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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 29, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 196

                           Headlines



F I N L A N D

PHM GROUP: Moody's Affirms 'B2' CFR, Outlook Remains Stable


F R A N C E

PAPREC HOLDING: S&P Upgrades ICR to 'BB', Outlook Stable


G E R M A N Y

CORESTATE CAPITAL: S&P Suspends 'D' LongTerm Issuer Credit Rating


I R E L A N D

BRIDGEPOINT CLO V: S&P Assigns B-(sf) Rating on Class F Notes
OZLME IV: Moody's Affirms B2 Rating on EUR12MM Class F Notes


I T A L Y

PIAGGIO & C: Moody's Assigns Ba3 Rating to EUR250MM Unsec. Notes


N E T H E R L A N D S

AURORUS 2023: Moody's Assigns (P)B3 Rating to Class F Notes
AURORUS 2023: S&P Assigns Prelim. CCC-(sf) Rating on Cl. G Notes
TIKEHAU CLO XI: S&P Assigns B-(sf) Rating on Class F Notes


R O M A N I A

ALPHA BANK: Moody's Alters Outlook on 'Ba1' Deposit Rating to Pos.
[*] ROMANIA: Number of Insolvent Cos. Down 7.2% in Jan-Aug 2023


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

BAIN CAPITAL 2023-1: S&P Assigns B-(sf) Rating on Class F Notes
CARD AND PARTY: Enters Administration, Ceases Trading
COBHAM ULTRA: Moody's Lowers CFR to B3, Outlook Remains Stable
FERROGLOBE PLC: Moody's Upgrades CFR to B2, Outlook Remains Stable
JABMO: Bought Out of Administration by Expandi Group

JERSEY REDS: Set to Enter Administration Amid Financial Woes
PEOPLE TREE: Put Into Liquidation, Owes More Than GBP8.5MM
PETROFAC LTD: S&P Affirms 'BB-' LT ICR & Alters Outlook to Stable
S4 CAPITAL: S&P Lowers LongTerm ICR to 'B+', Outlook Stable
STARS UK: Moody's Affirms 'B2' CFR, Outlook Remains Stable

VEDANTA RESOURCES: Moody's Cuts CFR to Caa2 & Unsec. Bonds to Caa3


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Management Guide to Troubled Companies

                           - - - - -


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F I N L A N D
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PHM GROUP: Moody's Affirms 'B2' CFR, Outlook Remains Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service affirmed PHM Group Holding Oyj's B2
corporate family rating and the B2-PD probability of default rating
alongside the B2 senior secured and B2 backed senior secured notes.
The outlook remains stable.

The rating affirmation balances PHM's solid operational growth with
stable profitability levels and a rising financial leverage,
following the recently announced acquisition of Sefbo. While the
acquisition will be partially funded with equity, the leverage
increase will reduce free cash flow generation and result in a
weakening interest coverage ratio. Consequently, PHM is now weakly
positioned in the B2 rating category, but the affirmation reflects
Moody's expectation of leverage improvements over the next
quarters, supported by a continued robust operating performance.
The rating affirmation is further based on the expectation that PHM
will address upcoming refinancing needs well ahead of the bond and
RCF maturity date in 2026 and late 2025 respectively.

RATINGS RATIONALE

PHM's B2 rating is supported by the group's strong market position
in the largely residential property maintenance services market in
its home market of Finland with an around 20-25% share and its
growing positions in Sweden, Norway and Denmark; its largely
recurring revenue base with limited customer concentration and good
retention rates, and historically good organic revenue growth; the
proven resilience of the Nordic residential property maintenance
services market; its good profitability and moderate free cash flow
(FCF) generation.

The rating is constrained by PHM's M&A-driven growth strategy that
limits the potential to reduce leverage and keeps leverage above 6x
(around 6x like-for like basis) for the 12 months that ended June
2023; its increased cost of capital through debt-funded M&A growth
that will be challenged by the rising cost of capital; its smaller
scale and more geographical concentration in its home market
compared with those of its peers Moody's rate, despite its recent
growth in established and new markets; the competitive market in
which it operates, with limited potential to win new customers
because of low churn rates; and its limited track record under its
current perimeter following the transformational acquisition of
Kotikatu in 2020, and numerous acquisitions since 2019.

RATIONALE FOR THE OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that leverage will
reduce below 6x though organic growth at continued high
profitability and lower volumes of debt-funded acquisition in the
future, resulting in low single digit free cash flow to debt. The
stable outlook is also based on the expectation that refinancing of
the RCF and the bonds will be adressed well ahead of their
maturities.

LIQUIDITY

Moody's consider PHM's liquidity to be adequate. As of the end of
June 2023, the company had EUR79.8 million of cash on balance
sheet, which was increased as a consequence of the tab issuance in
June 2023. PHM has access to a largely undrawn super senior
revolving credit facility (RCF) of EUR77.5 million. PHM's liquidity
is further supported by moderate FCF, which Moody's forecast to be
around EUR10 million annually over the next 12-18 months. PHM's
mainly requires liquidity to continue its M&A-driven growth that
regularly requires additional funding. Working capital swings have
been moderate historically.

The company has no major debt maturities until June 2026, when the
fixed rate EUR340 million notes and the backed floating rate EUR125
million notes will mature. The RCF matures six months ahead of the
notes.

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

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE

Upward pressure on the rating could arise if PHM's:

-- Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA falls below 4.5x

-- FCF/debt increases towards the high single digits in percentage
terms for a sustained period

-- EBITA margins well above 10%

An upgrade would also require the company to build a longer track
record as a combined group and demonstrate a financial policy
commensurate with maintaining low leverage.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO A DOWNGRADE

Downward pressure on the ratings could develop if PHM's

-- Liquidity deteriorates

-- Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA remains above 6x

-- EBITA/Interest sustained below 1.7x

-- EBITA margins significantly decrease from currently good
levels

-- FCF turns negative for a sustained period

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Business and
Consumer Services published in November 2021.

COMPANY PROFILE

PHM Group Holding Oyj (PHM) is a leading company in the Finnish
residential property maintenance services market, founded in 1989
with its headquarters in Helsinki. The group was acquired by a
Nordic private equity firm, Norvestor Equity AS, in March 2020,
which a majority of 68.3% of voting rights as of June 2023. The
group offers a broad range of services including general
maintenance, cleaning, repairs and technical services for
residential and commercial properties. PHM has around 7,000
employees across locally operating companies. As of the 12 months
that ended June 2023, the group generated revenue of around EUR574
million (like-for-like, adjusted) from a highly granular customer
base, with Finland contributing 51% of revenues.




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F R A N C E
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PAPREC HOLDING: S&P Upgrades ICR to 'BB', Outlook Stable
--------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term issuer and issue ratings on
french waste recycler Paprec Holding, its EUR575 million notes due
2025, and its EUR450 million senior secured notes due 2028 to 'BB'
from 'BB-'. The '3' recovery rating is unchanged, indicating
meaningful recovery prospects (rounded estimate: 55%) in the case
of a payment default.

S&P said, "The stable outlook on the long-term rating reflects our
view that Paprec's leverage will only moderately increase in 2023
to 3.7x, in a more difficult macroeconomic context, before reducing
leverage to about 3.0x in 2024. We also expect its FFO to debt will
be sustained above 20%.

