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       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

          Thursday, July 20, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 145

                           Headlines



B E L G I U M

IDEAL STANDARD: S&P Lowers ICR to 'CCC' on Weaker Liquidity


F R A N C E

IDEMIA GROUP: Fitch Affirms 'B' Long Term IDR, Outlook Positive


G E R M A N Y

SOFTWARE AG: Fitch Gives First Time 'B+(EXP)' IDR, Outlook Stable


I R E L A N D

ENERGIA GROUP: Fitch Rates New EUR600MM Senior Secured Bond 'BB+'


K A Z A K H S T A N

BANK CENTERCREDIT: S&P Upgrades ICR to 'BB-', Outlook Stable


N E T H E R L A N D S

VANMOOF: Declared Bankrupt, Trustees Seek to Sell Assets


R U S S I A

DANONE: Russian Government Takes Control of Operations


S W I T Z E R L A N D

FTX EUROPE: Faces Suit Over Failed EU Expansion


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

FIDO FINANCE: Enters Administration, Owes More Than GBP2 Mil.
GATLEY BAR: Put Into Administration, Owes Nearly GBP300,000
LIBERTY GLOBAL: Egan-Jones Retains BB+ Senior Unsecured Ratings
ODFJELL DRILLING: S&P Assigns Final 'B+' LT ICR, Outlook Stable
RMAC SECURITIES 2007-NS1: Fitch Affirms BB+sf Rating on 2 Tranches

[*] UK: Food and Drink Administrations Up 110% in First Half 2023

                           - - - - -


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B E L G I U M
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IDEAL STANDARD: S&P Lowers ICR to 'CCC' on Weaker Liquidity
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lower its issuer credit rating on Ideal Standard
International S.A. (Ideal Standard) to 'CCC' from 'CCC+' and keep
the negative outlook. S&P also lower the issue rating on the EUR325
million secured notes due 2026 to 'CCC' from 'CCC+' and maintain
the '4' recovery rating, reflecting 35% weighted average recovery.

The negative outlook reflects the potential for a negative rating
action if, absent significantly improved cash flow generation or
short-term debt roll-over, Ideal Standard undertook actions, such
as a debt restructuring, that we view as akin to default.

S&P said, "We anticipate that Ideal Standard's FOCF will continue
to be negative in 2023, reflecting the continued weak economic
environment and working capital cash absorption. Between January
and March 2023, Ideal Standard's S&P Global Ratings-adjusted FOCF
was negative EUR15.7 million, mainly due to reduced gross profits
and continued working capital outflows. Positively, one-off
restructuring expenses were lower than in 2022. We expect earnings
will continue to suffer for the remainder of 2023, due to the
softer demand in the residential construction sector as a result of
increased interest rates. We also expect adjusted EBITDA will
reduce further, compared with 2022. We anticipate Ideal Standard's
adjusted debt to EBITDA will be about 10.5x-11.0x in 2023 and 2024,
compared with 9.7x in 2022. The company's relatively small EBITDA
base, high cash interest, and pension payments and working capital
outflows will continue to pressure adjusted FOCF. We anticipate
adjusted FOCF will be negative EUR25 million-EUR35 million in 2023
and negative EUR10 million-EUR15 million in 2024. The level of cash
absorption is lower in 2023 than it was in 2022, when FOCF was
negative EUR87.2 million, but cash absorption continues to put
pressure on Ideal Standard's liquidity profile."

Ideal Standard's liquidity sources may not be sufficient to sustain
its operations over the next 12 months, unless the company is able
to roll over its short-term debt. In the first quarter of 2023,
Ideal Standard received a EUR25 million shareholder loan due in
December 2024 from its sponsors to address near-term liquidity
pressure and to bridge operating shortfalls. In our view, the
support from sponsors has been instrumental for Ideal Standard to
meet its liquidity needs in 2023. Still, Ideal Standard has about
EUR74 million of short-term debt that it needs to roll over in the
next few quarters to preserve its liquidity. The short-term debt is
largely comprised of local overdraft credit lines in Bulgaria and
Egypt.

S&P said, "We assess Ideal Standard's liquidity as weak. We believe
the sponsors' cash injection in the first quarter of 2023 has
temporarily alleviated liquidity pressure. Still, Ideal Standard
will face a significant liquidity shortfall if it is not able to
roll over its local overdraft credit lines. Mitigating our concern,
we acknowledge that Ideal Standard has regularly rolled over those
local overdrafts in the past few years, which reflects the
company's good relationship with local banks in Bulgaria and Egypt.
Moreover, Ideal Standard has some uncommitted local facilities that
it could use as liquidity buffer in case of need. Absent any plan
to improve liquidity sources permanently, however, we believe
liquidity will remain constrained in 2023 and 2024.

"We believe Ideal Standard's weak cash flow generation and reliance
on external financing to bridge operating cash shortfalls amid
uncertain market conditions have increased the likelihood of a debt
restructuring, which we could view as distressed. The company
recently received a EUR25 million shareholder loan from its
sponsors to address near-term liquidity pressure and to bridge
operating shortfalls. We believe weak FOCF generation and
macroeconomic risks, along with our view that Ideal Standard's
capital structure is unsustainable due to high leverage, have
increased the likelihood that the company would engage in a
transaction that we would deem distressed, such as a debt
restructuring."

The negative outlook reflects the potential for a negative rating
action if, absent significantly improved cash flow generation or
short-term debt roll-over, Ideal Standard undertook actions, such
as a debt restructuring, that we viewed as akin to default.

S&P said, "We could lower the rating if Ideal Standard is not able
to roll over its short-term debt maturing over the next 12 months,
does not receive further financial support from its shareholders to
cover its liquidity needs, and thus has to execute a debt
restructuring.

"We could raise the rating if Ideal Standard is able to roll over
its short-term financial debt maturing over the next 12 months or
receives further financial support from its shareholders to meet
its liquidity needs. An upgrade would also require that Ideal
Standard's FOCF turns positive, which could happen if the company
generates volume growth and successfully executes its cost-saving
initiatives in good time."

ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-2, G-3





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F R A N C E
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IDEMIA GROUP: Fitch Affirms 'B' Long Term IDR, Outlook Positive
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed IDEMIA Group S.A.S.'s Long-Term Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) at 'B' following an EUR150 million equivalent
increase in its term loan B (TLB), as part of a recent
amend-and-extend (A&E) transaction.

Fitch has also affirmed the upsized EUR1,500 million and USD750
million TLBs at 'B+' with unchanged Recovery Ratings of 'RR3', but
with estimated recoveries declining to 56% from 59% previously.
Fitch expect the upsized TLB to be used for working-capital and
liquidity purposes as opposed to any further dividend
distributions.

The 'B' IDR reflects IDEMIA's underlying earnings volatility, high
leverage and thin free cash flow (FCF) margins, owing to large
capex to remain technology-competitive, which is balanced by its
strong market position with global scale and diversification.

The Positive Outlook on the IDR reflects Fitch expectation of
sustained profitability, albeit not quite as strong as the high
levels Fitch estimate for 2022-2023, and of gross debt remaining
structurally below 4.5x EBITDA by 2025.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Strong 2022 and 1Q23: IDEMIA had a record year in 2022 with a
year-on-year (yoy) revenue growth at constant currency of 13.8%,
and with its enterprise and government businesses up 19.8% and
7.7%, respectively. Fitch-defined EBITDA margin increased to 18% in
2022 from around 14% in 2021, which is high versus historical
levels. Some of the growth is foreign-exchange (FX)-driven (around
EUR53 million of company-reported EBITDA in 2022), but geographic
and product mix (dual and metal cards) contributed to higher
profitability. Company-defined EBITDA in 2022 was up 29.8% yoy in
constant currency and company-defined EBITDA margin in 1Q23 was at
21.5% (with limited FX impact).

