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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

          Friday, September 8, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 181

                           Headlines



G E R M A N Y

SC GERMANY 2023-1: DBRS Finalizes BB(high) Rating on Class F Notes


I R E L A N D

AVOCA CLO XIX: Fitch Affirms 'B+sf' F Notes Rating, Outlook Now Pos
CVC CORDATUS VI: Fitch Affirms 'B+sf' F-R Notes Rating, Outlook Neg
CVC CORDATUS VII: Fitch Affirms BB+sf F-R Notes Rating, Outlook Neg
GTLK EUROPE: High Court Initiates Liquidation Proceedings
METRON STORES: Faces Liquidation After Tesco Pulls Out of Deal

RIVER GREEN 2020: DBRS Cuts Class D Notes Rating to BB(High)
ST PAUL'S XII: Fitch Ups Rating on F Notes to B+sf, Outlook Stable


I T A L Y

RED & BLACK AUTO: Fitch Gives 'BB(EXP)sf' Rating to Cl. E Notes


L U X E M B O U R G

MINERVA LUXEMBOURG: Fitch Gives 'BB' Rating to Sr. Unsecured Bond


S P A I N

SANTANDER CONSUMER 2020-1: DBRS Hikes E Notes Rating to BB(High)


U K R A I N E

UKRAINE RAILWAYS: Fitch Affirms LongTerm Foreign Curr. IDR at 'CC'


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

H MITTON: Enters Administration, 160 Jobs Affected
NEW LOOK: Nears GBP100-Million Debt Refinancing Deal
SUPPORTIVE HOMES: Enters Into Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation
UROPA 2007-01B: Fitch Affirms Class B2a Notes Rating at 'Bsf'


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Management Guide to Troubled Companies

                           - - - - -


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G E R M A N Y
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SC GERMANY 2023-1: DBRS Finalizes BB(high) Rating on Class F Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH finalized its provisional ratings on the Class A,
Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E, and Class F Notes (together,
the Rated Notes) issued by SC Germany S.A., acting on behalf and
for the account of its Compartment Consumer 2023-1 (the Issuer) as
follows:

-- Class A Notes at AAA (sf)
-- Class B Notes at AA (sf)
-- Class C Notes at A (high) (sf)
-- Class D Notes at A (low) (sf)
-- Class E Notes at BBB (low) (sf)
-- Class F Notes at BB (high) (sf)

The rating on the Class A Notes addresses the timely payment of
scheduled interest and the ultimate repayment of principal by the
legal final maturity date. The ratings on the Class B Notes, Class
C Notes, Class D Notes, and Class E Notes address the ultimate
payment of interest, the timely payment of interest when most
senior, and the ultimate repayment of principal by the legal final
maturity date. The rating on the Class F Notes addresses the
ultimate payment of interest and the ultimate repayment of
principal by the legal final maturity date.

RATING RATIONALE

The Rated Notes are backed by a portfolio of fixed-rate unsecured
amortizing personal loans granted without a specific purpose to
private individuals domiciled in Germany and serviced by Santander
Consumer Bank AG (SCB; the originator, seller, and servicer).

DBRS Morningstar based its ratings on a review of the following
analytical considerations:

-- The transaction's capital structure, including form and
sufficiency of available credit enhancement;

-- Available credit enhancement in the form of subordination, a
liquidity reserve account, and excess spread;

-- Credit enhancement levels that are sufficient to support DBRS
Morningstar's projected cumulative net loss assumption under
various stressed cash flow assumptions for the Rated Notes;

-- The ability of the transaction to withstand stressed cash flow
assumptions and repay investors according to the terms under which
they have invested;

-- SCB's capabilities with regard to originations, underwriting,
servicing, and its financial strength;

-- The transaction parties' financial strength with regard to
their respective roles;

-- The credit quality of the collateral and historical and
projected performance of the Seller's portfolio;

-- DBRS Morningstar's sovereign rating on the Federal Republic of
Germany, currently at AAA with a Stable trend; and

-- The consistency of the transaction's legal structure with DBRS
Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance
Transactions' methodology and the presence of legal opinions that
address the true sale of the assets to the Issuer.

TRANSACTION STRUCTURE

The transaction includes a 12-month scheduled revolving period,
during which the Issuer is able to purchase additional loan
receivables on each monthly payment date, as long as they satisfy
the eligibility criteria and the transaction concentration limits.

The transaction allocates payments according to separate interest
and principal priorities of payments and benefits from an
amortizing EUR 11.7 million cash reserve (corresponding with 1.5%
of the initial Rated Notes balance), subject to a floor of EUR 3.9
million (corresponding with 0.5% of the initial Rated Notes
balance). The liquidity reserve will be replenished in two
different positions in the interest waterfalls and can partially
provide credit enhancement to the transaction: the first part can
cover shortfalls in senior expenses, swap payments, and interest on
the Class A Notes and, if not deferred, interest on the Class B
through Class F Notes, while the second part can be used to clear
the remaining shortfalls and any debit in the principal deficiency
ledgers. The excess reserve amount could also cover items below the
reserve replenishment, such as deferred interest on the junior
notes and Class F Notes principal.

The repayment of the Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, and Class
E Notes after the revolving period ends will be on a pro rata
basis, unless a sequential redemption trigger is breached, in which
case the repayment will be in nonreversible sequential order. The
Class F Notes will begin amortizing during the revolving period
from the first payment date using available excess spread pursuant
to the interest priority of payments, with a target amortization
schedule of 20 equal instalments.

The Rated Notes pay a floating interest rate indexed to one-month
Euribor whereas the portfolio comprises fixed-rate loans. The
interest rate risk arising from the mismatch between the Rated
Notes and the portfolio is hedged through an interest rate swap
agreement with an eligible counterparty.

The portfolio concentration limits during the revolving period
require the weighted-average portfolio yield to be at least 7.3%.

COUNTERPARTIES

The Bank of New York Mellon, Frankfurt Branch (BNY Mellon) acts as
the account bank for the transaction. Based on DBRS Morningstar's
private rating on BNY Mellon, the downgrade provisions outlined in
the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors in the
transaction structure, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk arising
from the exposure to the account bank to be consistent with the
ratings assigned to the Rated Notes, as described in DBRS
Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance
Transactions" methodology.

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank (DZ Bank) acts as
the swap counterparty for the transaction. DBRS Morningstar has a
Long-Term Issuer Rating of AA (low) on DZ Bank, which is consistent
with DBRS Morningstar's criteria with respect to its role.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the Rated Notes address the
credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents. The associated
financial obligations for each of the Rated Notes are the related
interest amounts, deferred interest amounts, and principal
amounts.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings do not address non-payment risk
associated with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the
applicable transaction documents that are not financial
obligations.

DBRS Morningstar's long-term credit ratings provide opinions on
risk of default. DBRS Morningstar considers risk of default to be
the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial
obligations in accordance with the terms under which a long-term
obligation has been issued. The DBRS Morningstar short-term debt
rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will
not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.





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I R E L A N D
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AVOCA CLO XIX: Fitch Affirms 'B+sf' F Notes Rating, Outlook Now Pos
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised Avoca CLO XIX DAC class B notes' Outlook
to Positive from Stable. All notes have been affirmed.

   Entity/Debt            Rating            Prior
   -----------            ------            -----
Avoca CLO XIX DAC

   A-1 XS1869413143   LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
   A-2 XS1879601349   LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
   B-1 XS1869413226   LT AA+sf  Affirmed    AA+sf
   B-2 XS1869413499   LT AA+sf  Affirmed    AA+sf
   C XS1869413572     LT A+sf   Affirmed     A+sf
   D XS1869413655     LT BBB+sf Affirmed   BBB+sf
   E XS1869413812     LT BB+sf  Affirmed    BB+sf
   F XS1869413903     LT B+sf   Affirmed     B+sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Avoca CLO XIX DAC is a cash flow CLO comprising mostly senior
secured obligations. The transaction is actively managed by KKR
Credit Advisors (Ireland) and exited its reinvestment period in
April 2023.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Transaction Outside Reinvestment Period: Although the transaction
exited its reinvestment period in April 2023 the manager can
reinvest unscheduled principal proceeds and sale proceeds from
credit-impaired obligations also after the reinvestment period,
subject to compliance with the reinvestment criteria.

Given the manager's ability to reinvest, Fitch's analysis is based
on a stressed portfolio using the agency's collateral quality
matrix specified in the transaction documentation. Fitch used the
higher of the transaction's two matrices, based on a 0% and 5%
fixed-rate concentration limit, as this matrix is slightly more
conservative and the deal currently has 4.9% fixed-rate
obligations. Fitch also applied a haircut of 1.5% to the weighted
average recovery rate (WARR) as the calculation of the WARR in the
transaction documentation is not in line with the agency's current
CLO Criteria.

Stable Asset Performance: The transaction metrics indicate a stable
asset performance. It is currently 0.05% below par. It is passing
all collateral quality tests except for the weighted average life
(WAL) test, which it is marginally failing, as well as all
portfolio-profile and all coverage tests. Exposure to assets with a
Fitch-Derived Rating of 'CCC+' and below is 4.4% according to the
latest trustee report versus a limit of 7.5%. The portfolio has one
defaulted asset.