"We anticipate Paprec will perform resiliently in 2023 despite
market challenges. We forecast 5% sales growth in 2023, despite
roughly 20% lower revenue generated from recycled raw materials
reselling. Prices collapsed in 2023 from exceptionally high levels
in 2021 and 2022 due to weaker economic growth globally. We expect
the services division will remain very dynamic, and we forecast 20%
revenue growth in 2023. This will be driven by the rollout of
contracts previously won and price increases and despite lower
volumes by about 7% at a constant perimeter because inflation is
causing French consumer spending to decline. We assume lower S&P
Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margins of 15% in 2023 from 16% in
2022, due to a sixfold increase in electricity prices, which can
only be partially passed onto municipal clients, as well as high
fuel and wage costs.

"We forecast continued growth and margin recovery in 2024.We
anticipate Paprec's revenue will increase by 12% in 2024, mainly
driven by acquisitions, and organic growth will be limited to 2.5%,
constrained by continued muted GDP growth. We forecast adjusted
margins will expand by 80 basis points to 15.8%, aided by
electricity prices being halved.

"Paprec's financial policy is supportive of the 'BB' rating. We
understand Paprec aims to maintain reported leverage of 2.5x-3.5x
through its investment and acquisition cycles. This corresponds to
3.0x-4.0x adjusted debt to EBITDA, and is in line with a
significant financial risk profile. We expect adjusted leverage
will be 3.7x at year-end 2023 and 3.0x at year-end 2024. Despite
higher interest cash paid due to the increase in EURIBOR rates and
the expected refinancing in the near future of the EUR575 million
notes due in 2025 of a higher amount to aid company growth, we
anticipate FFO to debt will reach 21% in 2023 and 26% in 2024. This
is thanks to EBITDA resilience, but also lower taxes paid.

"The stable outlook on the long-term rating reflects our view that
Paprec's leverage will only moderately increase in 2023 to 3.7x, in
a more difficult macroeconomic context that pressures margins,
before deleveraging to about 3.0x in 2024. We also expect its FFO
to debt will be sustained above 20%.

"We could take a negative rating action if Paprec's operating
performance was weaker than expected, resulting in leverage
increasing above 4.0x and FFO to debt falling below 20%. This could
happen if Paprec's international expansion and business strategy
encounter problems, or if it makes operational missteps in France.
It could also follow a severe economic contraction in Europe that
lowered volumes and depressed prices, especially those for
industrial clients."

S&P could also lower the rating if Paprec:

-- Amended its financial policy and attempted significant
debt-funded acquisitions; or

-- Undertook material shareholder distributions that significantly
increased its leverage.

S&P said, "Finally, we could downgrade Paprec if governance
deficiencies were identified as a result of the legal proceedings
against its former CEO and founder, or if the trial materially
affected Paprec's ability to do business by making it harder to
access capital or exposing other issues linked to potential
reputational damage.

"We could take a positive rating action if Paprec's adjusted
leverage decreased below 3x and FFO to debt above 30%--both
sustainably. This would likely result from a continuously strong
operating performance, good execution and ramp-up of new contracts,
continued renewals of existing contracts, and raw material prices
recovering strongly in coming years.

"We would also expect the company to adopt a more conservative
financial policy, with a commitment to maintain its reported
leverage ratio below 2.5x through the investment and acquisition
cycles.

"Although unlikely in the near term, we could raise the rating
should Paprec successfully continue its international expansion and
activity diversification.

"ESG factors have no material influence on our credit rating
analysis of Paprec. The company is majority-owned by its founder,
but we understand that minority investors BPI France, Vauban
Infrastructure Partners, and BNP Paribas Development have veto
rights for certain key decisions. These three shareholders have
indicated their risk appetite is lower than previous years. We
expect this to lead to lower leverage than in the past. To date, we
have not observed a negative effect on the company's operational
performance, its financials, credibility, or reputation, from the
investigation into the former CEO and founder. Sebastien
Petithuguenin took over from his father as CEO in June 2022 and has
so far proved to be a competent manager."




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G E R M A N Y
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CORESTATE CAPITAL: S&P Suspends 'D' LongTerm Issuer Credit Rating
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings suspended its 'D' long-term issuer credit
ratings on CORESTATE Capital Holding S.A. due to the missing
audited accounts for 2022. S&P also has no visibility on when these
audited financials will become available.

S&P said, "We will resume our surveillance and reinstate the
ratings once audited financials are available and we conclude that
it meets our standards for quantity, timeliness, and reliability.
If, after a reasonable period, our information requirements for
surveillance are still not met, we will withdraw the ratings."




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I R E L A N D
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BRIDGEPOINT CLO V: S&P Assigns B-(sf) Rating on Class F Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned credit ratings to Bridgepoint CLO V
DAC's class A to F European cash flow CLO notes. At closing, the
issuer also issued unrated subordinated notes.

Under the transaction documents, the rated notes will pay quarterly
interest unless a frequency switch event occurs. Following this,
the notes will switch to semiannual payments. The portfolio's
reinvestment period will end approximately four and a half years
after closing.

The ratings reflect S&P's assessment of:

-- The diversified collateral pool, which primarily comprises
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior secured term loans and
bonds that are governed by collateral quality tests.

-- The credit enhancement provided through the subordination of
cash flows, excess spread, and overcollateralization.

-- The transaction's legal structure, which is bankruptcy remote.

-- The transaction's counterparty risks, which is in line with
S&P's counterparty rating framework.

  Portfolio benchmarks

                                                         CURRENT

  S&P Global Ratings' weighted-average rating factor    2,842.31

  Default rate dispersion                                 417.82

  Weighted-average life (years)                             4.66

  Obligor diversity measure                               108.47

  Industry diversity measure                               19.70

  Regional diversity measure                                1.11


  Transaction key metrics

                                                         CURRENT

  Portfolio weighted-average rating
    derived from S&P's CDO evaluator                           B

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                           0.00

  'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)                      35.81

  Weighted-average spread (%)                               4.41


Unique Features

Delayed draw tranche

The class F notes is a delayed draw tranche. It will be unfunded at
closing and has a maximum notional amount of EUR14.0 million and a
maximum spread of three/six-month Euro Interbank Offered Rate
(EURIBOR) plus 10.00%. The class F notes can only be issued once
and only during the reinvestment period. The issuer will use the
proceeds received from the issuance of the class F notes to redeem
the subordinated notes. Upon issuance, the class F notes' spread
could be higher (in comparison with the issue date) subject to
rating agency confirmation. For the purposes of S&P'sanalysis, it
assumed the class F notes to be outstanding at closing.

Rating rationale

At closing, the portfolio is well-diversified, primarily comprising
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior secured term loans and
senior secured bonds. Therefore, S&P has conducted its credit and
cash flow analysis by applying its criteria for corporate cash flow
CDOs.

S&P said, "In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR400 million
target par amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread (4.25%),
and the covenanted weighted-average coupon (5.25%). We have assumed
weighted-average recovery rates in line with the recovery rates of
the target portfolio presented to us, except for the 'AAA' level,
where we have modelled a 34.81% covenanted weighted-average
recovery rate as indicated by the collateral manager. We applied
various cash flow stress scenarios, using four different default
patterns, in conjunction with different interest rate stress
scenarios for each liability rating category.

"Under our structured finance sovereign risk criteria, we consider
that the transaction's exposure to country risk is sufficiently
mitigated at the assigned ratings.