Continued Improvement in Credit Metrics: Fitch expect sustained
high profitability, albeit slightly reduced from 2024 onwards, to
reduce IDEMIA's EBITDA gross leverage to below 4.5x in 2023 and to
sustain FCF margins at low-to-mid single digits for 2024-2025.

Enterprise to Slow: Fitch expect some normalisation of revenues and
profitability in its enterprise business by end-2023 and into 2024.
As supply shortages ease, Fitch expect increased competition may
affect volumes and prices and forecast a 2% revenue decline in
2024, with a company-defined EBITDA margin below 22%, down from 25%
in 2023.

Fitch expect continued neutral to positive revenue growth for
2025-2026, where a reduction in consumer SIM cards will be
compensated by a continued shift towards more advanced technologies
(M2M, IoT Auto and eSIM), and by a continued emphasis on key
customers and geographies and product mix (metal and biometric
cards).

Upside in Government Business: Government margins have remained
rather stable but Fitch expect some price increases to feed into
both revenues and margins in 2023-2024 as contracts come up for
renewal. Fitch expect around 5% revenue growth in the government
business in 2023, mainly derived from public security solutions,
such as biometric travel, law enforcement and road safety.

Positive but Slim FCF: While reduced leverage and forecast FCF are
one of the key drivers of the Positive Outlook, absolute FCF levels
are fairly low. This is due to high capex including R&D spend and
higher interest payments following the expiry of existing
interest-rate hedges. In addition, a new government contract
(automated boarder control system) in Singapore supports sales
growth, but also exacerbates working-capital outflows for 2023 via
inventory build-up, which Fitch expect to ease into 2024.

Extended Loan Facilities, Higher Rates: The extension of IDEMIA's
TLBs and revolving credit facility (RCF) into 2028 is
credit-positive for prudent liabilities management. In spite of
reduced leverage, higher interest payments following the expiry of
existing interest-rate hedges will weigh on interest coverage.
Fitch forecast EBITDA interest cover to trend lower towards 3.0x in
2025 from 4.1x in 2023, predicated on neutral to positive sales
growth and a sustained Fitch-defined EBITDA margin of around 18%.

Leverage Subject to Sustained Profitability: Based on
Fitch-calculated EBITDA of around EUR500 million-EUR550 million in
2023 and 2024, Fitch expect gross debt to remain at or below 4.5x
EBITDA. Fitch still see some uncertainty around the extent of
positive momentum and structural improvement in profitability,
which are key to IDEMIA's deleveraging. Fitch see some risk of
price pressure within the more commoditised enterprise division as
competition increases and technology matures, where the latter may
be more of a medium-term risk.

Improving Earnings Quality: Fitch expect restructuring and
transformation costs to decline in 2024-2025 towards EUR10 million
per year (EUR25 million in 2023). Fitch treat most restructuring
and transformation expenses as recurring and include them in EBITDA
and funds from operation (FFO) as they are attributable to
cost-cutting projects and are likely to persist. Fitch see them as
part of IDEMIA's continuing efforts to improve operational
efficiency with a view to standardisation, simplification and
digitalisation of business processes.

Strong Market Positions: IDEMIA has strong market shares in all its
key segments, ranking second or first in both enterprise and
government businesses. The government segment benefits from
IDEMIA's established reputation, high reliability and strong
execution. While its business is predominantly project-based,
IDEMIA has recurring revenue from services such as ID and passport
issuance.

The enterprise segment's products are more commoditised and the
markets more competitive, resulting in price and profitability
pressures. IDEMIA is tackling these challenges with new hi-tech
products, a more selective approach to the customer service mix and
by investing in technology at the early stages of adoption with
long-term growth potential.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

IDEMIA's ratings are supported by strong global market positions in
identification, authentication, payment and connectivity
solutions.

IDEMIA's broader technology peers, such as Nokia Corporation
(BBB-/Stable), Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (BBB-/Stable) and
STMicroelectronics N.V. (BBB/Stable), are rated in the
investment-grade category. Despite higher volatility in both
revenue and margins than IDEMIA's, they have greater scale and
stronger cash flows as well as no or very low net leverage.

Fitch recognises the strong business position and technology
leadership of IDEMIA within its chosen markets but its smaller
scale and high leverage place its rating in the 'B' category.
Higher-rated fintech companies such as Nexi S.p.A. (BB+/Stable)
benefit from leadership in their markets, strong growth prospects
and healthy cash flow generation.

Similarly-rated European software companies such as Dedalus SpA
(B-/Stable) and TeamSystem S.p.A (B/Stable) have subscription-based
recurring revenue platforms and demonstrate better deleveraging
prospects than IDEMIA and therefore have higher leverage tolerance
for their rating category.

IDEMIA is broadly comparable with the peers that Fitch covers in
its technology and credit opinions portfolios. It has slightly
higher leverage but benefits from market leadership in its core
operating segments, healthy liquidity and global diversification.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's Key Assumptions Within Fitch Rating Case for the Issuer:

-- Revenue growth of 6% in 2023, followed by low-to-mid single
digit growth in 2024-2025

-- Fitch-defined EBITDA margin at around 19% in 2023 and 18% in
2024

-- Capex at around EUR165 million-EUR175 million per year in
2023-2025

-- All restructuring charges are reflected in EBITDA and FFO

-- No M&A or dividends to 2025

Key Recovery Rating Assumptions

In conducting its bespoke recovery analysis, Fitch estimates that
IDEMIA's intellectual property, patents and recurring contracts, in
the event of default, would generate more value from a
going-concern restructuring than a liquidation of the business.

Fitch have assumed a 10% administrative claim in the recovery
analysis.

Fitch analysis assumes post-restructuring going-concern EBITDA of
around EUR285 million. This reflects stress assumptions of a loss
of major contracts following reputational damage, for example as a
result of compromised technology (leading to sustained high
leverage and negative cash flow) or from a major shift in
technology usage making IDEMIA's products obsolete.

Fitch have applied a 6x distressed multiple, reflecting IDEMIA's
scale, customer and geographical diversification as well as
exposure to secular growth in biometric-enabled identification
technology. Fitch also assume a fully drawn EUR300 million RCF.

Fitch deduct administrative claims, EUR85 million of factoring, and
EUR65 million of prior-ranking debt at operating subsidiaries as
prior-ranking claims ahead of the RCF and TLB in the liability
waterfall. Based on current metrics and assumptions, the waterfall
analysis generates a ranked recovery at 56% (down from 59%
following the A&E) and hence in the 'RR3' band, indicating a 'B+'
instrument rating for the senior secured TLBs.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors That Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to an
Upgrade:

-- Structurally improved profitability with sustained
mid-single-digit FCF margins

-- EBITDA gross leverage below 4.5x on a sustained basis,
including additional clarity around capital allocation and leverage
targets

-- EBITDA interest coverage above 3.0x

Factors That Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to the
Outlook Being Revised to Stable:

-- Sustained slim to neutral FCF margins

-- EBITDA interest cover sustained below 3.0x

-- EBITDA gross leverage sustained above 4.5x

Factors That Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to a
Downgrade:

-- A material loss of market share or other evidence of a
significant erosion of business or technology leadership in core
operations

-- EBITDA gross leverage above 6.0x on a sustained basis without a
clear path for deleveraging

-- Sustained neutral to negative FCF

-- EBITDA interest coverage below 2.5x

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Non-Financial Corporate
issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the
99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive
direction) of three notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a
worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th
percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction)
of four notches over three years. The complete span of best- and
worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges
from 'AAA' to 'D'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings are
based on historical performance.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Satisfactory Liquidity: IDEMIA had a cash position of around EUR140
million as of April 2023 (pro- forma for a EUR100 million dividend
payment and transaction costs related to the A&E transaction).
Fitch forecast positive FCF in 2023 and 2024, further supported by
an undrawn EUR300 million RCF, yielding satisfactory liquidity.

