debt and
ensure the survival of 141 jobs in the stores, Breakingnews.ie
states.


[*] IRELAND: Insolvent Liquidations Expected to Rise This Month
---------------------------------------------------------------
Samantha McCaughren at Independent.ie reports that the number of
companies going into insolvent liquidations will have increased in
2020 after falling every year since 2012.

However, due to ongoing support measures such as Government Covid
schemes and landlord forbearance, a massive surge in liquidations
forecast by insolvency experts and business groups has not yet
occurred, Independent.ie discloses.

There are signs of an uptick, with voluntary liquidation more than
doubling in this month compared with November, increasing from 23
to 52, Independent.ie states.

With just a few business days to go, and based on creditors
meetings advertised and petitions filed in court, business advisers
PKF O'Connor, Leddy & Holmes expect there will be at least 463
insolvent liquidations by the end of the year compared with 426 in
2019, Independent.ie relates.

According to Independent.ie, Declan de Lacy from the firm said:
"This is still a very low number by comparison with 2011 when 1,410
companies went into liquidation.

"This suggests that the Government's measures including wage
supports, tax warehousing and subsidies for businesses closed by
restrictions has been broadly successful."

As a result, there are hundreds and possibly even thousands of
"zombie" or insolvent companies still in operation which will not
be viable once supports are pulled, Independent.ie notes.




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

KAZAKHSTAN TEMIR: S&P Alters Outlook to Pos., Affirms BB- LT Rating
-------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on Kazakhstan Temir Zholy
(KTZ) to positive from stable and affirmed its 'BB-' long-term
ratings on KTZ and its core subsidiary Kaztemirtrans JSC. S&P also
raised its Kazakh national scale rating on both entities to 'kzA'
from 'kzA-'.

S&P said, "The positive outlook reflects the possibility of an
upgrade within the next 12-24 months, if we believe the company
will maintain FFO to debt above 12%, underpinned by a prudent
financial policy and liquidity management, as well as relatively
stable foreign exchange rates."

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) reported solid nine-month 2020
results, with revenue up 4% and reported EBITDA up 12%, despite an
ongoing decline in the global transportation industry; S&P expects
full-year 2020 EBITDA at least at the 2019 level and up to 10%
growth from 2021.

Strong ongoing support from the state and management's commitments
to gradual deleveraging and cautious capital expenditure (capex).

KTZ's 2020 operating performance is better-than-average for the
sector, thanks to its resilient freight segment.  In contrast to
challenges faced by many infrastructure operators globally, KTZ is
less affected by the pandemic-related mobility restrictions,
because more than 90% of its revenue comes from freight. S&P said,
"We expect KTZ's freight turnover will increase by 2.5%-3.0% in
2020, thanks to active commodity exports and transit to China where
post-pandemic economic recovery started already in second-quarter
2020. We forecast that, on the back of increased transit operations
in 2020, KTZ will report EBITDA roughly equal to its 2019 level of
Kazakh tenge (KZT)312 billion. Devaluation of the tenge by more
than 10% against hard currencies in 2020 inflated absolute debt and
partially offset the positive effect of increased EBITDA on credit
metrics; we expect FFO to debt of 11%-12% in 2020, down from 14% in
2019. Still, under our base case, KTZ will likely demonstrate
moderate growth of up to 10% from 2021 due to approved tariff
increases and expected solid freight turnover thanks to recovery in
Kazakh GDP (3.9% forecast), global production, and trade volumes.
In the absence of unexpected disruptions, this growth will likely
translate into improved credit metrics from 2021, with FFO to debt
exceeding 12%, our threshold for an upgrade. Still, we believe that
high exposure to commodity transportation (roughly 25% coal and 20%
ores and ferrous metals) implies inherent uncertainty and
volatility for KTZ's freight turnover.

"Although the pandemic disrupted passenger operations, this
represents a small share of revenue (about 8% in 2019).  We expect
passenger turnover and revenue to decline by more than 50% in 2020.
We forecast a slow rebound, with passenger turnover at 70% of
2019's level in 2021 and 90% in 2022. The forecasts are in line
with our view of the region's rail sector. Annual state subsidies
of about KTZ30 billion partially compensate for a loss in this
segment."

About 35% of debt is still in hard currencies, exposing KZT to
tenge devaluation.   After a partial refinancing of about $1
billion of notes with tenge and ruble debt, the proportion of hard
currencies in the debt portfolio decreased to about 35% as of end
of third-quarter 2020, from 70% in 2018, which is positive for the
group's capital structure. However, the tenge has depreciated from
KZT382 per dollar as of Jan. 1, 2020 to KZT420 as of Dec. 10, 2020,
inflating the debt balance and partially offsetting improved
operating results. S&P said, "We understand management is committed
to reduce foreign currency debt further, which we view positively
as it would reduce the consequences of foreign exchange
fluctuations. Currently, the group receives about 25%-30% of its
operating cash flows in hard currencies, which we view as a partial
natural hedge."