"The transaction's documented counterparty replacement and remedy
mechanisms adequately mitigate its exposure to counterparty risk
under our current counterparty criteria.

"The transaction's legal structure and framework is bankruptcy
remote, in line with our legal criteria.

"Until the end of the reinvestment period on April 15, 2028, the
collateral manager may substitute assets in the portfolio for so
long as our CDO Monitor test is maintained or improved in relation
to the initial ratings on the notes. This test looks at the total
amount of losses that the transaction can sustain as established by
the initial cash flows for each rating, and it compares that with
the current portfolio's default potential plus par losses to date.
As a result, until the end of the reinvestment period, the
collateral manager may through trading deteriorate the
transaction's current risk profile, if the initial ratings are
maintained.

"Our credit and cash flow analysis indicates that the available
credit enhancement for the class B-1 to E notes could withstand
stresses commensurate with higher ratings than those we have
assigned. However, as the CLO is still in its reinvestment phase,
during which the transaction's credit risk profile could
deteriorate, we have capped our ratings on the notes.

"The class F notes' current break-even default rate (BDR) cushion
is a negative cushion at the current rating level. Nevertheless,
based on the portfolio's actual characteristics and additional
overlaying factors, including our long-term corporate default rates
and recent economic outlook, we believe this class is able to
sustain a steady-state scenario, in accordance with our criteria."
S&P's analysis further reflects several factors, including:

-- The class F notes' available credit enhancement, which is in
the same range as that of other CLOs S&P has rated and that have
recently been issued in Europe.

-- S&P model-generated portfolio default risk, which is at the
'B-' rating level at 26.20% (for a portfolio with a
weighted-average life of 4.66 years) versus 14.45% if it was to
consider a long-term sustainable default rate of 3.1% for 4.66
years.

-- Whether the tranche is vulnerable to nonpayment in the near
future.

-- If there is a one-in-two chance for this note to default.

-- If S&P envisions this tranche to default in the next 12-18
months.

S&P said, "Following this analysis, we consider that the available
credit enhancement for the class F notes is commensurate with the
assigned 'B- (sf)' rating.

"Following our analysis of the credit, cash flow, counterparty,
operational, and legal risks, we believe that our ratings are
commensurate with the available credit enhancement for the class A,
B-1, B-2, C, D, E, and F notes.

"In addition to our standard analysis, to provide an indication of
how rising pressures among speculative-grade corporates could
affect our ratings on European CLO transactions, we have also
included the sensitivity of the ratings on the class A to E notes
based on four hypothetical scenarios.

"As our ratings analysis makes additional considerations before
assigning ratings in the 'CCC' category, and we would assign a 'B-'
rating if the criteria for assigning a 'CCC' category rating are
not met, we have not included the above scenario analysis results
for the class F notes."

The transaction securitizes a portfolio of primarily senior secured
leveraged loans and bonds, and is managed by Bridgepoint Credit
Management Ltd.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credit factors

S&P said, "We regard the exposure to ESG credit factors in the
transaction as being broadly in line with our benchmark for the
sector. Primarily due to the diversity of the assets within CLOs,
the exposure to environmental credit factors is viewed as below
average, social credit factors are below average, and governance
credit factors are average. For this transaction, the documents
prohibit assets from being related to certain activities,
including, but not limited to the following: the production or
trade of illegal drugs or narcotics; the development, production,
maintenance of weapons of mass destruction, including biological
and chemical weapons; manufacture or trade in pornographic
materials; payday lending; and tobacco distribution or sale.
Accordingly, since the exclusion of assets from these industries
does not result in material differences between the transaction and
our ESG benchmark for the sector, no specific adjustments have been
made in our rating analysis to account for any ESG-related risks or
opportunities."

  Ratings list

  CLASS     RATING*     AMOUNT   INTEREST RATE (%)§     CREDIT
                      (MIL. EUR)                    ENHANCEMENT(%)

  A         AAA (sf)    248.00     3mE + 1.80        38.00

  B-1       AA (sf)      27.30     3mE + 2.60        28.68

  B-2       AA (sf)      10.00           6.60        28.68

  C         A (sf)       25.00     3mE + 3.55        22.43

  D         BBB- (sf)    27.20     3mE + 5.00        15.63

  E         BB- (sf)     19.00     3mE + 7.22        10.88

  F†        B- (sf)      14.00     3mE + 10.00        7.38

  Subordinated   NR      38.96     N/A                 N/A

*The ratings assigned to the class A, B-1, and B-2 notes address
timely interest and ultimate principal payments. The ratings
assigned to the class C, D, E, and F notes address ultimate
interest and principal payments.
§The payment frequency switches to semiannual and the index
switches to six-month EURIBOR when a frequency switch event occurs.

†The class F notes is a delayed drawdown tranche, not issued at
closing.
3mE--Three-month Euro Interbank Offered Rate.
NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.


OZLME IV: Moody's Affirms B2 Rating on EUR12MM Class F Notes
------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the ratings on the following
notes issued by OZLME IV Designated Activity Company:

EUR 5,250,000 Class C-1 Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2032, Upgraded to Aa3 (sf); previously on Sep 16, 2022
Upgraded to A1 (sf)

EUR 22,750,000 Class C-2 Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2032, Upgraded to Aa3 (sf); previously on Sep 16, 2022
Upgraded to A1 (sf)

EUR23,000,000 Class D Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2032, Upgraded to Baa1 (sf); previously on Sep 16, 2022
Affirmed Baa2 (sf)

Moody's has also affirmed the ratings on the following notes:

EUR223,000,000 (Current outstanding amount EUR222,117,180) Class
A-1 Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2032, Affirmed Aaa (sf);
previously on Sep 16, 2022 Affirmed Aaa (sf)

EUR25,000,000 (Current outstanding amount EUR24,901,029) Class A-2
Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due 2032, Affirmed Aaa (sf);
previously on Sep 16, 2022 Affirmed Aaa (sf)

EUR37,000,000 Class B Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2032,
Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Sep 16, 2022 Upgraded to Aaa (sf)

EUR24,000,000 Class E Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2032, Affirmed Ba2 (sf); previously on Sep 16, 2022
Affirmed Ba2 (sf)

EUR12,000,000 Class F Senior Secured Deferrable Floating Rate
Notes due 2032, Affirmed B2 (sf); previously on Sep 16, 2022
Affirmed B2 (sf)

OZLME IV Designated Activity Company, issued in August 2018, is a
collateralised loan obligation (CLO) backed by a portfolio of
mostly high-yield senior secured European loans. The portfolio is
managed by Sculptor Europe Loan Management Limited (previously
Och-Ziff Europe Loan Management Limited). The transaction's
reinvestment period ended in October 2022.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating upgrades on the Class C-1, C-2 and D notes are primarily
a result of a shorter weighted average life of the portfolio which
reduces the time the rated notes are exposed to the credit risk of
the underlying portfolio. Additionally, the weighted average
recovery rate and weighted average spread improved since the last
rating action in September 2022.

The rating affirmations on the Class A-1, A-2, B, E and F Notes
reflect the expected losses of the notes continuing to remain
consistent with their current ratings after taking into account the
CLO's latest portfolio, its relevant structural features and its
actual over-collateralization levels.