Manageable Refinancing Risk: Refinancing risk is manageable, with
reduced leverage and forecast sustained positive FCF. The RCF and
TLB maturities have been extended into 2028. Fitch expect increased
interest costs post-expiry of interest hedging by end-2023 and
reduced, but still positive, FCF in 2024 and 2025. Reduced leverage
with higher absolute EBITDA compensates for higher interest costs
in Fitch forecasts. Fitch forecast EBITDA interest coverage easing
towards 3.0x in 2025.

ISSUER PROFILE

IDEMIA, headquartered in France, develops, manufactures and markets
specialised security technology products and services worldwide,
mainly for the payments, telecommunications, public security and
identity markets.

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.



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G E R M A N Y
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SOFTWARE AG: Fitch Gives First Time 'B+(EXP)' IDR, Outlook Stable
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Fitch Ratings has assigned Software AG a first-time expected
Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'B+(EXP)' with a Stable
Outlook. It has also assigned an expected instrument rating to its
seven-year EUR1 billion senior secured term loan B (TLB) of
'BB-(EXP)' with a Recovery Rating of 'RR3'. The assignment of final
ratings is contingent on the completion of the acquisition and the
debt issue as expected.

The proceeds will be used to partly finance Software AG's
take-private acquisition by Silver Lake, whose tender process has
resulted in an ownership stake just above 75% as of July 14, 2023.
The transaction is expected to close in October/November this
year.

The IDR and its Stable Outlook reflect Software AG's high leverage
and execution risk on its profit improvement plan but are supported
by its leading market positions, a high portion of recurring
revenues and a good cash flow generation capacity. Leverage will be
above levels that are commensurate with a 'B+' rating till June
2025 when Fitch expect the company to deleverage to below 5.0x
Fitch-defined EBITDA, from around 5.8x at the close of the
acquisition.

The timely execution of the company's plan will have a significant
impact on profitability, and hence the leverage trajectory as Fitch
expect Fitch-defined EBITDA to grow to EUR230 million in 2025 from
EUR164 million in 2022 with margins expanding to 22% from 17%.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Deleveraging Expected after 2023: Following Silver Lake's
take-private, Fitch expects Software AG's Fitch-defined EBITDA
gross leverage to peak at 5.8x in 2023 on the issuance of new debt
and repayment of legacy debt, including its convertible bond. Fitch
expect leverage to decrease to 5.1x in 2024 and 4.3x in 2025 as
cost-saving initiatives start to spur EBITDA growth. Successful
deleveraging also depends on the profit improvement plan of the
company's digital business platform (DBP) segment and continued
strong growth in revenues.

A&N Faces Secular Decline: Software AG's Adabas & Natural (A&N; 26%
of revenues and 83% of company-defined EBITDA in 2022), which is
involved in data management software, is one of its two business
segments. It is exposed to technology risk and secular decline, but
is mission-critical and with high switching costs, making such
decline a slow and long-term process.

For large data-processing and data-sensitive enterprises legacy
workloads tend to be hefty and complex to migrate, thus making it
unlikely for some enterprises to fully replace their mainframes and
more likely to maintain a hybrid solution. In addition, increase of
workloads and data volumes that drive increased mainframe
utilisation may mitigate some of the secular decline, helped by
CPI-linked step ups embedded in most of their contracts with
Software AG.

DBP Sees Strong Growth: DBP (57% of revenues and 18% of
company-defined EBITDA) is exposed to strong secular market growth
and also has high recurring revenues. It is, however, less
mission-critical, has lower switching costs and its products are
exposed to more intense competition. Within DBP's product mix Fitch
estimate that around 70% of revenues are mission-critical and the
remainder more easily replaceable.

Strong Revenue Visibility: Software AG has longstanding
relationships with clients and a leading renewal rate of 93%,
supported by an average contract length of three years. Strong
revenue visibility supports its execution of the profit plan and
its deleveraging prospects. This is reinforced by A&N's mission
criticality given the segment contributes most of the profitability
and free cash flow (FCF) of the group.

Transformation to Cloud Completed: Software AG has completed its
transformation from a perpetual license and maintenance revenue
model to a more predictable software as a service (SaaS) and
subscription model. The latter now represents around 64% of total
revenue (1Q23) compared with 36% in 1Q21. Software AG will likely
maintain a portion of contracts on perpetual license as these
represent the customer base that is unable or unwilling to switch
to cloud. A swift transition to SaaS and subscription models has
benefitted revenue growth significantly given the 1.4x multiplier
Software AG applies to migrating customers.

Significant Margin Erosion: The cloud transformation occurred
alongside significant investments of around EUR119 million in sales
and marketing and in R&D for the cloud activation of Software AG's
DBP product portfolio since 2019. This sharply eroded Fitch-defined
EBITDA margins to 17.1% in 2022 from 28.4% in 2019. In addition,
its acquisition of loss-making StreamSets in 2022 further weighs on
margins. Fitch expect StreamSets to break-even by end-2024.

Improving Profitability: Software AG is undertaking a cost
restructuring plan aimed at bringing DBP's operating expense
margins closer to peer averages, while leaving scope for further
improvements. It expects to realise EUR62 million cost savings by
mid-2025 after spending around EUR70 million in restructuring
between 2022 and 2025. Fitch forecast Fitch-defined EBITDA margins
to increase to 19.3% and 21.8% in 2024 and 2025, respectively, from
17.6% in 2023.

Software AG has achieved around EUR33 million of run-rate cost
savings so far, which will be fully reflected in 2024 reported
EBITDA. The remaining EUR29 million will be executed in the next
six to 12 months. Fitch takes a 30% haircut to the target cost
savings to reflect execution risks such as potential delays or
slower revenue growth.

FCF Momentarily Constrained: Restructuring costs and temporarily
low margins will keep FCF moderately negative for the next two
years, before it turns positive in 2025. Fitch expects Software AG
to boast FCF margins above 9% (or EUR100 million equivalent by
2026) after restructuring costs subside, supporting liquidity and
financial flexibility from 2025.

Having transitioned to a mainly subscription-based revenue model,
Software AG will have negligible net working-capital investment
needs. This, coupled with low capex requirements given fully
expensed R&D for software development, results in a high FCF
generation capacity that would follow a successful turnaround of
its DBP business.

Leading Global Position: Software AG has a highly diversified
customer base and leading global position. It is recognised as a
leader in the market for each of its DBP products by Gartner and
Forrester. It has around 1,000 customers globally in 74 countries,
while its win rates above 60% across its DBP product portfolio
should support its defensive market position as the industry
develops.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Software AG's operating profile is comparable to that of Teamsystem
S.p.A. (B/Stable) and stronger than Centurion Bidco S.p.a.'s
(Engineering; B+/Negative) and AlmaViva S.p.A.'s (BB-/Stable).
While its A&N revenue base has higher barriers to entry and is more
recurring in nature than Teamsystem's products, this is offset by
its exposure to a mature and shrinking market. In addition, the
contribution of DBP is less mission-critical than Teamsystem's
product suite.

Software AG is also comparable in size to Teamsystem but with much
higher product and geographic diversification. However, Software
AG's profitability improvement plan poses higher execution risks to
its deleveraging path compared with Teamsystem's strong organic
growth and deleveraging prospects as a leader in a market with
strong secular growth trends.