Shortening WAL: The Positive Outlook revision on the class B notes
is mainly driven by the shortening WAL of the transaction. For all
other notes the Stable Outlooks reflect Fitch's expectation that
the notes have sufficient credit protection to withstand potential
deterioration in the credit quality of the portfolio in stress
scenarios commensurate with their respective ratings.

'B/B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of the
transaction's underlying obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The weighted average
rating factor (WARF), as calculated by Fitch under the current
criteria, is 24.86.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
98.3% of the portfolio. Fitch views the recovery prospects for
these assets as more favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and
mezzanine assets. The weighted average recovery rate (WARR), as
calculated by Fitch, is 63.61%.

Diversified Portfolio: The portfolio is well-diversified across
obligors, countries and industries. The top 10 obligor
concentration is 13.6%, and no obligor represents more than 1.7% of
the portfolio balance.

Deviation from Model-implied Ratings: The class B notes' rating is
one notch below its model-implied rating (MIR), reflecting limited
cushion against a downgrade at the MIR.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

A 25% increase of the mean default rate (RDR) and a 25% decrease of
the recovery rate (RRR) across all ratings of the current portfolio
would have no impact on all notes, except for class F notes, which
would be downgraded by no more than one notch.

Based on the current portfolio, downgrades may occur if the loss
expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly
high levels of default and portfolio deterioration. Due to the
better metrics and shorter life of the current portfolio than the
Fitch-stressed portfolio, the class D and F notes display a rating
cushion of three notches, the class E notes of two notches and the
class B notes of one notch.

Should the cushion between the current portfolio and the
Fitch-stressed portfolio be eroded either due to manager trading or
negative portfolio credit migration, a 25% increase of the mean RDR
and a 25% decrease of the RRR across all ratings of the stressed
portfolio would lead to downgrades of up to three notches for the
rated notes.

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

A 25% reduction of the mean RDR across all ratings and a 25%
increase in the RRR across all ratings of the Fitch-stressed
portfolio would lead to upgrades of up to three notches for the
rated notes, except for the 'AAAsf' rated notes. After the end of
the reinvestment period, upgrades may occur on stable portfolio
credit quality and deleveraging, leading to higher credit
enhancement and excess spread to cover losses in the remaining
portfolio.

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. 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.

The majority of the underlying assets or risk-presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other nationally
recognised statistical rating organisations and/or European
securities and markets authority-registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information or information on the risk-presenting entities.

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
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.

CVC CORDATUS VI: Fitch Affirms 'B+sf' F-R Notes Rating, Outlook Neg
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised CVC Cordatus Loan Fund VI DAC's class E-R
and F-R notes Outlook to Negative from Stable.

   Entity/Debt             Rating            Prior
   -----------             ------            -----
CVC Cordatus Loan
Fund VI DAC

   A-R XS1803164935    LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
   B1-R XS1803165239   LT AA+sf  Affirmed    AA+sf
   B2-R XS1803165585   LT AA+sf  Affirmed    AA+sf
   C-R XS1803165825    LT A+sf   Affirmed     A+sf
   D-R XS1803166559    LT BBB+sf Affirmed   BBB+sf
   E-R XS1803164182    LT BB+sf  Affirmed    BB+sf
   F-R XS1803164265    LT B+sf   Affirmed     B+sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

CVC Cordatus Loan Fund VI is cash flow collateralised loan
obligations (CLO) mostly comprising senior secured obligations. The
transaction is actively managed by CVC Credit Partners Group
Limited. CVC Cordatus Loan Fund VI exited its reinvestment period
in July 2022.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Par Erosion and Refinancing Risk: Since the last rating action in
September 2022, the portfolio has experienced par erosion, to 1.6%
below par as of July 2023, from 1% below par in July 2022 (as
calculated by the trustee). This is partly driven by reported
defaults amounts of EUR 5.1 million as of July 2023.

The Negative Outlook on the class E-R and F-R notes reflects
moderate default-rate cushion against credit-quality deterioration
in view of the uncertain economic environment and heightened
refinancing risk. The notes are vulnerable to near- and medium-term
refinancing risk, with approximately 7.9% of the portfolio maturing
by end-2024 and 18.5% in 2025, which in Fitch's opinion could lead
an increase in defaults.

Sufficient Cushion for Senior Notes: Although the par erosion has
eroded the default-rate cushion of the junior ranking notes, the
senior class notes have retained sufficient buffer to support their
current ratings and should be capable of withstanding further
defaults in the portfolio. This supports the Stable Outlook of the
class A-R to D-R notes.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The Fitch-calculated weighted average
rating factor (WARF) of the current portfolio is 25.4, and of the
Fitch-stressed portfolio including entities with Negative Outlook
that are notched down one level as per its criteria is 26.8.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
98.2% of the current portfolio, with a minimum covenant of 90%.
Fitch views the recovery prospects for these assets as more
favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets.
The Fitch-weighted average recovery rate (WARR) of the current
portfolio as reported by the trustee was 60.9%, based on current
criteria.

Diversified Portfolio: The concentration of the top-three
Fitch-defined industries as calculated by the trustee is 25.2%,
which is below the limit of 40%, and no single industry represents
more than 8.9% of the portfolio balance, which compares favourably
with the 17.5% maximum covenant. The top-10 obligor concentration
as calculated by the trustee was 17% as of July 2023, which is
below the limit of 21%, and no obligor represents more than 3% of
the portfolio balance.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

A 25% increase of the mean default rate (RDR) across all ratings
and a 25% decrease of the recovery rate (RRR) across all ratings
would result in downgrades of no more than one notch for the class
B-R, C-R and D-R notes, and three notches for the class E-R notes.

Downgrades may occur if the loss expectation of the current
portfolio is larger than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly
high levels of defaults and portfolio deterioration. Due to the
better metrics and shorter life of the current portfolio than the
Fitch-stressed portfolio, the class B-R and F-R notes display a
rating cushion of one notch and the class D-R notes of two
notches.

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

A 25% reduction of the mean RDR and a 25% increase in the RRR
across all ratings of the stressed portfolio would result in
upgrades of no more than four notches across the structure, apart
from the 'AAAsf' class A notes. Upgrades, except for the 'AAAsf'
notes, may occur on better-than-expected portfolio credit quality
and deal performance, leading to higher credit enhancement and
excess spread to cover losses in the remaining portfolio.

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. 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.

The majority of the underlying assets or risk-presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other nationally
recognised statistical rating organisations and/or European
securities and markets authority-registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information or information on the risk-presenting entities.

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
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.

CVC CORDATUS VII: Fitch Affirms BB+sf F-R Notes Rating, Outlook Neg
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised CVC Cordatus Loan Fund VII DAC class E-R
notes Outlook to Negative from Stable.

   Entity/Debt                Rating            Prior
   -----------                ------            -----
CVC Cordatus Loan
Fund VII DAC

   A-R-R XS2305369618     LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf
   B-1-R-R XS2305370202   LT AAsf   Affirmed     AAsf
   B-2-R-R XS2305370897   LT AAsf   Affirmed     AAsf
   C-R-R XS2305371515     LT Asf    Affirmed      Asf
   D-R-R XS2305372166     LT BBB+sf Affirmed   BBB+sf
   E-R XS1865598947       LT BB+sf  Affirmed    BB+sf
   F-R XS1865598863       LT Bsf    Affirmed      Bsf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

CVC Cordatus Loan Fund VII DAC is a cash flow collateralised loan
obligation (CLO). The underlying portfolio of assets mainly
consists of leveraged loans and is managed by CVC Credit Partners
Group Limited. The deal exited its reinvestment period in March
2023.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Heightened Refinancing Risk: Since Fitch's last rating action in
October 2022, the portfolio has experienced additional defaults;
the trustee as of July 2023 had EUR2.7 million more reported
defaults than in October 2022.

The Negative Outlook on the class E-R notes reflects a moderate
default-rate cushion against credit-quality deterioration.
Uncertain macroeconomic conditions, in Fitch's opinion, could lead
to further deterioration of the portfolio, with an increase in
defaults in conjunction with heightened refinancing risk.

Passing WAL: The transaction is passing the weighted average life
(WAL) test, allowing it to reinvest after the expiry of the
reinvestment period. As a result, the analysis is based on a
portfolio that Fitch stresses the transaction's covenants to their
limits. The weighted average recovery rate (WARR) has also been
reduced by 1.5% to address the inflated WARR, as the transaction
uses an old WARR definition that is not in line with Fitch's latest
criteria.

Large Cushion for Other Notes: Despite the increased defaults, the
class A-R-R to D-R-R and F-R notes have retained sufficient
default-rate buffers to support their current ratings and should be
capable of withstanding further defaults in the portfolio. This is
underlined in their Stable Outlook.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the obligors at 'B'/'B-'. At end-July 2023 the Fitch-calculated
weighted average rating factor (WARF) of the current portfolio was
24.83 and of the stressed portfolio for which the agency has
notched down by one level the ratings of entities on Negative
Outlook was 26.04.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
96.3% of the portfolio. Fitch views the recovery prospects for
these assets as more favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and
mezzanine assets. The Fitch-calculated WARR of the current
portfolio as reported by the trustee was 64.4%, based on outdated
criteria. Under the current criteria, the Fitch-calculated WARR is
62.5%.

Diversified Portfolio: The top-10 obligor concentration as
calculated by the trustee is 15%, which is below the limit of 23%,
and no obligor represents more than 2% of the portfolio balance.