S&P said, "We expect capex will be cautious, with investment in
nonstrategic projects only if supported by government equity
injections.   The group's investment program remains substantial,
exceeding KZT200 billion annually, because of its modernization
plans. We understand that the government will partially fund these
investments by equity injections from 2021 as well as low-interest
loans. We believe the group's capex is relatively flexible and KTZ
will not invest if no funding sources are available."

Ongoing state support strengthens the stand-alone credit profile
(SACP).  KTZ receives benefits from different supporting measures
from the state, which S&P reflects in its assessment of the 'b'
SACP:

-- Government interest rate grants. In 2019-2020, KTZ issued tenge
notes to replace U.S. dollar Eurobonds and the state committed to
subsidize a part of coupon interest. In 2020 KTZ received about
KTZ29 billion, and S&P includes the same amount for future periods
in its base case.

-- Subsidies to compensate for losses not covered by existing
passenger tariffs of about KZT30 billion annually.

-- Low interest long-term loans to fund replacement of rolling
stock. By December, KTZ received a half of the KZT40 billion
facility approved for 2020. S&P understand additional facilities
will follow in 2021.

-- Potential equity injections of KZT30 billion to fund capex in
the passenger segment--to be approved in early 2021.
A high likelihood of extraordinary state support underpins the
rating.   KTZ plays a very important role in land-locked
Kazakhstan's national transport sector. S&P said, "We believe
there's a strong link with the Kazakh government, which wholly owns
KTZ via sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna and provides stable
ongoing support. We continue to see the likelihood of timely and
sufficient extraordinary financial support from Kazakhstan for KTZ
as high and incorporate two notches of uplift in our 'BB-' rating
on KTZ."

S&P said, "We view Kaztemirtrans JSC (KTT) as a core subsidiary of
the KTZ group.  We therefore equalize the ratings on the subsidiary
with those on the parent. KTT is a freight wagon owner and
operator. It is fully owned by KTZ and closely integrated into the
group. Thus, we have also revised our outlook on KTT to positive
from stable and the national scale rating to 'kzA' from 'kzA-' and
affirmed our 'BB-' long-term issuer credit rating."

S&P Global Ratings believes there remains a high degree of
uncertainty about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic.  
Reports that at least one experimental vaccine is highly effective
and might gain initial approval by the end of the year are
promising, but this is merely the first step toward a return to
social and economic normality; equally critical is the widespread
availability of effective immunization, which could come by the
middle of next year. S&P said, "We use 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."

The positive outlook indicates the possibility of an upgrade within
the next two years if KTZ's financial metrics strengthen, with FFO
to debt above 12% and debt to EBITDA below 5x on a sustainable
basis. This would largely depend on KTZ's freight volume dynamics
and could be affected by the tenge/dollar exchange rate.

S&P said, "We could upgrade KTZ if FFO to debt is sustainably above
12% and debt to EBITDA below 5x, as a result of considerable
improvements in EBITDA generation due to traffic volume growth and
tariff uplift, or meaningful reduction of debt in combination with
moderate capex. An upgrade will also hinge on management's
commitment to maintaining sufficient liquidity, the ability to
obtain waivers on the expected covenant breaches, and a lack of
material devaluation of the tenge.

"We could revise the outlook to stable if KTZ's adjusted FFO to
debt remained below 12% due to weaker-than-expected operating
performance, less ongoing state support, or significant devaluation
of the tenge, inflating the company's debt position.

"Though less likely, negative revisions to our assessment of
extraordinary government support and weakening of liquidity could
also result in a negative rating action."


LONDON-ALMATY INSURANCE: S&P Affirms 'BB-' ICR, Outlook Stable
--------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB-' long-term issuer credit and
financial strength ratings on Kazakhstan-based London-Almaty
Insurance Co. JSC (LA). The outlook is stable.

At the same time, S&P affirmed its 'kzA-' national scale rating on
LA.

S&P said, "The affirmation reflects our view of LA's competitive
standing in Kazakhstan, in particular in the corporate insurance
market, which is supported by solid capital adequacy and sufficient
reinsurance protection. These factors are constrained by the small
absolute size of the company in an international context, based on
gross premiums written (GPW) and capital, and still some volatility
of operating performance in 2020.