Software AG's operating profile is stronger than that of
Engineering and AlmaViva as the latter two have a high portion of
third-party software solutions and consulting services than
Software AG's fully proprietary software solution suite and
recurring revenue base. In addition, Engineering and AlmaViva have
lower margins and face more constrained profitability than peers.

Similar to Software AG, Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (BBB/Stable), DXC
Technology Company (BBB/F2/Stable) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Company (BBB+/Stable) are also affected by the secular decline in
legacy IT services on accelerated migration from on-premise to
public cloud data management infrastructures. These higher-rated
peers are much larger and better capitalised than Software AG and
their resulting leverage profiles are also more stable, giving them
headroom to restructure loss-making contracts and shift to
higher-value services.

Software AG has limited headroom for delays to its profit
improvement plan as its leverage profile is dependent on the timely
recovery of its EBITDA margins.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

-- Revenue growth of 1.9%, 4.2% and 3.9% in 2023, 2024 and 2025,
respectively, led by an average 9.7% growth in DBP and an 8.8%
contraction in A&N, with professional services remaining broadly
stable

-- Fitch applies a 30% haircut to the expected cost savings
resulting in a staggered EUR43.4 million EBITDA benefit by
end-2026

-- Fitch-defined EBITDA margin to increase to 17.6%, 19.3% and
21.8% in 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively, from 17.1% in 2022

-- Working-capital needs to reduce to around 1%-2% of revenues
from 2025 onwards, from 5% in 2023

-- Capex at around 1.2% of revenues for 2023-2025

-- Non-recurring expenses of EUR75 million between 2023 and 2025

-- Bolt-on acquisitions of EUR14 million a year from 2024 onwards

-- Potential additional costs, if any, related to reaching the 90%
squeeze-out threshold, to be funded via equity

Key Recovery Rating Assumptions

The recovery analysis assumes that Software AG would be considered
a going-concern (GC) in bankruptcy, and that it would be
reorganised rather than liquidated, given the inherent value behind
its contract portfolio, its incumbent software licenses and strong
client relationships.

Fitch have assumed a 10% administrative claim. Fitch assess a GC
EBITDA at about EUR150 million. Fitch estimate that at this level
of EBITDA, after the undertaking of corrective measures, the
company would generate neutral to negative FCF. Financial distress,
leading to a restructuring, may be driven by a shrinking client
base as customers accelerate their migration to newer technologies
or replace DBP solutions with those from competitors. Additionally,
should the company fall behind on cost restructuring it may
experience significant EBITDA losses.

An enterprise value (EV) multiple of 5.0x EBITDA is applied to the
GC EBITDA to calculate a post-reorganisation EV. This is in line
with the lower end of multiples used for other software-focused
issuers rated in the 'B' category given its exposure to secular
decline.

Fitch recovery analysis includes Software AG's EUR1,000 million
senior secured TLB and its EUR100 million RCF ranking pari-passu
with each other. Fitch assume the RCF is fully drawn for the
purpose of Fitch recovery computation.

Fitch analysis results in expected recoveries of 61% for the senior
secured TLB, leading to a 'RR3' Recovery Rating and a 'BB-'
instrument rating, one notch above the IDR.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

-- EBITDA gross leverage below 3.7x on a sustained basis

- Cash from operations (CFO) less capex/total debt higher than 10%
on a sustained basis, due to higher contract profitability and
improved working-capital dynamics

-- EBITDA/interest paid above 3.0x

-- Successful improvement of DBP's profitability with overall
Fitch-defined EBITDA margins returning to above 20%

-- Increasing leadership positions across the DBP portfolio

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

-- EBITDA gross leverage remaining above 5.0x due to slow profit
growth or insufficient improvement of DBP's profitability leading
to a failure to deleverage by mid-2025

-- EBITDA / interest paid below 2.5x without any improvement over
the next 24 months

-- FCF margins remaining below 2% through the cycle

-- Debt-funded buyout of minorities or weaker liquidity profile if
using large cash amounts for this purpose

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Non-Financial Corporate
issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the
99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive
direction) of three notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a
worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th
percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction)
of four notches over three years. The complete span of best- and
worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges
from 'AAA' to 'D'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings are
based on historical performance.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Adequate Liquidity: Software AG's liquidity is adequate with an
expected around EUR80 million of cash and cash equivalents on
balance sheet at acquisition close and an availability of an
undrawn EUR100 million RCF. If the planned debt issuance and debt
refinancing go according to plan, Software would not have
meaningful debt maturities until 2030.

ISSUER PROFILE

Software AG is a German software company that provides essential
infrastructure software to manage data flows across enterprises.
The company has around EUR1 billion in revenues and around EUR170
million in Fitch-defined EBITDA.

DATE OF RELEVANT COMMITTEE

July 13, 2023

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.



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

ENERGIA GROUP: Fitch Rates New EUR600MM Senior Secured Bond 'BB+'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Energia Group ROI FinanceCo DAC's EUR600
million new senior secured bond a rating of 'BB+' with a Recovery
Rating of 'RR2'.

The debt issue is rated in line with previous senior secured
issuance from Energia's financing companies (fincos), which will be
refinanced with the latest bond proceeds. The rating is notched up
once from Energia Group Limited's (Energia) Long-Term Issuer
Default Rating (IDR) of 'BB', which has a Stable Outlook, due to
favourable recovery prospects.

The IDR reflects Energia's sustained strong leverage metrics, which
are supported by a more conservative financial policy. It also
reflects progress with its data centre project, which includes a
long-term contracted lease agreement and corporate power purchase
agreement (PPA), supporting cash flow visibility.

The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch expectations that Energia will
maintain credit metrics within the new rating sensitivities and a
solid business mix as energy markets normalise. Fitch expect around
60% of quasi-regulated or contracted EBITDA at the restricted
group, driven by capacity auctions, renewables support schemes and
long-term PPAs. Fitch also expect contracted earnings from the data
centre and emergency generation projects to more than offset the
loss of revenue in respect of its Ballylumford contract (PPB),
which expires in FY24 (year-end March).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Refinancing Underway: Energia will use the latest bond proceeds to
redeem its two senior secured bonds with outstanding balances of
GBP215 million and EUR348 million, resulting in no change to
leverage. The new senior secured bond is rated in line with
Energia's existing senior secured debt. In addition to the new bond
issue, Fitch expect Energia to terminate its existing revolving
credit facility (RCF) and enter into a new larger EUR450 million
RCF.

Improved Leverage: Energia's funds from operations (FFO) net
leverage improved to 0.5x in FY23 (2.5x in FY22), on increased
EBITDA and dividends from project subsidiaries. This was driven by
higher utilisation of its Huntstown power plants and high average
power prices in FY23, improving revenues for both the renewable PPA
and flexible generation business. However, this was partially
offset by larger losses in the customer solutions segment due to
higher costs, though the overall integrated energy margin of the
business was sustained. Fitch expects Energia to maintain an
average FFO net leverage of 2.2x for FY24-FY28 as market prices
normalise and utilisation of Huntstown power plants decreases.

More Conservative Financial Policy: Energia has adopted a maximum
leverage policy of 3.5x net debt/EBITDA in respect to shareholder
dividends at the restricted group, which Fitch view as achievable
and in line with Fitch negative rating sensitivity. Fitch projects
improving free cash flow (FCF) from FY24, though Fitch expect
Energia to maintain high capex (including further 155MW of onshore
wind) and dividend pay-outs beyond the currently approved or
announced projects and distributions. However, Fitch see some
headroom within its new financial policy.