Deviation from Model-implied Ratings: The class B-1-R-R and
B-2-R-R, C-R-R and F-R note ratings are each a notch lower than
their model-implied ratings (MIR) of 'AA+sf', 'A+sf' and 'B+sf'
respectively. The deviation reflects their limited cushion in the
Fitch-stressed portfolio at their MIRs.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

An increase of the default rate (RDR) at all rating levels by 25%
of the mean RDR and a decrease of the recovery rate (RRR) by 25% at
all rating levels would result in downgrades of no more than two
notches for the class E-R notes, one notch for the class F-R notes
and will have no impact on all other notes. Downgrades may occur if
build-up of the notes' credit enhancement following amortisation
does not compensate for a larger loss expectation than initially
assumed due to unexpectedly high levels of defaults and portfolio
deterioration.

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

A reduction of the RDR at all rating levels by 25% of the mean RDR
and an increase in the RRR by 25% at all rating levels would result
in upgrades of up to four notches for all notes, except for the
'AAAsf' notes. Further upgrades, except for the 'AAAsf' notes, may
occur if the portfolio's quality remains stable and the notes start
to amortise, leading to higher credit enhancement across the
structure.

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. 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.

The majority of the underlying assets or risk-presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other nationally
recognised statistical rating organisations and/or European
securities and markets authority-registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information or information on the risk-presenting entities.

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
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.

GTLK EUROPE: High Court Initiates Liquidation Proceedings
---------------------------------------------------------
Beverley Rayner at Vigour Times reports that in a strategic move,
GTLK plans to replace six existing Eurobonds issued by its Irish
subsidiaries GTLK Europe DAC and GTLK Europe Capital DAC.

According to Vigour Times, the replacement will take place six to
eight weeks after the registration of the new paper in October,
pending regulatory approval.

                         Liquidation

This decision was prompted by the initiation of liquidation
proceedings against GTLK Europe by the High Court in Dublin, Vigour
Times states.  GTLK's director, Mikhail Kadochnikov, assured that
the company will act responsibly and comply with the legislation of
the Russian Federation, Vigour Times notes.

Meanwhile, in Ireland, the High Court appointed liquidators to
GTLK's insolvent firms after dismissing their application for
examinership, Vigour Times relates.

With an estimated worth of US$4.5 billion (EUR4 billion), the
liquidation of these entities represents the largest in the history
of the State, Vigour Times discloses.

The firms, heavily affected by sanctions due to Russian entities'
involvement in the invasion of Ukraine, had sought protection from
creditors through the courts, according to Vigour Times.

However, Mr. Justice Conor Dignam deemed their application "fatally
deficient" and lacking good faith, Vigour Times recounts.

GTLK's bondholders, who have not received payments since February
2022, have filed lawsuits to recover debts related to the
Eurobonds, Vigour Times relays.

Creditors, including Dublin-registered Trinity Investments DAC and
Allestor Europe Multi Asset Portfolio, have argued that they are
owed US$178 million by the GTLK Europe group, Vigour Times states.


METRON STORES: Faces Liquidation After Tesco Pulls Out of Deal
--------------------------------------------------------------
Barry Whyte at Business Post reports that Tesco has pulled out of a
possible deal to buy the former chain of Iceland stores out of
examinership, the High Court heard.

According to Business Post, the High Court heard that the preferred
bidder for the Iceland business -- which was not named in the court
proceedings, but has been identified by The Currency as Tesco --
had ended the talks.

The company behind the business, Metron Stores Limited, will now be
placed into liquidation, Business Post discloses.


RIVER GREEN 2020: DBRS Cuts Class D Notes Rating to BB(High)
------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH downgraded its ratings on the commercial
mortgage-backed floating-rate notes due January 2032 issued by
River Green Finance 2020 DAC (the Issuer) as follows:

-- Class A notes to AA (high) (sf) from AAA (sf)
-- Class B notes to A (high) (sf) from AA (low) (sf)
-- Class C notes to BBB (high) (sf) from A (low) (sf)
-- Class D notes to BB (high) (sf) from BBB (sf)

All trends are Stable.

River Green Finance 2020 DAC is the securitization of a EUR 196.2
million floating-rate commercial real estate loan split into two
different facilities (Facility A and Facility B) both advanced by
Goldman Sachs International Bank (GS). The EUR 35.8 million
Facility A was advanced to four ring-fenced compartments of LRC
RE-2, a Luxemburg investment company with variable share capital -
reserved alternative investment fund (the Facility A Borrower),
while the EUR 160.4 million Facility B was advanced to a French
Organisme de Placement Collectif Immobilier (the Facility B
Borrower). The Issuer purchased the loan using the proceeds from
the notes' issuance (95.0% of the purchase price) and from an
issuer loan advanced by GS (5.0% of the purchase price). The debt
facilitated the acquisition of the River Ouest building by a group
of investors led by LRC Real Estate Limited (the Sponsors).

River Ouest is a campus-style office with amenities including
restaurants, terraces, an auditorium, a fitness club, and concierge
services located in the Bezons municipality in Paris' western
suburbs. A major business district, La Defense, is approximately
five kilometers southeast of the asset. Built in 2009, it was
awarded a sustainability rating of "Very Good" under the Building
Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method scheme on
January 25, 2017.

CREDIT RATING RATIONALE

The downgrade across all classes of notes reflects greater
refinance risk due to a property value decline and weakening of the
tenant profile. Although the asset is currently performing with
respect to its loan metrics, 83.0% of total rental income comes
from a lease to Atos, a French multinational IT and consulting
company whose credit outlook is now deemed to be weaker than it was
at issuance. The next largest tenant is Dell Technologies,
contributing 15.1% of total rent; its lease is due to expire in
September 2023, and DBRS Morningstar understands that negotiations
about a lease extension or renewal are ongoing. The remaining 1.9%
of the rent comes from Sophos Group plc, which is currently
occupying under a rolling month-to-month contract, and similarly,
lease negotiations are still ongoing.

According to the latest valuation conducted by CBRE Limited (CBRE)
in January 2023, the value of the asset decreased to EUR 307.0
million from EUR 337.4 million, representing a fall of 9.0%. As a
result of the revaluation, the loan-to-value (LTV) increased to
61.8% as at April 2023 from 56.4% in the previous quarter. The loan
was initially scheduled to mature on January 15, 2023, with two
one-year conditional extension options available to the borrowers.
The borrowers exercised the first extension option, thus extending
the loans maturity to January 15, 2024 (the first extended
termination date) following satisfaction of the required
conditions. According to a notice from the Issuer in January 2023,
some amendments were agreed, including increasing the maximum
strike rate for the new interest rate cap agreement to 5.0% from
2.5%, which also equals the Euribor cap after the expected loan
maturity.

According to the latest servicer report, as of the July 2023
interest payment date, the outstanding whole loan balance stands at
EUR 189.3 million, which is 3.5% lower than the original loan
amount. The loan amortizes at a rate of 1.0% per annum (p.a.) of
the original loan amount, with a step-up to 2.0% in the fifth year,
should the loan still be outstanding at that time.

The property's occupancy rate of 98.4% has not changed since
issuance, although annual gross rental income has increased through
indexation to EUR 25.2 million from EUR 23.7 million and the
weighted-average lease term is currently 5.9 years. Since closing,
there have been no arrears, with 100% of scheduled rent always
collected.

Recent hybrid working trends continue to weigh on office occupiers'
leasing plans, and, coupled with an increase in office supply in
Bezons and the surrounding regions, there is now more direct
competition from nearby assets; consequently, vacancy rates in the
submarket have risen. Although the property benefits from being a
high-quality asset in a good state of repair, the asset is slightly
compromised in respect to location when compared with other
currently available space in the area. Consequently, DBRS
Morningstar revised its stabilized vacancy assumptions to 15.0%
from 11.9%. This also reflects in part the long-term nature of
lease negotiations with respect to Dell Technologies and Sophos
Group plc. Additionally, DBRS Morningstar has increased its tenant
improvements (TIs) and leasing commissions (LCs) deductions from
the cash flow, reflecting the weakening credit profile of the
largest tenant, Atos. The resulting DBRS Morningstar net cash flow
(NCF) assumption slightly decreased to EUR 18.1 million from EUR
18.3 million at issuance. In addition, DBRS Morningstar revised its
capitalization rate assumption to 7.25% from 6.8%, largely
reflecting continued increases in interest rates that have led to
further uncertainty in the property investment market. These
changes translate to a DBRS Morningstar value of EUR 249.3 million,
representing an 18.8% haircut to CBRE's most recent valuation. The
decline in the DBRS Morningstar value has resulted in DBRS
Morningstar downgrading its credit ratings on all classes of
notes.

The loan accrues interest at the aggregate of three-month Euribor
(floored at zero) plus a margin of 2.4% and it is fully hedged with
a prepaid interest rate cap provided by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
(rated AA with a Stable trend by DBRS Morningstar) with a strike
rate of 5.0%. The cap agreement terminates on 24 January 2024.