In light of reinvestment restrictions during the amortisation
period, and therefore the limited ability to effect significant
changes to the current collateral pool, Moody's analysed the deal
assuming a higher likelihood that the collateral pool
characteristics would maintain an adequate buffer relative to
certain covenant requirements. In particular, Moody's assumed that
the deal will benefit from a shorter amortisation profile and
higher spread levels than it had assumed at the last rating action
in September 2022.

The key model inputs Moody's uses in its analysis, such as par,
weighted average rating factor, diversity score and the weighted
average recovery rate, are based on its published methodology and
could differ from the trustee's reported numbers.

In its base case, Moody's used the following assumptions:

Performing par and principal proceeds balance: EUR391.2m

Defaulted Securities: EUR7.7m

Diversity Score: 54

Weighted Average Rating Factor (WARF): 2788

Weighted Average Life (WAL): 3.81 years

Weighted Average Spread (WAS) (before accounting for Euribor
floors): 3.78%

Weighted Average Coupon (WAC): 3.76%

Weighted Average Recovery Rate (WARR): 44.18%

The default probability derives from the credit quality of the
collateral pool and Moody's expectation of the remaining life of
the collateral pool. The estimated average recovery rate on future
defaults is based primarily on the seniority of the assets in the
collateral pool. In each case, historical and market performance
and a collateral manager's latitude to trade collateral are also
relevant factors. Moody's incorporates these default and recovery
characteristics of the collateral pool into its cash flow model
analysis, subjecting them to stresses as a function of the target
rating of each CLO liability it is analysing.

Moody's notes that the September 2023 trustee report was published
at the time it was completing its analysis of the August 2023 data.
Key portfolio metrics such as WARF, diversity score, weighted
average spread and life, and OC ratios exhibit little or no change
between these dates.

Methodology Underlying the Rating Action:

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's Global
Approach to Rating Collateralized Loan Obligations" published in
December 2021.

Counterparty Exposure:

The rating action took into consideration the notes' exposure to
relevant counterparties, such as account bank and swap provider,
using the methodology "Moody's Approach to Assessing Counterparty
Risks in Structured Finance" published in June 2022. Moody's
concluded the ratings of the notes are not constrained by these
risks.

Factors that would lead to an upgrade or downgrade of the ratings:

The rated notes' performance is subject to uncertainty. The notes'
performance is sensitive to the performance of the underlying
portfolio, which in turn depends on economic and credit conditions
that may change. The collateral manager's investment decisions and
management of the transaction will also affect the notes'
performance.

Additional uncertainty about performance is due to the following:

-- Portfolio amortisation: The main source of uncertainty in this
transaction is the pace of amortisation of the underlying
portfolio, which can vary significantly depending on market
conditions and have a significant impact on the notes' ratings.
Amortisation could accelerate as a consequence of high loan
prepayment levels or collateral sales by the collateral manager or
be delayed by an increase in loan amend-and-extend restructurings.
Fast amortisation would usually benefit the ratings of the notes
beginning with the notes having the highest prepayment priority.

-- Recovery of defaulted assets: Market value fluctuations in
trustee-reported defaulted assets and those Moody's assumes have
defaulted can result in volatility in the deal's
over-collateralisation levels.  Further, the timing of recoveries
and the manager's decision whether to work out or sell defaulted
assets can also result in additional uncertainty.  Moody's analysed
defaulted recoveries assuming the lower of the market price or the
recovery rate to account for potential volatility in market prices.
Recoveries higher than Moody's expectations would have a positive
impact on the notes' ratings.

In addition to the quantitative factors that Moody's explicitly
modelled, qualitative factors are part of the rating committee's
considerations. These qualitative factors include the structural
protections in the transaction, its recent performance given the
market environment, the legal environment, specific documentation
features, the collateral manager's track record and the potential
for selection bias in the portfolio. All information available to
rating committees, including macroeconomic forecasts, input from
other Moody's analytical groups, market factors, and judgments
regarding the nature and severity of credit stress on the
transactions, can influence the final rating decision.




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I T A L Y
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PIAGGIO & C: Moody's Assigns Ba3 Rating to EUR250MM Unsec. Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed Piaggio & C. S.p.A.'s Ba3
corporate family rating, Ba3-PD probability of default rating and
Ba3 existing senior unsecured rating. Moody's also assigned a Ba3
rating to Piaggio's proposed EUR250 million senior unsecured notes
due 2030. The outlook remains stable.

"The rating affirmation reflects the company's good operating
performance, its improved credit metrics, as well as the proactive
refinancing of its 2025 debt maturities, but also its still limited
free cash flow generation," says Giuliana Cirrincione, Moody's lead
analyst for Piaggio.

The rating action follows the company's proposed refinancing of its
outstanding EUR250 million senior unsecured notes due April 2025
with the new EUR250 million senior unsecured bond due 2030. The
company will also replace its existing EUR200 million revolving
credit facility (RCF) with a new facility of the same amount and
maturing in 2028. Upon completion of the refinancing, Moody's will
withdraw the rating on the company's existing rated debt
instrument.  

RATINGS RATIONALE

The Ba3 CFR reflects Piaggio's solid business profile, underpinned
by its leading position in the European scooter market and in the
Indian three-wheeler market, and a portfolio of well-known brands,
including the iconic Vespa. Piaggio also has a good geographical
diversification of sales and production footprint, as well as a
track record of relatively stable operating margins even during
recessionary periods.

The company achieved a marked increase in earnings in 2021-2022, on
the back of strong post-pandemic consumer demand, the ongoing fleet
replacement cycle in EMEA and strong growth in the Asia-Pacific
region, especially in Indonesia and Vietnam. Despite the
challenging macro-economic prospects at a global level, the
positive trend is continuing through 2023, also supported by a more
marked recovery in the Indian commercial vehicle segment and lower
input cost inflation. As a result, Piaggio's EBITDA, as adjusted by
Moody's, reached EUR292 million in the last twelve months (LTM)
ended June 2023, from EUR251 million at December 2022, and its
adjusted EBIT margins improved to 8% from 7%.

The rating agency now expects Piaggio's leverage – measured as
Moody's adjusted gross debt to EBITDA ratio – to decline further
to slightly below 3.0x over the next 12-18 months, driven by
continued, albeit more moderate, earnings improvement and somewhat
declining adjusted debt levels. As a result, the company will be
strongly positioned in the rating category.

Despite the expected EBITDA growth, Moody's forecasts that
Piaggio's free cash flow (FCF) on an adjusted basis will only be
moderately positive over the next 12-18 months. While this is an
improvement compared to 2022, when FCF was negative by around EUR20
million, Piaggio's FCF generation capacity has historically been
modest and volatile, partially driven by its growing dividend.
Piaggio's FCF generation is significantly lower than that of
similarly rated companies and remains a credit weakness.

The improving FCF generation in 2023-2024 assumes a full
normalization of the inventory levels after the logistics
disruptions experienced in 2022, as well as progressively higher
receivables in line with top-line expansion. Besides capital
spending – which will continue to reflect mainly the company's
continued focus on R&D and investments in production capacity
expansion - dividend payments will also limit FCF generation, as
the company will progressively increase remuneration to
shareholders in line with growing earnings.

Piaggio's Ba3 CFR also factors in a degree of business cyclicality
and seasonality; its exposure to emerging markets, which are highly
competitive and create potential earnings volatility risk, also
because of currency fluctuations; and its only adequate liquidity,
constrained by its significant use of reverse factoring.