Data Centre Improves Business Profile: Fitch views positively
Energia's large-scale data centre project, which Fitch expect to be
fully operational in FY28. Fitch expect the restricted group to
benefit from dividends from a long-term contracted lease agreement
on top of a 165MW PPA with a global technology company, which
increases cash flow visibility and helps support the profitability
of the Huntstown power station.

The strategic location of the data centre, adjacent to Energia's
Huntstown plants, will also result in auto-producer benefits for
the group. Although the contract relies solely on one tenant, this
is offset by the quality of the counterparty and increasing demand
for data centre spaces. Fitch expect Energia's restricted group to
benefit from around 50% of the data centre's EBITDA in FY28.

Solid Business Mix: Fitch expect the share of quasi-regulated and
contracted EBITDA of the restricted group to normalise at an
average of around 60%, mostly through capacity auctions and
renewables support schemes.

This is further supported by Energia's new 50MW battery storage
facility, the long-term contracted data centre project and
emergency generation project (50MW). The latter will provide
security of supply in Dublin from FY24. The new projects exceed the
loss of earnings from the regulated PPB contract expiring in FY24.

Challenging Customer Solutions Business: Energia's customer
solutions business has underperformed Fitch expectation over the
last two years as the business (and most of the industry) struggled
to pass on rapid and significant energy price increases to
customers. Energia expects this segment to return to profitability
(standalone from the generation business) in the near term while
Fitch expect this to remain a significant challenge and source of
risk.

Recovery Ratings for Debt: As per Fitch's Corporates Recovery
Ratings and Instrument Ratings Criteria, at 'BB' IDR, Energia's
super senior RCF has a 'RR1' and receives an unchanged two-notch
uplift from the IDR, whereas senior secured debt (defined as
category 2 first lien) has a 'RR2' and receives a one-notch
uplift.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Energia has a structurally lower share of contracted earnings than
Drax Group Holdings Limited (Drax, BB+/Stable), but it is more
integrated and diversified. Fitch allow Energia a 3.7x FFO net
leverage at 'BB' compared with Drax's 2.8x at 'BB+', implying a
broadly similar debt capacity for a given rating.

ContourGlobal Limited (BB-/Stable) is a large generation holding
company also rated on the basis of a restricted group business and
financial profile, and has a debt capacity of FFO gross leverage at
4.5x, reflecting its larger size and greater diversification, which
is partially offset by limited vertical integration.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Key Assumptions Within Fitch Rating Case for the Issuer:

-- Customer supply EBITDA margin of around -1.7% in FY24, and
improving to an average 3% to FY28, as power prices gradually
normalise based on Fitch assumptions

-- Power Northern Ireland (NI) division EBITDA margins at around
3% for FY24-FY28 with unchanged regulation for residential supply
in NI

-- Average load factor of 28% for owned wind farms leading to
EBITDA margins of around 72% on average for FY24-FY28, with a
similar EBITDA trend for the PPA portfolio

-- Huntstown EBITDA in line with existing capacity agreements

-- Negative working capital as per management forecasts, primarily
reflecting the reversal of over-recovery in relation to the
regulated businesses of Power NI and PPB combined

-- Capex of restricted group at around EUR80 million per year to
FY28, reflecting new growth projects but with only limited earnings
contribution

-- Restricted group's income and capex for data centre project in
line with management guidance

-- Dividend pay-outs consistent with a below 3.5x net debt/EBITDA
policy

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors That Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade:

-- A decrease in restricted group's FFO net leverage to below 3.0x
on a sustained basis

-- A structural decrease in business risk due to higher average
contribution from the quasi-regulated/contracted businesses

Factors That Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade:

-- Large debt-funded expansion or deterioration in operating
performance, resulting in restricted group's FFO net leverage
rising above 3.7x and FFO interest cover falling below 3.5x on a
sustained basis

-- Reduced share of quasi-regulated and contracted earnings to
below 50%, leading to a reassessment of maximum debt capacity

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Non-Financial Corporate
issuers have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as the
99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive
direction) of three notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a
worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th
percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction)
of four notches over three years. The complete span of best- and
worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges
from 'AAA' to 'D'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings are
based on historical performance.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Sound Liquidity: As at March 31, 2023 Energia had EUR577 million in
available cash and cash equivalents (excluding around EUR5.7
million of restricted cash). It also has access to EUR29.1 million
of undrawn liquidity on the cash portion of its RCF, which is being
replaced as part of refinancing, after which Energia is expected to
have access to a new EUR450 million RCF (of which EUR125 million
will be available for cash loans) expiring in April 2028.

Wind-capacity assets and debt financed through project-finance
facilities are excluded from Fitch debt calculation as the debt is
held outside the restricted group on a non-recourse basis
(similarly, Fitch only take dividends from such projects into
consideration of restricted group cash flows).

The latest bond issue and refinancing will enhance the group's
liquidity profile.

ISSUER PROFILE

Energia is an integrated electricity generation and supply company
operating across NI and the Republic of Ireland.

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.



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

BANK CENTERCREDIT: S&P Upgrades ICR to 'BB-', Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term issuer credit rating on
Kazakhstan-based Bank CenterCredit JSC (BCC) to 'BB-' from 'B+'.
The outlook is stable. At the same time, S&P affirmed its 'B'
short-term rating on the bank.

Additionally, S&P raised its Kazakhstan national scale rating on
BCC to 'kzA-' from 'kzBBB'.

Rationale

S&P said, "BCC's capitalization has strengthened, and we expect the
bank will operate with a larger capital buffer. The bank's capital
buffers benefited from its improved earnings metrics as well as
from a one-off gain of Kazakhstani tenge (KZT) 84 billion (about
$182 million) associated with its profitable acquisition of
EcoCenterBank in 2022, which was fully retained. We anticipate that
our risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio will remain at 5.8%-6.0% in
2023-2025 compared with 4.4% in 2021, supported by increased
profitability and moderate expected dividends, which the bank may
start paying after 2023. We do not expect the recent acquisition of
Sinoasia B&R Insurance JSC (BB/Stable/--), will materially affect
BCC's capitalization, considering the insurer's smaller size, at
less than 1.5% of BCC's capital and below 0.5% of total assets.

"We expect the bank will maintain solid profitability.BCC's return
on average equity (ROAE), excluding the one-off gain from the
acquisition, improved to around 30% in 2022 (or to 68% including
the one-off gain) from 10%-15% in 2020-2021 and an average of about
4%-8% in 2015-2019. The bank's net interest margin increased to
5.4% in 2022 and 6.4% in the first quarter of 2023 (in annual
terms) from 4% in 2020-2021, amid higher interest rates and a
larger portion of retail and small-and-midsize enterprise (SME)
loans. In 2022, the bank's loan book increased by 70%, partly due
to the acquisition of EcoCenterBank, but to a large extent because
of attracting clients after subsidiaries of Russian banks exited
Kazakhstan as well as the bank's business model enhancement efforts
and optimization of processes over recent years. Although we
forecast some normalization of the ROAE in the long term, we expect
it will remain solid at more than 20% over the next several years.
At the same time, we consider the bank's capital buffer to be
moderate in the international context, amid its expected strong
loan book growth of 20%-25% in 2023-2025, and neutral for the
rating.