There are three sets of cash trap covenants based on performance
ratios, withholding tax (WHT) liability, and technical and
environmental (T&E) items. The performance ratio cash trap
covenants are set at 10.27% for debt yield (DY) calculated based on
12-month forward-looking adjusted net rental income and a 62.15%
LTV based on the latest valuation. The WHT cash trap is triggered
by any action, claim, investigation, or proceeding commenced or
announced by the French tax administration or any other person,
without limitation, to levy WHT at a rate greater than the rate
then currently provided for by the French Tax Code (currently 15%)
on the dividend distribution by the Facility B Borrower. Under the
WHT cash trap, an amount corresponding to the increased tax
exposure will be trapped after paying senior costs and interest but
before the performance ratio and T&E cash trap amounts. The T&E
items cash trap is meant to incentivize the Sponsor to carry out
the immediate remedial works identified in the T&E reports at
issuance. According to a notice from the Issuer dated January 30,
2023, the servicer has agreed to further extend the deadline for
the Facility B Borrower to remedy T&E defects under the T&E items
cash trap trigger to September 30, 2023. In particular, the
borrower provided the servicer with satisfactory evidence that it
had undertaken its best endeavors to remedy each of the T&E
defects, a condition for the deadline to be extended under limb (b)
of the definition of a T&E items cash trap event.

The loan includes financial default covenants which are based on
67.15% LTV and 9.39% DY ratios. A non-cured financial covenant
breach will trigger a loan event of default and, subsequently, the
acceleration of the loan.

The transaction is supported by a EUR 10.9 million liquidity
facility (EUR 11.3 million at origination). The liquidity facility
was provided by Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank at
issuance and can be used to cover interest shortfalls on the Class
A to the Class C notes (the covered notes), as well as the issuer
loan. Following the increase in the cap strike rate to 5.0%, the
estimated coverage amounts to approximately 14 months.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on Classes A, B, C, and D of the
commercial mortgage-backed floating-rate notes issued by River
Green Finance 2020 DAC address the credit risk associated with the
identified financial obligations in accordance with the relevant
transaction documents.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings do not address non-payment risk
associated with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the
applicable transaction documents that are not financial
obligations. For example, pro rata default interest, Euribor excess
amount, and prepayment fees.

DBRS Morningstar's long-term credit ratings provide opinions on
risk of default. DBRS Morningstar considers risk of default to be
the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial
obligations in accordance with the terms under which a long-term
obligation has been issued.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.


ST PAUL'S XII: Fitch Ups Rating on F Notes to B+sf, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded St. Paul's CLO XII DAC's class B to F
notes and affirmed the class A notes. The Outlooks are Stable.

   Entity/Debt             Rating           Prior
   -----------             ------           -----
St. Paul's
CLO XII DAC

   A XS2120080101      LT AAAsf  Affirmed   AAAsf
   B-1 XS2120081091    LT AA+sf  Upgrade     AAsf
   B-2 XS2120081760    LT AA+sf  Upgrade     AAsf
   C-1 XS2120082495    LT A+sf   Upgrade      Asf
   C-2 XS2120083030    LT A+sf   Upgrade      Asf
   D XS2120083626      LT BBB+sf Upgrade    BBBsf
   E XS2120083543      LT BB+sf  Upgrade     BBsf
   F XS2120084350      LT B+sf   Upgrade      Bsf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

The transaction is a cash flow CLO mostly comprising senior secured
obligations. It is actively managed by Intermediate Capital
Managers Limited and will exit its reinvestment period in October
2024.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Reinvesting Transaction: As the transaction is still in the
reinvestment period, its analysis is based on a stressed portfolio
testing the Fitch-calculated weighted average life (WAL),
Fitch-calculated weighted average rating factor (WARF),
Fitch-calculated weighted average recovery rate (WARR), weighted
average spread, weighted average coupon and fixed-rate asset share
to their covenanted limits.

Stable Asset Performance: The rating actions reflect the shorter
WAL and therefore shorter risk horizon, as well as stable asset
performance. The transaction is currently 0.3% above par. It is
passing all collateral-quality, portfolio-profile and coverage
tests. Exposure to assets with a Fitch-derived rating of 'CCC+' and
below is 5.1%, according to the latest trustee report, versus a
limit of 7.5%.

The portfolio has EUR8 million of defaulted assets. Despite
uncertain economic conditions and heightened refinancing risk,
ample default-rate cushion at the current ratings should absorb
potential negative migration and supports the Stable Outlook.

'B'/'B-' Portfolio: Fitch assesses the average credit quality of
the transaction's underlying obligors at 'B'/ 'B-'. The WARF, as
calculated by Fitch under its latest criteria, is 25.5.

High Recovery Expectations: Senior secured obligations comprise
96.8% of the portfolio. Fitch views the recovery prospects for
these assets as more favourable than for second-lien, unsecured and
mezzanine assets. The WARR, as calculated by Fitch, is 62.7%.

Diversified Portfolio: The portfolio is well-diversified across
obligors, countries and industries. The top 10 obligor
concentration, as calculated by Fitch, is 13.3%, and no obligor
represents more than 1.6% of the portfolio balance. The exposure to
the three-largest Fitch-defined industries is 32.0% as calculated
by Fitch. The transaction includes two Fitch matrices corresponding
to top 10 obligor concentration limits at 20% and 23% and minimum
and maximum fixed-rate asset limits at 10% and 20%, respectively.
Fixed-rate assets reported by the trustee are at 11.1% of the
portfolio balance.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

A 25% increase of the mean default rate (RDR) and a 25% decrease of
the recovery rate (RRR) across all ratings of the current portfolio
would have no impact on the class A notes, would lead to downgrades
of up to three notches for the class B to class E notes, and to
below 'B-sf' for the class F notes.

Based on the current portfolio, downgrades may occur if the loss
expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to unexpectedly
high levels of default and portfolio deterioration. Due to the
better metrics and shorter life of the current portfolio than the
Fitch-stressed portfolio, the class B and E notes display a rating
cushion of one notch and the class D and F notes of three notches.
The class A and C notes display no rating cushion.

Should the cushion between the portfolio current and the
Fitch-stressed portfolio be eroded, either due to manager trading
or negative portfolio credit migration, a 25% increase of the mean
RDR and a 25% decrease of the RRR across all ratings of the
stressed portfolio would lead to downgrades of three notches for
the class B to class E notes, to below 'B-sf' for the class F notes
and would have no impact on the class A notes.

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

A 25% reduction of the mean RDR and a 25% increase in the RRR
across all ratings of the Fitch-stressed portfolio would lead to
upgrades of up to three notches for the rated notes, except for the
'AAAsf' rated notes.

During the reinvestment period, based on the Fitch-stressed
portfolio, upgrades may occur on better-than-expected portfolio
credit quality and a shorter remaining WAL test, allowing the notes
to withstand larger-than-expected losses for the transaction's
remaining life. After the end of the reinvestment period, upgrades
may occur on stable portfolio credit quality and deleveraging,
leading to higher credit enhancement and excess spread available to
cover losses in the remaining portfolio.

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. 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.

The majority of the underlying assets or risk-presenting entities
have ratings or credit opinions from Fitch and/or other nationally
recognised statistical rating organisations and/or European
securities and markets authority-registered rating agencies. Fitch
has relied on the practices of the relevant groups within Fitch
and/or other rating agencies to assess the asset portfolio
information or information on the risk-presenting entities.

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
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.



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

RED & BLACK AUTO: Fitch Gives 'BB(EXP)sf' Rating to Cl. E Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Red & Black Auto Italy S.r.l. -
Compartment 2's notes expected ratings.

The assignment of final ratings is contingent on the receipt of
final documentation conforming to information already reviewed.

   Entity/Debt          Rating           
   -----------          ------           
Red & Black Auto
Italy S.r.l. –
Compartment 2

   Class A1         LT AA(EXP)sf   Expected Rating
   Class A2         LT NR(EXP)sf   Expected Rating
   Class B          LT A+(EXP)sf   Expected Rating
   Class C          LT BBB+(EXP)sf Expected Rating
   Class D          LT BBB-(EXP)sf Expected Rating
   Class E          LT BB(EXP)sf   Expected Rating
   Class J          LT NR(EXP)sf   Expected Rating

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

This is the second securitisation of Italian auto loan receivables
in the Red & Black Auto Italy series. The receivables consist of
fully amortising loans granted by Fiditalia S.p.A. (not rated), a
non-captive lender ultimately owned by Société Générale S.A.
(SG, A-/Positive/F1).

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Better Performance than Peers: Based on the default vintages
provided by Fiditalia, Fitch has observed historical default rates
that are lower than peers. Fitch has assumed base-case lifetime
default and recovery rates of 1.9% and 22%, respectively. Fitch has
applied a stress multiple of 4.6x at 'AA(EXP)sf' to the base-case
default rates and a 45% haircut to the base-case recovery rates.
The default multiple reflects, among others, the low level of the
base case, the longer default definition than European peers, and
the static nature of the transaction.

Initial Sequential Mitigates Pro-Rata: The class A1 to E notes will
switch from sequential to pro-rata paydown upon credit enhancement
(CE) for the class A1 and A2 notes reaching 12%. The initial
sequential amortisation allows some CE build-up to support the
rated notes when pro-rata kicks in, under Fitch's scenarios. The
notes will switch back to sequential if gross cumulative defaults
exceed 2.3% or if there is an uncured principal deficiency ledger
(PDL) higher than 0.5% of the original portfolio balance. Fitch
views the PDL trigger as tight enough to limit the length of the
pro-rata period at high rating scenarios.