LIQUIDITY

Piaggio's liquidity is adequate, supported by EUR250 million cash
on balance sheet as of June 2023 and EUR200 million under its
existing revolving credit facility, which is fully undrawn and will
be replaced by a new RCF with the same committed amount but
maturing in 2028. The company also has access to additional EUR280
million worth of undrawn facilities, of which EUR116 million are
committed lines.

Piaggio's liquidity is constrained by the repayment of annual
installments of its amortising term loans. While these loans are
typically rolled over, Moody's liquidity assessment analyses the
company's ability to fund all its cash needs with just internally
generated cash and multiyear committed credit lines. Under these
assumptions, the annual repayment of current portions of long-term
debt represents a short-term cash commitment, which reduces the
company's cash flow.

Another constraining factor in the liquidity assessment is the
significant use of reverse factoring programmes, with outstanding
amounts of around EUR300 million as of June 2023. Moody's considers
the use of reverse factoring as a potential source of liquidity
risk in the event of an unexpected sharp deterioration in operating
performance. Reverse factoring lines are typically uncommitted, and
if suppliers were to no longer have access to these facilities,
Piaggio might face additional working capital needs to adjust to
the payment terms requested by those suppliers which had formerly
adhered to the financing programme.

According to Moody's forecasts, Piaggio's liquidity sources will be
sufficient to cover its cash needs over the next 12-18 months,
despite close to zero or very limited FCF generation. Cash
requirements include capital investments of around EUR170-180
million annually (including both capitalised development costs and
the IFRS16 adjustment) and higher dividend payments in the range of
EUR75-80 million annually. Working capital requirements are
somewhat seasonal, with the highest cash absorption in the first
quarter, but these are manageable.

The company faces cash outflows of around EUR20 million and EUR70
million for the remainder of 2023 and the full year 2024,
respectively, to repay the short-term portion of the amortising
loans that Piaggio regularly negotiates, mainly from Italian
financial institutions and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Following the refinancing of the notes due in April 2025, the
company will have no large debt maturities until 2030.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The proposed EUR250 million senior unsecured notes due 2030 will be
issued by Piaggio & C. S.p.A. — that is, the parent company of
the group as well as the main operating company — and have the
same characteristics of the outstanding EUR250 million bond due
April 2025 to be refinanced. The notes, which are not guaranteed by
other subsidiaries, are rated Ba3, in line with the group's CFR.
This reflects their pari passu ranking with all of Piaggio's other
senior debt, namely the main bank facilities (including revolving
credit lines). The company has a small amount of local debt in
Vietnam, which, however, is not large enough to cause subordination
for the rest of the capital structure. The Ba3-PD PDR reflects the
use of a 50% recovery rate, as is customary for capital structures
comprising both bonds and bank debt.

RATIONALE FOR THE STABLE OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that Piaggio will
maintain adequate credit metrics over the next 12-18 months, with
its Moody's-adjusted gross debt/EBITDA declining further to
slightly below 3.0x, Moody's-adjusted EBIT margin in the mid- to
high-single-digit percentages and neutral to moderately positive
FCF generation on an adjusted basis.

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

Owing to Piaggio's increased usage of reverse factoring over the
past few years, which has led to a short-term cash flow advantage,
Moody's has tightened the leverage tolerance levels for the rating
category, to capture the potential cash consumption resulting from
an eventual unwinding of this benefit.

Piaggio's rating could be upgraded if the company maintains
stronger profitability, with its Moody's-adjusted EBIT margin
increasing sustainably towards the high-single digit in percentage
terms; its financial leverage, measured as Moody's-adjusted gross
debt/EBITDA, decreases to below 3.0x (previously 3.5x) on a
sustained basis; and the company shows a track record of
sustainably stronger FCF generation (that is, after dividend
payments) while maintaining a good liquidity position.

Piaggio's rating could be downgraded if there is a deterioration in
operating performance, leading to a Moody's-adjusted EBIT margin in
the mid-single-digit in percentage terms; its Moody's-adjusted
gross leverage increases to above 4.0x (previously 4.5x) on a
sustained basis; and the company generates persistently negative
FCF.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Consumer
Durables published in September 2021.

COMPANY PROFILE

Based in Italy, Piaggio is a leading global manufacturer and
distributor of light mobility vehicles for both personal and
business purposes. Piaggio's portfolio is comprised of globally
recognised brands, including Vespa, Piaggio, Ape, Aprilia and Moto
Guzzi and the company has solid market positions in Europe and
Vietnam, mainly in the two-wheeler segment, as well as in India in
the three-wheeler commercial vehicle segment. Piaggio sold 626,000
vehicles in 2022 (up 17% from 2021), and generated EUR2.1 billion
in sales (up 25%) and reported EBITDA of EUR298 million (up 24%).

Piaggio is listed on the Italian Stock Exchange. Its largest
shareholder is IMMSI S.p.A. (a listed holding company controlled by
the Colaninno family), which owned 50.1% of the company's capital
as of December 2022, with the remainder widely distributed between
institutional and private investors.




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

AURORUS 2023: Moody's Assigns (P)B3 Rating to Class F Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has assigned the following provisional
ratings to Notes to be issued by Aurorus 2023 B.V.:

EUR[ ]M Class A Asset Backed Notes 2023 due August 2049, Assigned
(P)Aaa (sf)

EUR[ ]M Class B Asset Backed Notes 2023 due August 2049, Assigned
(P)Aa3 (sf)

EUR[ ]M Class C Asset Backed Notes 2023 due August 2049, Assigned
(P)A3 (sf)

EUR[ ]M Class D Asset Backed Notes 2023 due August 2049, Assigned
(P)Baa3 (sf)

EUR[ ]M Class E Asset Backed Notes 2023 due August 2049, Assigned
(P)Ba3 (sf)

EUR[ ]M Class F Asset Backed Notes 2023 due August 2049, Assigned
(P)B3 (sf)

Moody's has not assigned ratings to the EUR[ ]M Class G Asset
Backed Notes 2023 due August 2049, EUR[ ]M Class H Asset Backed
Notes 2023 due August 2049 and EUR[ ]M Class X Notes 2023 due
August 2049 which will also be issued at the closing of the
transaction.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The transaction is a 12-month revolving cash securitisation of
unsecured consumer loans extended by Qander Consumer Finance B.V.
(not rated) to obligors in the Netherlands. The originator will
also act as the servicer of the portfolio during the life of the
transaction.

As of July 31, 2023, the provisional portfolio shows 97.7%
non-delinquent contracts with a weighted average seasoning of
around 3.5 years. The portfolio consists of a majority of
amortising loans (86.4%) which have equal instalments during the
life of the loan. The remainder of the portfolio consists of
revolving loans (13.6%).

According to Moody's, the transaction benefits from credit
strengths such as (i) a granular portfolio; (ii) an experienced
originator/servicer and a back-up servicer; and (iii) a
non-amortising reserve fund funded at 1.2% of the initial Notes
balance of Class A to D Notes. The reserve will provide liquidity
during the life of the transaction to pay senior expenses, hedging
costs and the coupon on the Class A to D Notes (Class B to D Notes
when no PDL is recorded). When the Class A to D Notes are redeemed,
the cash reserve covers interest payments of the most Senior Class
of Notes outstanding.

However, Moody's notes that the transaction features some credit
weaknesses such as (i) a revolving period of 12 months; (ii) the
13.6% exposure to loans with a revolving nature and the ability to
redraw amounts up to a defined credit limit for up to 3 years; and
(iii) the slow amortization of the portfolio leading to loan
maturities of up to 15 years.