"Besides active business and customer growth, the achieved
performance was also a result of improvement in key asset-quality
indicators. BCC has largely finalized its loan book cleanup after
the asset-quality review conducted in 2019. Consequently, the share
of nonperforming assets (including Stage 3, purchased or originated
credit-impaired loans, and repossessed collateral) declined to 8.5%
as of April 1, 2023, from 9.9% at year-end 2022 and 16.1% in 2021,
and is now close to the system average. We expect BCC will maintain
its asset quality at the current level. Although some risks may
arise from its rapid loan book growth, BCC has been focusing on
quality borrowers over the past few years as part of its strategic
shift to stricter underwriting. Nevertheless, we forecast credit
costs over the next year to remain at 2.8%-3.0%, still elevated on
the back of the bank's rapid growth and increasing share of retail
and SME lending. However, we believe such credit costs will be
manageable for BCC due to improving revenue generation.

"BCC's systemic importance strengthens its creditworthiness, in our
view. The long-term rating is one notch higher than our assessment
of the bank's stand-alone credit profile, reflecting our view of
BCC's moderate systemic importance in Kazakhstan, and the Kazakh
government as supportive toward the banking system. This stems from
by BCC's position as the fourth-largest domestic bank by retail
deposits, with about an 11% market share as of June 1, 2023."

Outlook

The stable outlook on BCC reflects S&P's expectation that, within
the next 12-18 months, the bank will maintain its capitalization,
with its RAC ratio at about 6%, and asset-quality metrics in line
with the 9% average we estimate for the banking system.

Downside scenario

S&P could consider a negative rating action if it saw significantly
more rapid business expansion than currently envisaged or an
aggressive dividend policy that would weaken the bank's
capitalization, with the RAC ratio dropping and staying below 5%.
Significant deterioration of the bank's asset quality would also
trigger a negative rating action, although S&P considers this
scenario is less likely.

Upside scenario

S&P considers the possibility of a positive rating action remote
over its outlook horizon of 12-18 months. Any positive rating
action would require an improvement in the bank's intrinsic
creditworthiness, coupled with a supportive macroeconomic
environment.
ESG credit indicators: E-2, S-2, G-4




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

VANMOOF: Declared Bankrupt, Trustees Seek to Sell Assets
--------------------------------------------------------
Euronews reports that a Dutch court has declared the independent
e-bike maker VanMoof bankrupt, the company said in a statement.

According to Euronews, the trustees will try to sell the assets to
a third party that wants to continue the company's work.

The bicycle maker had previously raised hundreds of millions of
euros in 2020 and 2021 as more people turned to cycling during the
pandemic, Euronews recounts.

The e-bike company said their bikes will remain functional and that
they will try to keep the app online, Euronews notes.

But "as unforeseen circumstances could arise, we advise you to
create a backup unlock code so you can unlock your bike through the
buttons on your handlebar," Euronews quotes the company as saying
in a statement on the website.

Repairs are not possible in the Netherlands at the moment and the
company is exploring the impact of the Dutch bankruptcy on other
legal entities of the e-bike maker, Euronews states.




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

DANONE: Russian Government Takes Control of Operations
------------------------------------------------------
Annabelle Liang at BBC News reports that Russia has taken control
of the Russian subsidiaries of yoghurt maker Danone and beer
company Carlsberg.

According to BBC, the units have been put in "temporary management"
of the state, under a new order signed by Russian President
Vladimir Putin.

Moscow introduced rules earlier this year allowing it to seize the
assets of firms from "unfriendly" countries, BBC recounts.

This came after many companies halted business in Russia following
its invasion of Ukraine, BBC notes.

Danone and Carlsberg were in the process of selling their Russian
operations, BBC discloses.

The July 16 order places the shares of Danone Russia and the
Carlsberg-owned Baltika Breweries under the control of Russian
property agency Rosimushchestvo, BBC states.

France-based Danone, which started the process to sell its Russian
business last October, said it was "currently investigating the
situation", BBC relays.

The firm added that it was "preparing to take all necessary
measures to protect its rights as shareholder of Danone Russia, and
the continuity of the operations of the business".

Carlsberg, as cited by BBC, said it had not received "any official
information from the Russian authorities regarding the presidential
decree of the consequences for Baltika Breweries".

Danone's Russia operation is the country's largest dairy company,
with around 8,000 employees.

It was estimated that the sale of the business would result in a
EUR1 billion (US$1.1 billion; GBP860 million) hit for Danone,
according to BBC.

Meanwhile, Carlsberg subsidiary Baltika produces some of the most
recognisable beer brands in Russia, with 8,400 employees across
eight plants, according to Carlsberg's website.




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

FTX EUROPE: Faces Suit Over Failed EU Expansion
-----------------------------------------------
Dietrich Knauth at Reuters reports that bankrupt crypto exchange
FTX sued insiders at FTX Europe AG late on July 12, seeking to
recover US$323 million that FTX had invested in an ill-fated
expansion into European crypto markets.

FTX's acquisition of Zurich, Switzerland-based Digital Assets DA
AG, now known as FTX Europe, was one of many "dubious investments"
made with FTX customer funds and primarily meant to enrich FTX
founder Sam Bankman-Fried and his associates, according to a
complaint filed in Delaware bankruptcy court, Reuters relates.

After FTX filed for bankruptcy in November, it sought to sell FTX
Europe, only to conclude that no buyer would offer meaningful value
for the company, according to FTX, Reuters discloses.

FTX acquired Digital Assets for nearly US$400 million in three
transactions in 2020 and 2021, hoping to obtain regulatory
approvals and expand into European markets, Reuters recounts. At
Mr. Bankman-Fried's direction, FTX moved forward with the "massive
overpayment" despite knowing that the company had little more than
a business plan and was "not up and running yet," according to
FTX's complaint.

The lawsuit seeks to recover payments made to Patrick Gruhn and
Robin Matzke, who co-founded Digital Assets and stayed on to lead
FTX Europe after FTX acquired their company, and from Brandon
Williams, a managing director at Cosima Capital who helped
facilitate the acquisition, Reuters notes.  The lawsuit also
targets Lorem Ipsum Holding UG, a German holding company owned by
Matzke, Reuters states.

The case is FTX Trading Ltd v. Lorem Ipsum UG et al, U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, No. 23-ap-50437.





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

FIDO FINANCE: Enters Administration, Owes More Than GBP2 Mil.
-------------------------------------------------------------
YorkMix reports that a high-tech finance company in York has gone
into administration with debts of more than GBP2 million.

Fido Finance Limited, which had its HQ at Innovation Close on the
York Science Park, ran bespoke business banking under its Fidomoney
brand.

Now it is in the hands of joint special administrators (JSAs)
Kristina Kicks and Ed Boyle of Interpath Advisory, YorkMix
discloses.

The bank's customers now have their funds frozen, YorkMix states.

"The JSAs recognise that this is a very difficult position for
customers to be put in," YorkMix quotes the administrators as
saying. "One of the JSAs' key objectives is to resolve this
position as quickly as possible."

The Fido Finance administrators were appointed last month by the
High Court, YorkMix relates.  They have invited creditors and
customers to a meeting to discuss the situation on Aug. 9, YorkMix
notes.

According to YorkMix, in a statement, they said: "Our initial
actions will be to secure the assets of the company, including
securing all customer safeguarded funds.

"Whilst every effort will be made to return funds to customers as
soon as possible, it will firstly be necessary for the joint
special administrators to secure control of all relevant
information, reconcile balances and ensure that the necessary due
diligence and know your customer information is present, current
and correct.

"A formal claims process will be put in place in due course;
however our current priority is to complete a funds reconciliation.
Unfortunately, customers will not have access to their funds while
these works are undertaken."

Figures released by the administrators estimate the total owed by
Fido Finance Limited as GBP2,603,671, YorkMix discloses.

In their report, the administrators say the company has zero
assets, according to YorkMix.

Among the preferential creditors are 12 employees, owed a total of
GBP37,901, YorkMix states.

The company also owes HMRC more than GBP480,000, YorkMix notes.