Decreasing Rates Most Stressful Scenario: The transaction has a
fixed to floating swap to hedge the interest rate risk between
fixed assets and floating liabilities. The special-purpose vehicle
(SPV) will be paying a fixed rate and receiving one-month Euribor,
with no floor, on the aggregated outstanding balance of the class
A1 to E notes. In its decreasing rate scenario assumptions, Euribor
is negative up to 0.65%. This scenario is the most stressful in its
cash flow modelling as the SPV will be paying the fixed rate plus
the negative Euribor.

'AAsf' Sovereign Cap: The class A1 notes are rated at their highest
achievable rating, six notches above Italy's sovereign rating
(BBB/Stable/F2), which is the cap for Italian structured finance
and covered bonds.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

A downgrade of Italy's Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and the related
rating cap for Italian structured finance transactions, currently
'AAsf', could trigger a downgrade of the class A1 notes' rating.

Unexpected increases in the frequency of defaults or decreases in
recovery rates that could produce larger losses than the base case
and could result in negative rating action on the notes. For
example, a simultaneous increase in the default base case by 25%
and a decrease in the recovery base case by 25% would lead to
downgrades of two notches for the class B to D notes and one notch
for the class A and E notes.

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

An upgrade of Italy's IDR and the related rating cap for Italian
structured finance transactions, currently 'AAsf', could trigger an
upgrade of the class A1 notes if available CE was sufficient to
withstand stresses associated with higher ratings.

For the class B to E notes, an unexpected decrease in the frequency
of defaults or increase in recovery rates that would produce
smaller losses than the base case could result in positive rating
action. For example, a simultaneous decrease in the default base
case by 25% and increase in the recovery base case by 25% would
lead to an upgrade of three notches for the class E notes, two
notches for the class C and D notes and one notch for the class B
notes.

DATA ADEQUACY

Fitch reviewed the results of a third party assessment conducted on
the asset portfolio information, and concluded that there were no
findings that affected the rating analysis.

Fitch conducted a review of a small targeted sample of the
originator's origination files and found the information contained
in the reviewed files to be adequately consistent with the
originator's policies and practices and the other information
provided to the agency about the asset portfolio.

Overall, and together with any assumptions referred to above,
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.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.



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

MINERVA LUXEMBOURG: Fitch Gives 'BB' Rating to Sr. Unsecured Bond
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'BB' rating to the proposed issuance
of global notes of about USD1 billion issued by Minerva Luxembourg
S.A., a wholly owned off-shore subsidiary of Minerva S.A.
(Minerva). The proposed issue will mature in 2033. The notes will
be unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by Minerva. The
proceeds of the notes will be used to fund a substantial portion of
Minerva's acquisition of Marfrig's assets, or to repay existing
indebtedness.

Fitch rates Minerva's Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer
Default Ratings (IDRs) 'BB' and Long-Term National Scale rating
'AA+(bra)'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. Fitch also rates
Minerva's 2028 senior unsecured notes 'BB'.

Minerva's ratings reflect the company's good business profile as
large beef producer in South America and strong player in the
export market, its solid profitability, positive FCF trends, and
healthy liquidity position, which offsets the moderate to high
protein industry risks.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Improving Business Position: Minerva and Marfrig signed share
purchase and sale agreements on Aug. 28, 2023, in which Minerva
will acquire from Marfrig 16 slaughtering assets and one
distribution center in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile for
BRL7.5 billion. This acquisition is positive for Minerva's business
profile as it increases the company's production capacity by 40%
and strengthens its market position in Latin America.

It also expands the company's geographical diversification, which
lowers its business risk as the beef sector is exposed to sanitary,
environmental, deforestation and temporary import or export
restriction bans. In addition to the aforementioned countries,
Minerva also operates in Colombia and is ramping up operations in
Australia.

Positive Export Demand: The beef market in Latin America continues
to benefit from low production costs due to good cattle
availability, positive exports demand, and global limited supply --
a trend that is expected to become even more accentuated given the
strong restrictions for the North American production in the coming
years. The USDA forecasts Brazil's exports to increase by about
3.9% yoy in 2023, but expects beef consumption to remain steady in
Brazil due to a weak consumer environment. The export market
accounted of 65.8% of Minerva's gross revenue as of 2Q23.

Leverage Temporarily Above Trigger: Minerva's net adjusted leverage
should temporarily increase beyond the negative rating action
trigger of 3.0x, in 2023 and 2024, but it should drop below this
threshold in the following years. In the 2023-2024 period,
Minerva's debt should increase by BRL5.0 billion, reaching BRL19
billion, due to the BRL7.5 billion debt financed acquisition of
Marfrig's assets, together with the related working capital and
maintenance capex requirements, which is expected to be around
BRL800 million.

Minerva's EBITDA is projected by Fitch to increase from BRL3.0
billion in 2023 to BRL4.7 billion, in 2024. The increase in EBITDA
is due to BRL1.5 billion of EBITDA related to the Marfrig assets
plus incremental EBITDA due to lower cattle costs, organic growth,
the acquisition of Uruguay's BPU Meat, the ramp-up and the
remaining disbursement related to the acquisition of the Australian
lamb Company (ALC).

Resilient Profit Margins: Minerva's diversified footprint in Latin
America and its export platform support its margin and lowers
earnings volatility caused by changes in input costs and protein
prices. Fitch forecasts Minerva's EBITDA margins to remain limited
to 9% after the acquisition of the Marfrig's new assets, compared
with 9%-10% previously projected (9.1% in the LTMs ended on June
2023). The pace of margin expansion depends on the ability of
Minerva to capture synergies from the acquired assets. The company
has shown resilience in profitability over the last four years with
an average EBITDA margin close to 9.5%-10.0%.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Minerva's ratings reflect its solid business profile as a
pure-player in the beef industry, with a large presence in South
America and small presence in Australia. The ratings consider
Minerva's lack of significant diversification across other
proteins, making the company less diversified from a product
standpoint than JBS S.A. (BBB-/Stable) or Tyson Foods
(BBB/Stable).

Minerva has developed a more export-oriented business model,
whereas Marfrig Global Foods S.A. (BB+/Stable) has a strong
presence in the U.S. domestic market through its subsidiary
National Beef.

Minerva is smaller than its peers, such as Marfrig, JBS or Tyson.
From a financial standpoint, the ratings are supported by Minerva's
strong liquidity position, and good profitability for the sector
due to exports.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

- Revenue growth driven by volume growth and the ramp-up of the
acquired assets;

- Revenues of the acquired Marfrig's assets of BRL18 billion in
2024;

- EBITDA to reach BRL3 billion in 2023 and BRL4.7 billion in 2024,
proforma to the acquisition of Marfrig's assets;

- Net debt/EBITDA steady at about 3.0x by YE 2023 and YE 2024.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- Gross leverage to below 3.5x and interest coverage above 3.5x,
respectively, on a sustained basis;

- Sustainable positive FCF generation.

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

- Gross leverage above 4.5x and net leverage above 3.0x on a
sustainable basis;

- Sharp contraction of Minerva's performance.

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Strong Liquidity: Fitch considers Minerva's liquidity profile as
strong, based on high cash position and ample access of diversified
funding resources. As of June 2023, cash and cash equivalents were
BRL6.2 billion and total debt was BRL14.2 billion, with BRL3.5
billion maturing in the short term. The recent acquisition is not
expected to reduce Minerva's liquidity, given the company's track
record of financial discipline when acquiring assets.

The current USD1.0 billion issue proposal should improve Minerva's
cash balance in 2023 and prepare the company to adequately face the
BRL6.0 billion disbursement when the deal with Marfrig is approved
by authorities, without pressuring its liquidity.

ISSUER PROFILE

Minerva is the South American leader in beef exports, operating in
the processing segment and selling its products to over 100
countries. Currently, the company has a daily slaughtering capacity
of 29,350 heads of cattle. Present in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina,
Uruguay, Colombia and Australia, Minerva operates 29 slaughtering
and deboning plants and three processing plants.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Minerva S.A. has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Governance
Structure due to ownership concentration, which has a negative
impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the ratings in
conjunction with other factors.

Minerva S.A. has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Waste &
Hazardous Materials Management; Ecological Impacts due to land use
and supply chain management as Minerva is exposed to cattle
sourcing and needs to monitor direct and indirect suppliers in
South America, which could expose Minerva as well the beef sector
in general to export bans, which has a negative impact on the
credit profile, and is relevant to the ratings in conjunction with
other factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt            Rating           
   -----------            ------           
Minerva
Luxembourg S.A.

   senior
   unsecured          LT BB  New Rating



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

SANTANDER CONSUMER 2020-1: DBRS Hikes E Notes Rating to BB(High)
----------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH took the following credit rating actions on the
notes issued by Santander Consumer Spain Auto 2019-1, FT (SCSA
2019-1) and Santander Consumer Spain Auto 2020-1 FT (SCSA 2020-1):

SCSA 2019-1:
-- Class A Notes confirmed at AA (high) (sf)
-- Class B Notes confirmed at AA (sf)
-- Class C Notes confirmed at A (sf)
-- Class D Notes confirmed at BBB (high) (sf)

SCSA 2020-1:
-- Series A Notes confirmed at AA (sf)
-- Series B Notes confirmed at A (sf)
-- Series C Notes upgraded to A (low) (sf) from BBB (high) (sf)
-- Series D Notes upgraded to BBB (sf) from BBB (low) (sf)
-- Series E Notes upgraded to BB (high) (sf) from BB (sf)

The credit ratings on the respective Class A Notes and Series A
Notes address the timely payment of interest and the ultimate
repayment of principal on or before the respective legal final
maturity dates in December 2035 for SCSA 2019-1 and March 2033 for
SCSA 2020-1. The credit rating on the Class B Notes in SCSA 2019-1
addresses the timely payment of interest when most senior and the
ultimate payment of principal by the legal final maturity date. The
credit ratings on the remaining rated notes address the ultimate
payment of interest and principal by their respective legal final
maturity dates.