Moody's analysis focused, among other factors, on (1) an evaluation
of the underlying portfolio of financing agreements; (2) the
macroeconomic environment; (3) historical performance information;
(4) the credit enhancement provided by subordination and reserve
fund; (5) the liquidity support available in the transaction
through the reserve fund; and (6) the legal and structural
integrity of the transaction.

MAIN MODEL ASSUMPTIONS

Moody's determined the portfolio lifetime expected defaults of
5.5%, a recovery rate of 20.0% and Aaa portfolio credit enhancement
("PCE") of 21.0% related to the receivables. The expected defaults
and recoveries capture Moody's expectations of performance
considering the current economic outlook, while the PCE captures
the loss we expect the portfolio to suffer in the event of a severe
recession scenario. Expected defaults, recoveries and PCE are
parameters used by Moody's to calibrate its lognormal portfolio
loss distribution curve and to associate a probability with each
potential future loss scenario in the ABSROM cash flow model to
rate Consumer ABS.

Portfolio expected defaults of 5.5% are in line with the EMEA
Consumer ABS average and are based on Moody's assessment of the
lifetime expectation for the pool taking into account: (i)
historical performance of the loan book of the originator, (ii)
benchmark transactions, and (iii) other qualitative considerations,
such as the revolving nature of some of the loans in the pool.

Portfolio expected recoveries of 20.0% are slightly higher than the
EMEA Consumer ABS average and are based on Moody's assessment of
the lifetime expectation for the pool taking into account: (i)
historical performance of the loan book of the originator, (ii)
benchmark transactions, and (iii) other qualitative
considerations.

PCE of 21.0% is slightly higher than the EMEA Consumer ABS average
and is based on (i) Moody's assessment of the borrower credit, (ii)
the replenishment period of the transaction, and (iii) the
revolving feature combined with a long maturity of some loan
products. The PCE level of 21.0% results in an implied coefficient
of variation ("CoV") of 43.0%.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's
Approach to Rating Consumer Loan-Backed ABS" published in December
2022.

Factors that would lead to an upgrade or downgrade of the ratings:

Factors that may cause an upgrade of the ratings include
significantly better than expected performance of the pool together
with an increase in credit enhancement of Notes.

Factors that may cause a downgrade of the ratings include a decline
in the overall performance of the portfolio and a meaningful
deterioration of the credit profile of the originator and servicer
Qander Consumer Finance B.V.


AURORUS 2023: S&P Assigns Prelim. CCC-(sf) Rating on Cl. G Notes
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its preliminary credit ratings to
Aurorus 2023 B.V.'s class A to G-Dfrd floating-rate notes. At
closing, the issuer will also issue unrated class H, X, and RS
notes.

Aurorus 2023 B.V. is an ABS transaction that securitizes a
portfolio of unsecured consumer loans originated and serviced by
Qander Consumer Finance B.V. in the Netherlands.

The transaction will refinance the receivables currently backing
the Aurorus 2020 B.V. transaction, including several legacy
revolving loan and credit card products that have been discontinued
and are now effectively fixed-rate amortizing loans. Furthermore,
following a regulatory shift in the Netherlands, approximately 95%
of Qander's new originations are now fixed-rate amortizing loans.
As a result, 88% of the preliminary pool is considered fixed-rate
amortizing loans, while the remaining 12% is from loan products
that permit further draws up to a predefined credit limit and
consists predominantly of floating-rate loans.

During the 12-month revolving period, the issuer will use the
collections to purchase additional receivables from the seller. Any
further advances on revolving loans will be sold the issuer over
the life of the transaction, which will be funded first by a
limited amount of principal collections after the revolving period
and, after the first optional redemption date, solely by draws on
the subordinated loan.

There are separate interest and principal waterfalls. Unlike prior
Aurorus transactions, the principal waterfall will initially pay
pro rata. The principal waterfall will revert to full sequential
repayment upon specified trigger breaches or following the first
optional redemption date in October 2026.

  Preliminary ratings

  CLASS      PRELIMINARY     PRELIMINARY CLASS SIZE
               RATING              (% OF ASSETS)

  A          AAA (sf)        70.0

  B          AA (sf)          8.0

  C-Dfrd     A+ (sf)          3.3

  D-Dfrd     BBB+ (sf)        4.5

  E-Dfrd     BB- (sf)         3.7

  F-Dfrd     B- (sf)          2.0

  G-Dfrd     CCC- (sf)        3.5

  H          NR               5.0

  X          NR               N/A

  RS         NR               N/A

Dfrd--Deferrable.
NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable


TIKEHAU CLO XI: S&P Assigns B-(sf) Rating on Class F Notes
----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned credit ratings to Tikehau CLO XI DAC's
class A to F European cash flow CLO notes. At closing, the issuer
also issued unrated subordinated notes.

Under the transaction documents, the rated notes will pay quarterly
interest unless a frequency switch event occurs. Following this,
the notes will permanently switch to semiannual payments.

The portfolio's reinvestment period will end approximately four and
a half years after closing.

The ratings reflect S&P's assessment of:

-- The diversified collateral pool, which primarily comprises
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior-secured term loans and
bonds that are governed by collateral quality tests.

-- The credit enhancement provided through the subordination of
cash flows, excess spread, and overcollateralization.

-- The collateral manager's experienced team, which can affect the
performance of the rated notes through collateral selection,
ongoing portfolio management, and trading.

-- The transaction's legal structure, which is bankruptcy remote.

-- The transaction's counterparty risks, which is in line with
S&P's counterparty rating framework.

  Portfolio benchmarks

                                                      CURRENT

  S&P weighted-average rating factor                 2,842.21

  Default rate dispersion                              403.02

  Weighted-average life (years)                          4.57

  Obligor diversity measure                            119.64

  Industry diversity measure                            23.01

  Regional diversity measure                             1.28


  Transaction key metrics
                                                      CURRENT

  Portfolio weighted-average rating
  derived from S&P's CDO evaluator                         B

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                       1.14

  Covenanted 'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)       35.63

  Floating-rate assets (%)                             91.71

  Weighted-average spread (net of floors; %)            4.38

  Weighted-average coupon (%)                           5.25


S&P said, "Our ratings reflect our assessment of the collateral
portfolio's credit quality, which has a weighted-average rating of
'B'. The portfolio is well-diversified, primarily comprising
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior-secured term loans and
senior-secured bonds. Therefore, we have conducted our credit and
cash flow analysis by applying our criteria for corporate cash flow
CDOs.

"In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR350 million target par
amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread (4.20%), the
covenanted weighted-average coupon (5.00%), and the covenanted
weighted-average recovery rate at the 'AAA' level. We applied
various cash flow stress scenarios, using four different default
patterns, in conjunction with different interest rate stress
scenarios for each liability rating category.

"Under our structured finance sovereign risk criteria, we consider
that the transaction's exposure to country risk is sufficiently
mitigated at the assigned ratings.

"The transaction's documented counterparty replacement and remedy
mechanisms adequately mitigate its exposure to counterparty risk
under our current counterparty criteria.

"The transaction's legal structure and framework is bankruptcy
remote, in line with our legal criteria.