"We note that the company is focused on maintaining a solid capital
cushion of at least 200% relative to the minimum regulatory
requirement of 100%, which we expect will support business
development in the corporate segment. In addition, we view as
positive that LA has sufficient reinsurance cover in place, which
can protect its capital base in case of large claims. Based on our
capital model, LA had excess capital adequacy at the 'AAA'
confidence level as of Jan. 1, 2020, which we expect it to maintain
over the next two years. This is taking into account moderate
business growth in 2021-2022 of 5% and 10%, respectively, on the
back of the gradual economic recovery. We expect that the company's
capital will stay close to $18 million, which is small in absolute
terms compared with that of international players.

"We expect that net income in 2020 will be supported by investment
income, in particular revaluation gains. We note that LA has
exposure to foreign exchange risk, like many other Kazakhstani
insurers. The company's overall foreign exchange position accounts
for close to 69% of total investments as of Nov. 1, 2020. We expect
that the company will maintain a long open-currency position in
2021, which will be supportive in view of the local currency's
depreciation.

"We expect that LA will gradually restore its operating performance
but its combined (loss and expense) ratio will remain close to 100%
in 2021-2022 pressured by still-high expense ratios and some
constraints from COVID-19 containment measures, although comparable
with the market average."

"The company follows a defined investment strategy, while gradually
moving toward 'BBB' average credit quality, but slower than we
initially expected. As of Nov. 1, 2020, close to 47% of LA's
invested assets were placed with investment-grade instruments
(rated 'BBB-' or higher). We believe further asset quality
improvement is sustainable, stemming from the reallocation of
investments from lower-rated bank deposits to investment-grade
sovereign or quasi-sovereign fixed-income instruments. LA continues
to benefit from its experienced management team and sufficient
liquidity cushion.

"The stable outlook reflects our expectation that, over the next 12
months, LA will sustain its competitive position while focusing on
further improvements in underwriting performance and the quality of
its investment portfolio.

"We could consider a positive rating action in the next 12 months
if the company sustains its capital position, and further improves
and stabilizes its underwriting performance and asset quality,
while gradually fostering its competitive position with continued
steady growth."

S&P could lower ratings in the next 12 months if it sees:

-- A significant and sustained deterioration of the company's
capital base due to underwriting or investment losses and earnings
volatility.

-- A significant and sustained asset-quality deterioration to 'BB'
or lower.




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

ENERGOGARANT PJSIC: S&P Upgrades ICR to 'BB', Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term insurer financial strength
and issuer credit ratings on Russia-based insurer Energogarant
PJSIC to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The outlook is stable.

S&P said, "We raised our ratings on Energogarant because the
insurer has demonstrated its ability to deliver solid operating
performance over the past several years, including during the
period of economic stress in 2020 caused by low oil prices and
COVID-19 containment measures in Russia. Energogarant continued to
build its capital in 2020 on the back of sufficient retained
earnings, which we reflect in a higher anchor choice for the
rating.

"We also note that Energogarant has won the court case against tax
authorities, in which it disputed the results of the tax inspection
finalized at the end of 2018. The related tax claims amounted to
about Russian ruble (RUB) 1.6 billion (approximately US$22 million;
29% of the company's equity capital as of Nov. 1, 2020). The
current court decision decreases this amount by RUB738 million.
Although the tax authorities might still appeal this court
decision, we note that the insurer has created reserves to fully
cover the related tax claims and will not release them until the
court decision is final. Therefore, the potential appeal does not
create downside pressure on Energogarant's capital position;
rather, the insurer's capital buffers might strengthen further if
the court's current ruling stands. We will monitor the development
of the tax case to see if it ends up affecting Energogarant's
capital position positively. At the current stage we do not
incorporate any upside from it into our projections of the
insurer's capital.

"In our view, Energogarant will be able to keep its market position
as a midsize player in the Russian property/casualty (P/C) sector
by focusing on motor insurance, which accounted for about 50% of
its gross written premium (GPW) in the first nine months of 2020.
Despite the pressure from the lockdown measures in the second
quarter, Energogarant managed to keep its premium base stable,
reporting 2.6% GPW growth over the first nine months. We expect its
GPW will increase by around 5% annually in the next two years, in
line with our expectation for the Russian P/C market.

"Energogarant's net combined (loss and expense) ratio improved to
94% under local accounting standards in the first nine months of
2020 from 96% for full-year 2019, benefitting from the lower
frequency of road accidents during the lockdown. Although we expect
a gradual moderate increase of Energogarant's loss ratio because of
the restored traffic once the lockdown was lifted, we forecast the
insurer will maintain positive technical performance with the net
combined ratio not exceeding 98% in the next two years.