The credit rating actions follow an annual review of the
transactions and are based on the following analytical
considerations:

-- Updated portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies,
defaults, and losses, as of the June 2023 payment date;

-- Updated probability of default (PD) and loss given default
(LGD) assumptions on the remaining receivables; and

-- Current available credit enhancement to the rated notes to
cover the expected losses at their respective credit rating
levels.

The transactions are securitizations of Spanish auto loan
receivables originated and serviced by Santander Consumer E.F.C.
(SC EFC). The original portfolios of EUR 550.0 million and EUR
520.0 million for SCSA 2019-1 and SCSA 2020-1, respectively,
consisted of loans granted primarily to private individuals (96.6%
and 97.2% of the portfolio balance, respectively), for the purchase
of both new and used vehicles. SCSA 2019-1 closed in October 2019
and included a 26-month revolving period, which ended in December
2021, while SCSA 2020-1 is a static securitization, which closed in
September 2020.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

SCSA 2019-1:

As of the June 2023 payment date, loans that were 0 to 30 days, 30
to 60 days, and 60 to 90 days delinquent represented 3.3%, 1.1%,
and 0.7% of the outstanding portfolio balance, respectively. Gross
cumulative defaults, defined as loans more than 90 days in arrears,
amounted to 3.4% of the aggregate initial and subsequent portfolios
original balance, 67.4% of which has been recovered to date.

SCSA 2020-1:

As of the June 2023 payment date, loans that were 0 to 30 days, 30
to 60 days, and 60 to 90 days delinquent represented 2.4%, 0.7%,
and 0.5% of the outstanding portfolio balance, respectively. Gross
cumulative defaults amounted to 2.1% of the initial portfolio
original balance, 58.5% of which has been recovered to date.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

For SCSA 2019-1, DBRS Morningstar updated its base-case PD and LGD
assumptions to 4.6% and 46.8%, respectively, while for SCSA 2020-1,
DBRS Morningstar updated its base-case PD and LGD assumptions to
4.2% and 45.6%, respectively.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

SCSA 2019-1:

The subordination of the respective junior obligations provides
credit enhancement to the rated notes. As of the June 2023 payment
date, credit enhancement to the Class A Notes increased to 25.0%
from 19.8% at the time of the previous annual review 12 months ago;
credit enhancement to the Class B Notes increased to 13.0% from
9.3%; credit enhancement to the Class C Notes increased to 7.3%
from 4.2%; and credit enhancement to the Class D Notes increased to
5.2% from 2.4%. The credit enhancement levels have increased as the
notes have been repaying principal on a sequential basis instead of
pro rata following the occurrence of a subordination event on the
March 2023 payment date.

The transaction benefits from liquidity support provided by a
nonamortizing cash reserve, available to cover senior expenses,
swap payments, and interest payments on the collateralized notes.
The reserve has a target balance equal to 1.0% of the initial
outstanding balance of the Class A to E Notes and, as of the June
2023 payment date, stood at its target balance of EUR 5.46
million.

SCSA 2020-1:

The subordination of the respective junior obligations provides
credit enhancement to the rated notes. As of the June 2023 payment
date, credit enhancement to the Series A Notes remained at 13.5%;
credit enhancement to the Series B Notes remained at 8.8%; credit
enhancement to the Series C Notes remained at 5.2%; credit
enhancement to the Series D Notes remained at 1.9%; and credit
enhancement to the Series E Notes remained at 0.0%. The credit
enhancement levels have remained unchanged since the DBRS
Morningstar initial rating analysis as the rated notes have been
repaying principal on a pro rata basis since closing, in accordance
with the transaction's priority of payments.

The transaction benefits from liquidity support provided by an
amortizing cash reserve, available to cover senior expenses and
interest payments on the rated notes. The reserve has a target
balance equal to 1.0% of the outstanding balance of the Series A to
E Notes, subject to a floor of EUR 2.60 million. As of the June
2023 payment date, the reserve was at its floor level of EUR 2.60
million.

Santander Consumer Finance, S.A. (SCF) acts as the account bank for
the transactions. Based on DBRS Morningstar's private credit rating
of SCF, the downgrade provisions outlined in the transaction
documents, and other mitigating factors inherent in the transaction
structures, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk arising from the
exposure to the account bank to be consistent with the credit
ratings assigned to the notes, as described in DBRS Morningstar's
"Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions"
methodology.

Banco Santander SA (Santander) acts as the hedging counterparty in
both transactions. DBRS Morningstar's public Long-Term Critical
Obligations Rating of Santander at AA (low) is consistent with the
First Rating Threshold as described in DBRS Morningstar's
"Derivative Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions"
methodology.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the rated notes address the
credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents. The associated
financial obligations are the Class A to D Notes and the Series A
to E Notes in SCSA 2019-1 and SCSA 2020-1, respectively.

DBRS Morningstar's credit rating does not address nonpayment risk
associate with contractual payment obligations contemplated in the
applicable transaction documents that are not financial
obligations.

DBRS Morningstar's long-term credit ratings provide opinions on
risk of default. DBRS Morningstar considers risk of defaults to be
the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy the financial
obligations in accordance with the term under which a long-term
obligation has been issued. The DBRS Morningstar short-term debt
rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will
not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner.

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.





=============
U K R A I N E
=============

UKRAINE RAILWAYS: Fitch Affirms LongTerm Foreign Curr. IDR at 'CC'
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed JSC Ukrainian Railways (UR) Long-Term
Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'CC'. Fitch has
revised the Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) to 'ccc-' from 'cc'
following UR's better-than-expected results from 1H23 and its
updated forecast for 2023.

The affirmation reflects its unchanged assessment of the strength
of linkage between UR and the Ukrainian government and the
government's incentive to support since its last rating action on
13 February 2023. Fitch applies a top-down approach under its
Government-Related Entities (GRE) Rating Criteria. The 'ccc-' SCP
is based on its Public Sector, Revenue-Supported Entities Rating
Criteria and rating definitions, and reflects its view that a
default remains a real possibility in the medium term. The SCP
revision has no impact on the IDR. The strength of linkage,
combined with its SCP, leads to rating equalisation with the
Ukraine sovereign's.

The IDRs of 'CC' reflects UR's still high credit risk. Following
last year's distressed debt exchange (DDE) debt repayment pressure
on its cash flow has eased in the short term. It has given UR the
flexibility to focus on continuing its operations in currently
unstable and unpredictable conditions, as well as repairing and
maintaining the infrastructure hit by the Russian-Ukrainian war.
However, redemption of the notes remains uncertain in the medium
term pending a decision on its funding.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Status, Ownership and Control: 'Very Strong'

UR is a national integrated railway group fully owned by Ukraine.
It consists of six regional railways, along with other units,
servicing the national rail system. UR operates under strict
control from the Ukrainian state. The national government approves
UR's strategic objectives, including tariff-setting, debt and
investment planning, and appoints members of its management and
supervisory boards. Its supervisory board includes top-ranking
government officials and independent directors.

Support Track Record: 'Moderate'

UR receives modest annual transfers from national and local
budgets, which do not fully cover the cost of transporting
passengers. Losses incurred in this segment are cross-subsidised
with profit from freight transportation.

In 2022, UR received UAH10 billion from the Ukrainian state budget
to ensure continuous operation of railway transport during martial
law (valid until 15 November 2023). UR had initially expected the
state to provide UAH27 billion (54% of total planned investment
spending in 2023) for the execution of the extensive investment
plan, but as the plan will most likely be downsized funds from the
state will also be lower. The sovereign is supportive of UR, but
its ability to provide extraordinary support to the company is
limited by the ongoing war.

Socio-Political Implications of Default: 'Moderate'

As a strategically important transportation company for Ukraine, UR
will continue to manage the national railway infrastructure, and
provide dispatch, passenger transportation, and dominant freight
services. Nonetheless, a default could lead to some service
disruption, but not of an irreparable nature or necessarily with
significant political and economic repercussions for the national
government.

During the war, the importance of UR for the country has increased
significantly. Rail transport became the most important and
reliable means of transport. However, Fitch treats it as an
extraordinary event and when the war ends, its assessment will
reflect normal operating and market conditions.

Financial Implications of Default: 'Strong'

Fitch deems a default of UR on external obligations as potentially
harmful to Ukraine, as it could lead to reputational risk for the
state. Both UR and the national treasury tap international capital
markets for debt funding, as well as loans and financial aid from
international financial institutions. Therefore, an UR default
could to some extent influence the cost of external funding of
other GREs or the state itself. This view is underlined by the DDE
as the government works with UR to prevent a default.

Standalone Credit Profile

The revised SCP follows better-than-expected results from 1H23 and
its updated forecast for 2023, the latter of which assumes an
improved net result compared with its initial plan. The result
improves UR's financial position, in particular easing pressure on
liquidity, but in Fitch's view, a default is still a possibility in
the medium term.