"Until the end of the reinvestment period on April 15, 2028, the
collateral manager may substitute assets in the portfolio for so
long as our CDO Monitor test is maintained or improved in relation
to the initial ratings on the notes. This test looks at the total
amount of losses that the transaction can sustain as established by
the initial cash flows for each rating and compares that with the
current portfolio's default potential plus par losses to date. As a
result, until the end of the reinvestment period, the collateral
manager may through trading deteriorate the transaction's current
risk profile, if the initial ratings are maintained.

"Our credit and cash flow analysis show that the class B-1 to E
notes benefit from break-even default rate (BDR) and scenario
default rate cushions that we typically consider to be in line with
higher ratings than those assigned. However, as the CLO is still in
its reinvestment phase, during which the transaction's credit risk
profile could deteriorate, we have capped our ratings on the
notes.

"Following our analysis of the credit, cash flow, counterparty,
operational, and legal risks, we believe our ratings are
commensurate with the available credit enhancement for the class A,
B-1, B-2, C, D, E, and F notes.

"In addition to our standard analysis, to indicate how rising
pressures among speculative-grade corporates could affect our
ratings on European CLO transactions, we have also included the
sensitivity of the ratings on the class A to E debt based on four
hypothetical scenarios.

"As our ratings analysis makes additional considerations before
assigning ratings in the 'CCC' category, and we would assign a 'B-'
rating if the criteria for assigning a 'CCC' category rating are
not met, we have not included the above scenario analysis results
for the class F notes."

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credit factors

S&P said, "We regard the exposure to ESG credit factors in the
transaction as being broadly in line with our benchmark for the
sector. Primarily due to the diversity of the assets within CLOs,
the exposure to environmental credit factors is viewed as below
average, social credit factors are below average, and governance
credit factors are average. For this transaction, the documents
prohibit assets from being related to the following industries: the
production or trade of illegal drugs or narcotics; payday lending;
manufacture or trade in pornographic materials; and tobacco
production. Accordingly, since the exclusion of assets from these
industries does not result in material differences between the
transaction and our ESG benchmark for the sector, no specific
adjustments have been made in our rating analysis to account for
any ESG-related risks or opportunities."

  Ratings list
  CLASS     RATING*     AMOUNT    SUB (%)     INTEREST RATE§
                      (MIL. EUR)

  A         AAA (sf)    206.50    41.00   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 1.75%

  B-1       AA (sf)      33.80    28.49   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 2.50%

  B-2       AA (sf)      10.00    28.49   6.50%

  C         A (sf)       21.80    22.26   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 3.25%

  D         BBB- (sf)    23.70    15.49   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 5.00%

  E         BB- (sf)     16.60    10.74   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 7.47%

  F         B- (sf)      11.40     7.49   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 9.66%

  Sub. Notes   NR        31.30      N/A   N/A

*The ratings assigned to the class A, B-1, and B-2 notes address
timely interest and ultimate principal payments. The ratings
assigned to the class C, D, E, and F notes address ultimate
interest and principal payments.
§The payment frequency switches to semiannual and the index
switches to six-month EURIBOR when a frequency switch event
occurs.




=============
R O M A N I A
=============

ALPHA BANK: Moody's Alters Outlook on 'Ba1' Deposit Rating to Pos.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the Ba1/NP long- and
short-term deposit ratings of Alpha Bank Romania S.A. (ABR) and
changed the outlook on the long-term deposit ratings to positive
from stable. Concurrently, the ratings agency has affirmed the
bank's Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and Adjusted BCA at ba3,
its long- and short-term Counterparty Risk (CR) Assessments at
Baa3(cr)/P-3(cr) and its long- and short-term Counterparty Risk
Ratings (CRR) at Baa3/P-3.

The rating action follows the rating action on ABR's parent bank,
Alpha Bank S.A. (Alpha Bank), which was primarily driven by
structural improvements in the Greek economy, as well as
significant enhancements in the bank's financial fundamentals.

RATINGS RATIONALE

-- AFFIRMATION OF RATINGS AND BCA

ABR's Ba1 long-term deposit ratings continue to reflect the bank's
ba3 BCA and two notches of rating uplift from Moody's Advanced Loss
Given Failure (LGF) analysis, which indicates a very low loss given
failure for junior depositors.

ABR's ba3 BCA reflects its strong capitalisation, with a
Moody's-adjusted tangible common equity-to-risk-weighted assets
ratio of 20.1% as of year-end 2022, improving loan book quality as
problem loans declined to 2.6% of gross loans, healthy liquidity
and limited reliance on market funding. These strengths are
balanced against still high asset risks from its significant
foreign currency lending and sizeable exposure to the cyclical
commercial real estate sector, weaker-than-peers profitability and
efficiency metrics, as well as a high (50%) share of foreign
currency deposits and sizeable dependence on more
confidence-sensitive corporate deposits.

-- OUTLOOK CHANGE TO POSITIVE

The positive outlook on ABR's long-term deposit ratings is driven
by Alpha Bank's strengthening capacity to provide support to its
Romanian subsidiary in case of need, as this is also reflected in
the positive outlook on the Greek bank's ratings.

Moody's considers that there is a high probability of affiliate
support for ABR given Alpha Bank's 99.9% ownership, their brand
association and the strategic fit of the Romanian operations for
the group. ABR's ratings do not currently benefit from affiliate
support uplift, as Alpha Bank's ba3 BCA is on par with that of ABR.
In case, however, the BCA of Alpha Bank is upgraded, ABR's Adjusted
BCA may benefit from affiliate support uplift.

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

ABR's ratings could be upgraded following an upgrade of Alpha
Bank's BCA, that would also signal an improved capacity to provide
support in case of need, and therefore result in affiliate support
uplift.

ABR's ratings could also be upgraded following improvements in its
financial performance, including stronger profitability, and lower
exposure to currency risks and sector concentrations.

A higher uplift resulting from Moody's Advanced LGF analysis from
additional volume of senior or subordinated instruments, which
would increase the loss-absorption buffer for depositors
translating into lower losses in resolution, could also result in
an upgrade of the bank's deposit ratings.

Although unlikely given the positive outlook, ABR's ratings could
be downgraded if its standalone credit profile weakens because of
deteriorating operating conditions or a significant currency
depreciation that would strain its asset quality, capital, funding
and profitability metrics.

The bank's long-term deposit ratings could also be downgraded
because of large changes in its liability structure, such as a
reduction in the loss-absorption buffer for depositors, resulting
in a lower uplift from Moody's Advanced LGF analysis.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Banks
Methodology published in July 2021.


[*] ROMANIA: Number of Insolvent Cos. Down 7.2% in Jan-Aug 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------
Bogdan Todasca at SeeNews reports that the number of insolvent
Romanian companies fell by an annual 7.2% to 3,975 in the first
eight months of 2023, the country's trade registry, ONRC, said.

The highest number of insolvent companies and legal entities was
registered in the capital Bucharest, inching up by 2.4% on the year
to 732, SeeNews relays, citing data published on the ONRC website
on Sept. 27 showed.

According to SeeNews, during the January-August period, the highest
number of insolvent companies was registered in the wholesale,
retail and motor vehicles servicing sector -- 1,108, down by an
annual 2.5%, followed by construction with 784, down by an annual
5.8%, and manufacturing with 190, down by an annual 16.1%.




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

BAIN CAPITAL 2023-1: S&P Assigns B-(sf) Rating on Class F Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Bain Capital Euro
CLO 2023-1 DAC's class A, B, C, D, E, and F notes. At closing, the
issuer also issued unrated subordinated notes.