"Energogarant will stick to a moderately conservative investment
policy in the local context, in our expectation, keeping the
weighted-average quality of its investments in the lower end of the
'BBB' range. The insurer's investment portfolio is concentrated in
Russian sovereign bonds and bonds and deposits of
government-related and highly systemically important banks.
Together these account for about 70% of its total invested assets.
The insurer's investment yield has been on a declining trend in
2020 in view of the declining interest rates in Russia; however, we
project it will stay around 4% in the next two years. We expect
that Energogarant's dividend payments will remain moderate in the
next two years with a dividend payout ratio not exceeding 20% of
net income.

"The outlook is stable because we expect Energogarant will remain
resilient to economic pressures and continue demonstrating sound
technical performance and investment results in the next 12
months.

"We could take a negative rating action in the next 12 months if
Energogarant's ability to consistently build capital deteriorated,
contrary to our current expectations. This could happen if the
insurer's underwriting or investment performance were to weaken
meaningfully or in case of high dividend payments, for example. We
could also consider a negative rating action if the company's risk
exposure significantly increased, namely via higher investment
risk."

A positive rating action appears remote in the next 12 months,
given the insurer's moderate market share and capital size in
global comparison.




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

ARYZTA: Rejects Elliott's CHF800-Mil. Takeover Approach
-------------------------------------------------------
Silke Koltrowitz, Michael Shields and Oliver Hirt at Reuters report
that Swiss baked goods maker Aryzta rejected on Dec. 18 an CHF800
million (US$904 million) takeover approach from Elliott Advisors,
saying it preferred to go it alone.

Elliott launched its takeover bid at the beginning of December,
attaching conditions to the offer and setting a deadline which has
expired, Reuters recounts.

Aryzta also gave a strategic update, saying it wanted to return to
sustainable organic growth over the next two to three years and
improve its core earnings (EBITDA) margin to around 12.5% within
the next two years, from 9% last year, Reuters discloses.

It said its board had confirmed the strategic focus on Europe and
Asia-Pacific and the decision to sell businesses in North and Latin
America, Reuters relates.

"Our engagement with interested parties for these businesses is
progressing well," Aryzta, as cited by Reuters, said, adding the
expected proceeds should help to significantly reduce debt levels
over the next six to nine months.

Shareholders this month elected Urs Jordi as chairman of the
struggling company, which produces McDonald's burger buns, Reuters
states.  Mr. Jordi has said now is not the time for Aryzta to
consider selling up, instead favoring restructuring the company,
Reuters notes.

Aryzta, which owns the Cuisine de France brand, has endured a tough
few years, with falling sales made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic,
Reuters relays.  It has also been weighed down by a huge debt pile
from an acquisition spree in Europe and the United States,
according to Reuters.




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

AMIGO LOANS: Plans to Cap Compensation, Future Uncertain
--------------------------------------------------------
BBC News reports that borrowers who believe they have been mis-sold
loans by sub-prime lender Amigo may see payouts capped under a new
plan.

Amigo wants anyone whose complaint is yet to be resolved to take a
proportion of a pot set aside for compensation, BBC states.

The lender has been receiving a deluge of claims for redress in
recent months -- a trend that has caused the demise of other big
names in the sector, BBC notes.

Amigo has 150,000 current customers, and 500,000 past customers.
That makes it the biggest operator in the market, having been
offering loans to people who are cash-strapped but who give the
name of a guarantor to step in to cover any unpaid repayments,
according to BBC.

Its future has been in doubt, with the business embroiled in a
boardroom battle. It stopped all new lending in November, BBC
discloses.

Amigo, BBC says, has seen a "high level" of complaints during 2020,
and there are no signs of this trend slowing down.

People who have already been informed in a letter how much
compensation they will receive -- either as a result of a complaint
to Amigo or to the Financial Ombudsman Service -- will still
receive their payout, BBC states.

But under the company's proposals, any unfinished or subsequent
complaints would be capped, BBC notes.

They would either see their existing debt reduced, or -- for
previous customers -- receive a share from a compensation pot
totalling between GBP15 million and GBP35 million, according to
BBC.

It is not yet clear how many pence in the pound would actually be
paid of their compensation entitlement, BBC discloses.  Customers
would eventually be able to vote on the proposal, called a Scheme
of Arrangement, BBC relates.

The company, as cited by BBC, said it would allow it to start
lending again in early 2021.  In a statement to investors, Amigo
said that -- in the absence of the plan -- "the level of redress
claims would jeopardize the group's future".



                           *********


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 * * *