While the improvement is also partially a result of external
support for Ukraine and UR the resultant higher liquidity and lower
risk of refinancing underpin its SCP reassessment.

Revenue Defensibility 'Weaker'

Its assessment reflects 'Midrange' demand and 'Weaker' pricing
characteristics.

UR is a natural monopoly in Ukraine. UR tariffs are being gradually
deregulated, but the main ones (cargo and passenger tariff) are
still approved by the Ministry of Infrastructure. Tariffs for cargo
transportation were increased sharply in 2022. No changes in
tariffs for cargo and passenger are expected in 2023.

Demand, which fell drastically since the outbreak of the war, is
slowly recovering in 2023, but still around half of 2021 levels.
Revenues in 2022 from freight decreased about 52% year on year (to
150.6 million tons of cargo) and passenger number by about a third.
UR has recently increased its revenue forecast for 2023 by 16%
versus its initial plan, due to better-than-expected freight tariff
and passenger turnover. Cargo revenues (82% of operating revenue in
2022) for 2023 will benefit from the increase in tariffs introduced
in 2022.

Operating Risk 'Weaker'

Fitch assesses UR's operating costs and resource management as
'Weaker'. Its fairly stable cost structure is dominated by staff,
averaging at 62% of operating spending in 2018-2022, followed by
maintenance costs and goods and services at 31%. Most costs are
well-identified with moderate volatility. The main drivers for cost
increase in 2023 will be fuel and electricity, repairs and
maintenance of fixed assets, as well as foreign-exchange (FX)
losses. UR expects operating cost to be around 17% lower than in
the initial plan for 2023.

Capex for 2023 - mostly on restoration, repairs and maintenance -
has been cut by around 25%, due to slower-than-expected execution.
With over 50% of the funds are to be provided by the state, capex
execution of the plan is subject to the availability of state
funding.

Financial Profile 'Weaker'

Fitch continues to expect a negative net result for 2023 despite
its improved interim performance. Operating profit in 2022 included
grants from government of UAH9.7 billion, without which UR would be
unable to maintain profitable operations. Liquidity is much better
than at the beginning of 2023, but this is mostly due to an
increase in direct debt and external support. Fitch forecasts net
adjusted debt/EBITDA at 4.8x for 2023 as revenues slowly recover,
mostly due to tariff increases.

UR has obtained non-returnable grants of almost UAH5.5 billion from
international institutions and other governments, which it will
receive over the coming three years. They will mostly be for
capex.

ESG Governance Structure: UR has close links to the Ukrainian
government, which are underscored by the latter's launch of its
consent solicitation to defer external debt payment. The
sovereign's weakened finances may weigh on UR's debt policy and
willingness and ability to service and repay debt, especially its
US dollar loan participation notes (LPN), which make up a large
portion of UR's debt stock.

Derivation Summary

Fitch classifies UR as an entity linked to Ukraine sovereign under
its GRE Rating Criteria and links its ratings to the sovereign's.
Fitch assesses the GRE support score at 27.5 out of a maximum 60,
reflecting its 'Very Strong' status, ownership and control,
'Moderate' support track record and socio-political implications of
default, and 'Strong' financial implications of default.

For issuers with an SCP in the lower speculative grade
considerations of a GRE support score leading to a potential uplift
of the IDR under the GRE Criteria are irrelevant for the ratings,
which are instead guided by Fitch rating definitions of 'CCC' to
'C'.

UR's SCP at 'ccc-', under its Public Sector, Revenue-Supported
Entities Rating Criteria, reflects 'Weaker' revenue defensibility,
operating risk and financial profile. Based on this assessment
Fitch applies a top-down approach under its GRE Rating Criteria,
which combined with UR's 'ccc-' SCP, leads to rating equalisation
with the Ukraine sovereign's. Given debt servicing restrictions
under the LPN agreements, which secure the interest of the
bondholders, UR's Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency IDRs are at
the same level.

DEBT RATING DERIVATION

The ratings of senior debt instruments are aligned with UR's
Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR, including the senior unsecured debt
of the UK-based financial special purpose vehicle (SPV) Rail
Capital Markets plc. Payments under the LPN totalling USD894.9
million are backed by payments by UR of the underlying loan from
SPV. This underpins its view that the SPVs' debt is a direct,
unconditional senior unsecured obligation of the GRE, ranking
equally with all its other present and future unsecured and
unsubordinated obligations.

National Ratings

UR's National Long-Term Rating of 'CC(ukr)' is mapped to its
Long-Term IDRs.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

- Tariff volume and passenger transportation revenues to grow
around 15% in 2023

- Expenditure to focus on the maintenance of the country's rail
infrastructure

- Marginal net profit in 2023

- No dividends to be paid

Liquidity and Debt Structure

UR's outstanding debt increased to UAH42.2 billion at end-July 2023
as it repaid around UAH1 billion of the debt from credit lines, but
drew EUR99 million (around UAH4 billion) from the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD, AAA/Stable) loan. Fitch
assumes that by end-2023 direct debt should increase to UAH59
billion, but lower than the initially expected UAH66 billion. This
is due to slower-than-planned execution of the capex plan.

The LPNs constituted 77.5% of the debt at end-July 2023 (85.4% at
end-2022), and 96.6% of the debt was foreign currency (94.3% at
end-2022). UR's exposure to FX risk is material, as its revenue
stream is mostly in domestic currency. After the extension of the
notes' maturity, the maximum LPN annual repayment in 2023-2025 is
less than 6% of total debt. Major repayments are in 2026 at 58% of
current total debt and after 2027 at 32%.

The DDE has allowed UR undisturbed operations and to build
liquidity, which at end-July exceeded debt servicing in 2023 by
around 6x. Funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB,
AAA/Stable: undrawn EUR100 million) and EBRD (newly signed EUR200
million), plus UAH5 billion non-refundable grants from other
countries or international institutions should be sufficient to
cover capex and operational requirements, but repayment in the
medium term will pose a challenge. This is also because the current
war limits the ability of the UR to obtain new debt from debt
capital markets.

Issuer Profile

UR is the national integrated railway company and the largest
employer in the country and plays a vital role in Ukrainian's
economy and labour market.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- A downgrade of Ukraine's sovereign rating

- Heightened default probability or default-like processes in
place, including any proposals that entail a material further
reduction of the LPN terms, or a failure to make a payment on the
notes in line with the original terms and within the applicable
grace period

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

- An upgrade of Ukraine's sovereign rating

ESG Considerations

UR has an ESG Relevance Score of '5' for Governance Structure due
to reflect the close links between UR and the Ukrainian government
and the latter's launch of consent solicitation to defer external
debt payments, which has a negative impact on the credit profile,
and is highly relevant to the rating. This resulted in its
downgrade on 29 July 2022.

UR has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Employee Wellbeing due to
employees' heightened safety risks in operating railway services,
especially in areas of protracted war operations, as well as
increased spending for personal protection equipment, which has a
negative impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the
ratings in conjunction with other factors.

UR has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Customer Welfare - Fair
Messaging, Privacy & Data Security due to increasing data
protection needs related to its strategies, investments and
policies, including critical logistic and infrastructure data, IT
infrastructure and financial information, which result from
intensified cyberattacks in the Russian-Ukrainian war. This has a
negative impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the
ratings in conjunction with other factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt                Rating                 Prior
   -----------                ------                 -----
Rail Capital
Markets Plc

   senior
   unsecured          LT        CC      Affirmed       CC

JSC Ukrainian
Railways              LT IDR    CC      Affirmed       CC
                      ST IDR    C       Affirmed        C
                      LC LT IDR CC      Affirmed       CC
                      Natl LT   CC(ukr) Affirmed   CC(ukr)



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

H MITTON: Enters Administration, 160 Jobs Affected
--------------------------------------------------
Miran Rahman at TheBusinessDesk.com reports that Bradford-based
building services group, H Mitton Ltd, is now in administration
with 160 workers reportedly made redundant.

The group, which had been trading since 2000 and employed more than
300 people according to latest accounts for the year ended January
27, 2022, filed a notice to appoint administrators last month,
TheBusinessDesk.com relates.  Its managers had been in talks to
explore a potential sale of the group, TheBusinessDesk.com
discloses.

According to TheBusinessDesk.com, administrators Bob Maxwell and
Julian Pitts from Begbies Traynor' Leeds Office are now running the
business.

Its failure follows the loss of main customer Morrisons supermarket
earlier this year, TheBusinessDesk.com notes.


NEW LOOK: Nears GBP100-Million Debt Refinancing Deal
----------------------------------------------------
Fashion Network reports that affordable fashion retailer New Look
is reportedly close to a GBP100 million debt refinancing following
a period of months in which it's been working with advisers on its
options for the loan.

According to Fashion Network, Sky News reported that the company
has been talking to Blazehill Capital and Wells Fargo about
replacing the loan that should mature next June and and the talks
on finalising a deal are "advanced".  The news website said this
"will provide it with financial breathing space amid a worsening
trading environment" for fashion stores.

However, a Sky report earlier this year -- when news of the talks
first emerged -- said the debt refinancing discussions weren't a
sign of weakness and the company had been trading well at that
point, Fashion Network relates.

The debt's current holders include specialist retail investor
Alteri and Goldman Sachs unit Davidson Kempner, Fashion Network
states.

New Look is one of largest physical-to-digital fashion retailers
operating in Britain and Ireland with over 400 stores. It employs
more than 10,000 people.