GATLEY BAR: Put Into Administration, Owes Nearly GBP300,000
-----------------------------------------------------------
Niamh Spence at Mirror reports that Emmerdale actor Adam Thomas'
restaurant business in Manchester has gone bust with reported debts
of nearly GBP300,000.

The actor and I'm A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here! star, who
appeared on the 16th series of the gruelling ITV show, owned The
Spinn in Gatley alongside school pal Scott Graham since 2019, but
has been forced to close the establishment, Mirror relates.

According to Mirror, citing the impact from the pandemic and blows
to the hospitality industry, the business firm Gatley Bar and Grill
Ltd was formally put into administration on July 18, with debts of
GBP293,996, including GBP71,423 owed to the tax man.

Mr. Thomas resigned from his role of director for his restaurant
business, which included a burger and sauce company, last April and
announced the closure of the restaurant, which employed 12 members
of staff, in September last year, Mirror discloses.



LIBERTY GLOBAL: Egan-Jones Retains BB+ Senior Unsecured Ratings
---------------------------------------------------------------
Egan-Jones Ratings Company on July 14, 2023, maintained its 'BB+'
foreign currency and local currency senior unsecured ratings on
debt issued by Liberty Global, Inc.

Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, Liberty Global, Inc.
provides communications services.


ODFJELL DRILLING: S&P Assigns Final 'B+' LT ICR, Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings converts its preliminary 'B+' long-term issuer
credit rating on Odfjell Drilling to a final 'B+' rating. S&P also
finalize its preliminary 'BB' issue and '1' recovery ratings on
Odfjell Drilling's $390 million senior secured first-lien bond. The
'1' recovery rating indicates S&P's expectation of very high
(90%-100%; rounded estimate: 95%) recovery of principal in the
event of a payment default.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that Odfjell Drilling's
credit measures will remain commensurate with the ratings over the
next 12 months, with debt to EBITDA below 3.0x, supported by a
continued gradual pick-up in offshore drilling and robust cash flow
visibility over the coming years.

Odfjell Drilling will likely remain a small-scale driller with
significant asset concentration. With only four rigs of its own,
along with four managed rigs, S&P sees Odfjell Drilling as exposed
to risks arising from its dependence on a high share of EBITDA from
each unit. This is a key negative consideration for Odfjell
Drilling, compared with its larger peers, since unforeseen events
that hampered Odfjell Drilling's ability to operate one or more
rigs would have a material impact on its cash flows.

Above-average operating efficiency and profitability support the
ratings. While Odfjell Drilling's fleet is small, we believe that
it is very well managed, with an overall utilization rate of close
to 99% over the past few years. This, combined with the rigs' high
technological specifications, allows the company to contract the
rigs more often and at higher day rates than peers. This supports
Odfjell Drilling's superior profitability, with EBITDA margins over
40% on average.

S&P said, "Activity in the drilling markets continues to pick up.
We expect that the current commodity prices, supply and demand
fundamentals for crude oil, and a renewed focus on global energy
security will support a continued gradual increase in offshore
drilling spending and activity. Over the longer term, we believe
the energy transition will challenge the offshore drilling sector
because customers may become less willing to commit capital to
multi-year greenfield projects, due to the risk of waning oil
demand. However, with operations in Norway largely encouraged by
the state, we believe Odfjell Drilling is in a relatively strong
position.

"With a backlog of $2.3 billion, of which $1.7 billion is firm, we
think that Odfjell Drilling can generate EBITDA of about $350
million in the coming two to three years. This will provide ample
headroom for capital expenditure (capex) and potential dividends.
Odfjell Drilling's strong customer relationships, notably with
Equinor and Aker BP, lead us to believe that the company has a
superior ability to contract the rigs, even at low points of the
cycle."

Odfjell Drilling takes a prudent approach to its balance sheet in
the context of high industry volatility. Despite drilling being a
boom-and-bust type of industry, Odfjell Drilling is less prone to
great EBITDA variations, thanks to its long-term contracts with
clients, as well as the harsh environmental conditions in Norway,
which limit the number of rigs that can work there. Odfjell
Drilling went through the previous industry downturn without
experiencing a default or distressed exchange. S&P therefore
believes that its prudent leverage target of net debt to EBITDA of
2.5x over the cycle and the absence of dividend payments if debt to
EBITDA is above 3.0x support the rating.

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Odfjell
Drilling will reduce its leverage amid supportive market
conditions, providing it with the scope to face headwinds at lower
points in the cycle. We believe that Odfjell Drilling's fleet of
rigs will continue to achieve above-average utilization and
efficiency rates. We anticipate debt to EBITDA in the 2x-3x range,
which is commensurate with the 'B+' rating.

"We could lower our ratings on Odfjell Drilling if we anticipate
weaker credit measures, such as debt to EBITDA consistently above
3.0x or funds from operations (FFO) to debt below 30%." This could
occur if:

-- Weaker commodity prices impair demand for offshore drilling
services, making it more challenging for the company to re-contract
its rigs at favorable day rates; and

-- Odfjell Drilling adopts a more aggressive financial policy on
dividends and capital spending.

S&P said, "We view rating upside as limited in light of Odfjell
Drilling's asset and geographic concentration. Such upside is
linked to increased scale and cash flow generation, with less
dependence on individual assets. Rating upside could also arise if
the company's financial policy targets were to become much more
stringent, for example with a capital structure that was close to
being free of net debt so that debt to EBITDA would be below 1.5x
at all points of the cycle."

ESG credit indicators: E-4, S-2, G-2

S&P said, "Environmental factors are a negative consideration in
our credit rating analysis of Odfjell Drilling, due to our
expectation that the energy transition will reduce the demand for
offshore drilling rigs and services, as accelerating adoption of
renewable energy lowers the need for fossil fuels. In view of
Odfjell Drilling's exposure to the offshore drilling market, the
company faces higher environmental risks than onshore rig
contractors due to its susceptibility to operational interruptions
and damage to its equipment in its harsh operating environments.
However, we believe that Odfjell Drilling's operational track
record in Norway partly mitigates these risks. Social factors are a
neutral consideration in our ratings on Odfjell Drilling thanks to
the company's safety record and presence in very low-risk
countries, notably Norway. Governance factors are a neutral
consideration for Odfjell Drilling due to its historically
conservative approach to leverage and long track record of
successful operations."


RMAC SECURITIES 2007-NS1: Fitch Affirms BB+sf Rating on 2 Tranches
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed RMAC Securities No.1 Plc (Series
2006-NS3), RMAC Securities No.1 Plc (Series 2006-NS4) and RMAC
Securities No.1 Plc (Series 2007-NS1).

ENTITY/DEBT            RATING    PRIOR
-----------                    ------                  -----
RMAC Securities No.1 Plc
(Series 2006-NS3)

Class A2a
XS0268014353  LT AAAsf   Affirmed         AAAsf
Class M1a
XS0268021721  LT AAsf    Affirmed  AAsf
Class M1c
XS0268024071  LT AAsf    Affirmed  AAsf
Class M2c
XS0268027769  LT A+sf    Affirmed  A+sf

RMAC Securities No.1 Plc
(Series 2007-NS1)

Class A2a
XS0307493162  LT AAAsf   Affirmed  AAAsf
Class A2b
XS0307489566  LT AAAsf   Affirmed  AAAsf
Class A2c
XS0307505601  LT AAAsf   Affirmed  AAAsf
Class B1a
XS0307500479  LT BB+sf   Affirmed  BB+sf
Class B1c
XS0307512219  LT BB+sf   Affirmed  BB+sf
Class M1a
XS0307496264  LT A+sf    Affirmed  A+sf
Class M1c
XS0307506674  LT A+sf    Affirmed  A+sf
Class M2c
XS0307511591  LT Asf     Affirmed  Asf

RMAC Securities No.1 Plc
(Series 2006-NS4)

A3a XS0277409446 LT  AAAsf   Affirmed         AAAsf
B1a XS0277450838 LT  BB+sf   Affirmed  BB+sf
B1c XS0277453691 LT  BB+sf   Affirmed  BB+sf
M1a XS0277411004 LT  AA-sf   Affirmed         AA-sf
M1c XS0277437223 LT  AA-sf   Affirmed          AA-sf
M2a XS0277457841 LT  A+sf    Affirmed  A+sf
M2c XS0277445671 LT  A+sf    Affirmed  A+sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

The transactions are securitisations of buy-to-let and
non-conforming residential mortgages originated by Paratus AMC
(formerly GMAC-RFC).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Increased CE; Performance Could Worsen: Loans in arrears by one
month or more increased to 10.77% from 6.54% for Series 2006-NS3,
to 8.48% from 6.75% for Series 2006-NS4 and to 8.02% from 6.55% for
Series 2007-NS1 between May 2022 and May 2023. RMAC 2006-NS3 also
had substantial growth in three-month arrears by 4.23% to 10.77%,
and is the worst performer of the transactions. Given the current
asset outlook for the sector, asset performance could further
deteriorate. Fitch factored a potential worsening of asset
performance into the affirmations.

The notes are currently paying on a pro-rata basis, and the
transactions' reserve funds are non-amortising due to performance
trigger breaches. This has led to a gradual increase in credit
enhancement (CE), driving the affirmations.

Tail Risk Constrains Ratings: The transactions are exposed to tail
risk due to the prevailing pro-rata amortisation of the notes and
the lack of a mandatory switch to a sequential amortisation in the
late stage of the transactions. As all of the pools contain high
proportions of interest-only loans (IO), potential uncertainty
around borrowers meeting bullet payments may increase tail risk.

The senior notes may be exposed to tail risk if pro-rata
amortisation continues when the pools are no longer deemed to be
granular. Fitch currently consider tail risk to be mitigated as the
pools are granular and there is potential for material
deterioration that could switch the pro-rata amortisation to
sequential.

Potential Reserve Fund Dependency: The reserve fund held at
Barclays Bank plc (A+/Stable/F1) could be the only reliable source
of CE for RMAC 2006-NS3's class M2 notes, RMAC 2006-NS4's class M2
notes, and RMAC 2007-NS1's class M1 notes in scenarios where the
collateral performance deteriorates, but remains within the
conditions for pro-rata payments. Combined with the tail risks,
this constrains the ratings.

Term Extensions Stable: The transactions include high percentages
of owner-occupied IO loans, which is typical for pre-crisis
non-conforming deals. Fitch notes that the number of loans past
maturity receiving term extensions has remained stable over the
past couple of years. Fitch currently deem extension risk as
mitigated, due to the time buffer between the maturity schedules of
the loans and the notes' legal final maturity. Fitch will continue
to monitor the pool evolution to determine if term extension
activity increases risk.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action/Downgrade

The transactions' performance may be affected by changes in market
conditions and economic environment. Weakening asset performance is
strongly correlated to increasing levels of delinquencies and
defaults that could reduce CE available to the notes.

Additionally, unanticipated declines in recoveries could also
result in lower net proceeds, which may make certain notes
susceptible to potential negative rating action depending on the
extent of the decline in recoveries. Fitch conducted sensitivity
analyses by applying a 15% increase in the weighted average (WA)
foreclosure frequency (FF) and a 15% decrease in the WA recovery
rate (RR). The results indicate downgrades of up to three notches
for RMAC 2006-NS3 and up to two rating categories for RMAC 2006-NS4
and 2007-NS1.

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive
Rating Action/Upgrade

Upgrades are unlikely due to prevailing tail risks. If these fade
and sufficient CE is built up, Fitch could consider upgrading the
notes. Fitch tested an additional rating sensitivity scenario by
applying a decrease in the FF of 15% and an increase in the RR of
15%. The ratings for the subordinated notes could be upgraded by
one to two rating categories in RMAC 2006-NS4 and 2007-NS1.

BEST/WORST CASE RATING SCENARIO

International scale credit ratings of Structured Finance
transactions have a best-case rating upgrade scenario (defined as
the 99th percentile of rating transitions, measured in a positive
direction) of seven notches over a three-year rating horizon; and a
worst-case rating downgrade scenario (defined as the 99th
percentile of rating transitions, measured in a negative direction)
of seven notches over three years. The complete span of best- and
worst-case scenario credit ratings for all rating categories ranges
from 'AAAsf' to 'Dsf'. Best- and worst-case scenario credit ratings
are based on historical performance.

USE OF THIRD PARTY DUE DILIGENCE PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17G -10

Form ABS Due Diligence-15E was not provided to, or reviewed by,
Fitch in relation to this rating action.

DATA ADEQUACY

RMAC Securities No.1 Plc (Series 2006-NS3), RMAC Securities No.1
Plc (Series 2006-NS4), RMAC Securities No.1 Plc (Series 2007-NS1)

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset
pools and the transactions. Fitch has not reviewed the results of
any third party assessment of the asset portfolio information or
conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing
monitoring.

Fitch did not undertake a review of the information provided about
the underlying asset pools ahead of the transaction's RMAC
Securities No.1 Plc (Series 2006-NS3), RMAC Securities No.1 Plc
(Series 2006-NS4), RMAC Securities No.1 Plc (Series 2007-NS1)
initial closing. The subsequent performance of the transactions
over the years is consistent with the agency's expectations given
the operating environment and Fitch is therefore satisfied that the
asset pool information relied upon for its initial rating analysis
was adequately reliable.

Overall, and together with any assumptions, Fitch's assessment of
the information relied upon for the agency's rating analysis
according to its applicable rating methodologies indicates that it
is adequately reliable.

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

RMAC 2006-NS3, 2006-NS4 and 2007-NS1 have ESG Relevance Scores of
'4' for Human Rights, Community Relations, and Access &
Affordability due to exposure to accessibility to affordable
housing, which has a negative impact on the credit profile, and is
relevant to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.

RMAC 2006-NS3, 2006-NS4 and 2007-NS1 have ESG Relevance Scores of
'4' for Customer Welfare - Fair Messaging, Privacy & Data Security
due to exposure to compliance risks including fair lending
practices, mis-selling, repossession/foreclosure practices,
consumer data protection (data security), which has a negative
impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the ratings in
conjunction with other factors.

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.

[*] UK: Food and Drink Administrations Up 110% in First Half 2023
-----------------------------------------------------------------
William Dodds at Food Manufacture reports that the number of UK
food and drink businesses placed into administration during the
first half of 2023 is up 110% year-on-year, according to new
findings from insights firm Kroll.

According to Food Manufacture, the number of food and drink
businesses in the UK that went into administration during the first
half of 2023 is more than double the amount seen during the same
period a year ago.

In total, 56 food and drink businesses went into administration
during first half of 2023, Food Manufacture discloses.  This is
compared to a total of 53 for the entirety of 2022, Food
Manufacture states.

Meanwhile, food and drink businesses make up 9% of total UK
administrations this year, Food Manufacture notes.

"Many of these companies are highly leveraged due to the hangover
of Covid and are also affected by higher inflation and energy
costs," Food Manufacture quotes Kroll managing director Ben Wiles
as saying.  "When you factor in higher borrowing costs and a lack
of working capital, it's proving tricky for businesses in this
sector."



                           *********


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

Copyright 2023.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
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