It has been through some tough times in recent years and the
pandemic period saw a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) and
financial recapitalisation, without which it could have gone under,
Fashion Network recounts.  It launched a rent-free/turnover-based
rent plan but saw opposition from major landlords, Fashion Network
notes. However, it won a court case that some of those landlords
brought as a challenge to its CVA, Fashion Network discloses.


SUPPORTIVE HOMES: Enters Into Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation
--------------------------------------------------------------
Investment Week reports that home REIT tenant Supportive Homes CIC
has entered into a creditors' voluntary liquidation, almost a month
after it filed to be dissolved.

According to a stock exchange announcement on Sept. 7, Supportive
Homes CIC represented 11.3% of rent demanded by Home REIT in August
2023 and was a tenant of 209 properties, Investment Week notes.

The company once stood as Home REIT's second largest tenant, but
has recently fallen to fourth, behind One Housing and Support CIC,
The Big Help Project and Redemption Project CIC, which has also
already entered liquidation, Investment Week discloses.

FRP Advisory Trading Limited has been appointed as liquidator,
adding to its work on Gen Liv UK CIC and Lotus Sanctuary CIC,
Investment Week relates.

Supportive Homes CIC was described as "non-performing", with the
liquidation set to "unlock the ability for the company to re-tenant
properties or carry out other asset management initiatives",
Investment Week states.

It was also noted that discussions with prospective tenants to take
on leases have "already commenced", Investment Week relays.


UROPA 2007-01B: Fitch Affirms Class B2a Notes Rating at 'Bsf'
--------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Uropa Securities plc Series 2007-01B's
(U2007) class M2a notes and affirmed the other classes, as detailed
below.

   Entity/Debt             Rating            Prior
   -----------             ------            -----
Uropa Securities plc
Series 2007-01B

   Class A3a
   XS0311807753        LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf

   Class A3b
   XS0311808561        LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf

   Class A4a
   XS0311809452        LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf

   Class A4b
   XS0311809882        LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf

   Class B1a
   XS0311815855        LT BBB+sf Affirmed   BBB+sf

   Class B1b
   XS0311816150        LT BBB+sf Affirmed   BBB+sf

   Class B1b cross
   currency swap       LT BBB+sf Affirmed   BBB+sf

   Class B2a
   XS0311816408        LT Bsf    Affirmed      Bsf

   Class M1a
   XS0311810385        LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf

   Class M1b
   XS0311811193        LT AAAsf  Affirmed    AAAsf

   Class M2a
   XS0311813058        LT AA+sf  Upgrade     AA-sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

The transaction securitises non-conforming mortgages purchased by
ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and originated by GMAC-RFC Limited, Kensington
Mortgage Company Limited and Money partners Ltd.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Increasing CE, Deteriorating Asset Performance: The transaction
closed in 2007 and is well-seasoned. As a result, credit
enhancement (CE) has built up through note amortisation. Loans that
are three months or more in arrears increased in the last
collection period to 10.5% in July 2023, from 8.7% a year ago.
Early stage arrears increased as new delinquencies occurred in line
with the UK nonconforming RMBS sector. However, the build-up of CE
has offset the performance deterioration contributing to the
upgrade of the class M2a notes.

Fitch tested adverse scenarios increasing the weighted average
foreclosure frequency (FF) at all rating levels by 15% and 30%, and
found the ratings resilient to these scenarios.

Strong Liquidity, Losses Support: The transaction benefits from
sizeable liquidity and losses support. It has an undrawn liquidity
facility (LF) and a funded general reserve fund (GRF) sized at
33.7% and 2.79% of the outstanding note balance, respectively. The
LF and GRF can no longer amortise due to irreversible breaches of
the cumulative loss performance triggers. The transaction was
paying pro-rata last year and switched to sequential amortisation
in July 2023 following the drawdown of the GRF from its target.

Performance Volatility Risk: Loans advanced on an interest-only
(IO) basis make up 85.7% of the collateral and a substantial
portion are made to owner-occupied (OO) borrowers. This high
proportion of IO loans may lead to performance volatility as
repayment dates are reached and borrowers are required to redeem
the principal balance. The potential for volatility is increased by
the concentration of loan maturity dates and the reducing number of
remaining assets. Fitch has floored the performance adjustment
factor for the OO sub-pool at 100% in its analysis to account for
this risk. The risk associated with IO loans led to the affirmation
of the junior notes.

Elevated Transaction Fees: The fees paid by the transaction have
remained elevated, despite the notes having completed their
transition to SONIA from LIBOR. Fitch does not expect the high
third-party fees incurred over recent years to be sustainable, and
as a result has not modelled fees in line with the current levels
in this transaction, but modelled the long-term average instead.
Fitch has run a sensitivity with stressed fee assumptions, which
led to the affirmation of the junior notes.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

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

Unanticipated declines in recoveries could also result in lower net
proceeds, which may make certain notes susceptible to negative
rating action depending on the extent of the decline in recoveries.
Fitch conducts sensitivity analyses by stressing both a
transaction's base-case FF and recovery rate (RR) assumptions, and
examining the rating implications on all classes of issued notes.
Under this scenario, Fitch assumed a 15% increase in the weighted
average (WA) FF and a 15% decrease in the WARR. The results
indicate a downgrade of no more than four notches for the class B2a
notes.

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

Stable to improved asset performance driven by stable delinquencies
and defaults would lead to increasing CE levels and potentially
upgrades. 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 results indicate an upgrade of up to two categories for
the class B2a notes.

DATA ADEQUACY

Uropa Securities plc Series 2007-01B

Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the
information it has received about the performance of the asset pool
and the transaction. 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 pool ahead of the transaction's initial
closing. The subsequent performance of the transaction 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 referred to above,
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.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Uropa Securities plc Series 2007-01B has an ESG Relevance Score of
'4' for Customer Welfare - Fair Messaging, Privacy & Data Security
due to pool with limited affordability checks and self-certified
income, which has a negative impact on the credit profile, and is
relevant to the rating in conjunction with other factors.

Uropa Securities plc Series 2007-01B has an ESG Relevance Score of
'4' for Human Rights, Community Relations, Access & Affordability
due to a material concentration of interest only loans, which has a
negative impact on the credit profile, and is relevant to the
rating in conjunction with other factors.

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' 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. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.



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

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Management Guide to Troubled Companies
-------------------------------------------------------
Taking Charge: Management Guide to Troubled Companies and
Turnarounds

Author: John O. Whitney
Publisher: Beard Books
Softcover: 283 Pages
List Price: $34.95
Order a copy today at:
http://beardbooks.com/beardbooks/taking_charge.html  

Review by Susan Pannell

Remember when Lee Iacocca was practically a national hero? He won
celebrity status by taking charge at a company so universally known
as troubled that humor columnists joked their kids grew up thinking
the corporate name was "Ayling Chrysler." Whatever else Iacocca may
have been, he was a leader, and leadership is crucial to a
successful turnaround, maintains the author.

Mediagenic names merit only passing references in Whitney's book,
however. The author's own considerable experience as a turnaround
pro has given him more than sufficient perspective and acumen to
guide managers through successful turnarounds without resorting to
name-dropping. While Whitney states that he "share[s] no personal
war stories" in this book, it was, nonetheless, written from inside
the "shoes, skin, and skull of a turnaround leader." That sense of
immediacy, of urgency and intensity, makes Taking Charge compelling
reading even for the executive who feels he or she has already
mastered the literature of turnarounds.

Whitney divides the work into two parts. Part I is succinctly
entitled "Survival," and sets out the rules for taking charge
within the crucial first 120 days. "The leader rarely succeeds who
is not clearly in charge by the end of his fourth month," Whitney
notes. Cash budgeting, the mainstay of a successful turnaround, is
given attention in almost every chapter. Woe to the inexperienced
manager who views accounts receivable management as "an arcane
activity 'handled over in accounting.'" Whitney sets out 50
questions concerning AR that the leader must deal with -- not
academic exercises, but requirements for survival.

Other internal sources for cash, including judiciously managed
accounts payable and inventory, asset restructuring, and expense
cuts, are discussed. External sources of cash, among them banks,
asset lenders, and venture capital funds; factoring receivables;
and the use of trust receipts and field warehousing, are handled in
detail. Although cash, cash, and more cash is the drumbeat of Part
I, Whitney does not slight other subjects requiring attention. Two
chapters, for example, help the turnaround manager assess how the
company got into the mess in the first place, and develop
strategies for getting out of it.

The critical subject of cash continues to resonate throughout Part
II, "Profit and Growth," although here the turnaround leader
consolidates his gains and looks ahead as the turnaround matures.
New financial, new organizational, and new marketing arrangements
are laid out in detail. Whitney also provides a checklist for the
leader to use in brainstorming strategic options for the future.

Whitney's underlying theme -- that a successful business requires
personal leadership as well as bricks and mortar, money and
machinery -- is summed up in a concluding chapter that analyzes the
qualities that make a leader. His advice is as relevant in this
1999 reprint edition as it was in 1987 when first published.

John O. Whitney had a long and distinguished career in academia and
industry. He served as the Lead Director of Church and Dwight Co.,
Inc. and on the Advisory Board of Newsbank Corp. He was Professor
of Management and Executive Director of the Deming Center for
Quality Management at Columbia Business School, which he joined in
1986.  He died in 2013.



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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 2023.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
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