The ratings assigned to Bain Capital Euro CLO 2023-1's notes
reflect S&P's assessment of:

-- The diversified collateral pool, which primarily comprises
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior secured term loans and
bonds that are governed by collateral quality tests.

-- The credit enhancement provided through the subordination of
cash flows, excess spread, and overcollateralization.

-- The collateral manager's experienced team, which can affect the
performance of the rated notes through collateral selection,
ongoing portfolio management, and trading.

-- The issuer's legal structure, which is bankruptcy remote.

-- The transaction's counterparty risks, which are in line with
S&P's counterparty rating framework.

  Portfolio benchmarks

                                                          CURRENT

  S&P Global Ratings weighted-average rating factor      2,787.35

  Default rate dispersion                                  550.70

  Weighted-average life (years)                              4.40

  Obligor diversity measure                                135.07

  Industry diversity measure                                20.64

  Regional diversity measure                                 1.24


  Transaction key metrics

                                                          CURRENT

  Portfolio weighted-average rating
  derived from S&P's CDO evaluator                              B

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                            1.33

  Covenanted 'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)            36.44

  Floating-rate assets (%)                                  92.28

  Weighted-average spread (net of floors; %)                 4.20


Under the transaction documents, the rated notes will pay quarterly
interest unless there is a frequency switch event. Following this,
the notes will permanently switch to semiannual payment.

The portfolio's reinvestment period will end approximately 4.58
years after closing, and the portfolio's maximum average maturity
date will be 8.59 years after closing.

S&P said, "On the effective date, we expect that the portfolio will
be well-diversified, primarily comprising broadly syndicated
speculative-grade senior secured term loans and senior secured
bonds. Therefore, we have conducted our credit and cash flow
analysis by applying our criteria for corporate cash flow CDOs. As
such, we have not applied any additional scenario and sensitivity
analysis when assigning ratings to any classes of notes in this
transaction.

"In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR375.00 million target
par, a covenanted weighted-average spread (4.20%), and the
covenanted weighted-average recovery rates as indicated by the
issuer. We applied various cash flow stress scenarios, using four
different default patterns, in conjunction with different interest
rate stress scenarios for each liability rating category.

"Our credit and cash flow analysis indicates that the available
credit enhancement for the class B to F notes could withstand
stresses commensurate with higher ratings than those we have
assigned. However, as the CLO will be in its reinvestment phase
starting from closing, during which the transaction's credit risk
profile could deteriorate, we have capped our ratings assigned to
the notes.

"Under our structured finance ratings above the sovereign criteria,
we consider that the transaction's exposure to country risk is
sufficiently mitigated at the assigned rating levels.

"The transaction's documented counterparty replacement and remedy
mechanisms adequately mitigate the exposure to counterparty risk
under our current counterparty criteria.

"The issuer's legal structure is bankruptcy remote, in line with
our legal criteria.

"Following our analysis of the credit, cash flow, counterparty,
operational, and legal risks, we believe our ratings are
commensurate with the available credit enhancement for the class A
to F notes.

"In addition to our standard analysis, to provide an indication of
how rising pressures among speculative-grade corporates could
affect our ratings on European CLO transactions, we have also
included the sensitivity of the ratings on the class A to E notes,
based on four hypothetical scenarios."

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors

S&P said, "We regard the exposure to ESG credit factors in the
transaction as being broadly in line with our benchmark for the
sector. Primarily due to the diversity of the assets within CLOs,
the exposure to environmental credit factors is viewed as below
average, social credit factors are below average, and governance
credit factors are average. For this transaction, the documents
prohibit assets from being related to the following industries
(non-exhaustive list): coal, banned wastes, weapons or firearms,
palm oil, opioid, predatory lending activities, gambling,
pornography, prostitution, civilian weapons or firearms, nuclear
weapons, thermal coal, controversial weapons, endangered or
protected wildlife, activities adversely affecting animal welfare,
speculative transactions of soft commodities, hazardous chemicals,
tobacco, and illegal drugs and narcotics including marijuana.
Accordingly, since the exclusion of assets from these industries
does not result in material differences between the transaction and
our ESG benchmark for the sector, we have not made any specific
adjustments in our rating analysis to account for any ESG-related
risks or opportunities."

Bain Capital Euro CLO 2023-1 is a European cash flow CLO
securitization of a revolving pool, comprising euro-denominated
senior secured loans and bonds issued mainly by speculative-grade
borrowers. Bain Capital Credit U.S. CLO Manager II LP manages the
transaction.

  Ratings

  CLASS    RATING     AMOUNT       CREDIT         INTEREST RATE
                    (MIL. EUR)  ENHANCEMENT (%)

  A        AAA (sf)   228.70       39.01   Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 1.75%

  B        AA (sf)     38.30       28.80   Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 2.80%

  C        A (sf)      24.00       22.40   Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 3.60%

  D        BBB- (sf)   25.00       15.73   Three/six month EURIBOR

                                           plus 5.35%

  E        BB- (sf)    18.00       10.93   Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 7.11%

  F        B- (sf)     11.00        8.00   Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                           plus 8.77%

  Sub      NR          24.00         N/A   N/A

NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.
EURIBOR--Euro Interbank Offered Rate.


CARD AND PARTY: Enters Administration, Ceases Trading
-----------------------------------------------------
Lana Clements at The Sun reports that after almost three decades in
business, one of Britain's treasured party supplies shops has
collapsed into administration.

The Card and Party Store in Bury, Manchester told devastated
customers that it was holding a closing down sale earlier this
month, The Sun relates.

The store on Manchester Road first opened its doors 27 years ago
and since then has become a staple for supplying card and party
supplies to the local community, The Sun notes.

According to The Sun, in a post on Facebook, and in yet another
blow for the high street, it was revealed the last day of trading
was Monday, Sept. 25.

The cost-of-living crisis combined with an increase in online
shopping has made it tougher than ever for businesses to keep
bricks and mortar shops going, The Sun discloses.

High energy costs, business rates and rent all pile the pressure on
smaller businesses with shrinking margins, The Sun states.


COBHAM ULTRA: Moody's Lowers CFR to B3, Outlook Remains Stable
--------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the corporate family
rating of Cobham Ultra SunCo S.a r.l. (Ultra) to B3 from B2 and its
probability of default rating to B3-PD from B2-PD. Concurrently,
Moody's has downgraded to B2 from B1 the ratings on (i) the $883.5
million and EUR450 million senior secured first lien term loan B
tranches and the pari passu-ranking GBP190 million senior secured
first lien revolving credit facility (RCF) borrowed by Cobham Ultra
SeniorCo S.a.r.l. The outlook for both entities remains stable.

The rating action reflects:

-- Significant underperformance compared to Moody's expectations
at rating assignment

-- Deleveraging not expected to meet previous guidance for a B2
rating in the next 12 months

-- Forecast weak free cash flow generation, burdened by interest
payments and material one-off items

-- A solid product portfolio with high strategic value and
currently good liquidity

RATINGS RATIONALE

Despite strong growth prospects of at least 10% for both revenue
and EBITDA, Moody's expects that Ultra's gross debt/EBITDA (as
adjusted by Moody's) will remain elevated and not commensurate with
a B2 rating in the next 12 to 18 months. The rating agency
calculates that adjusted leverage was around 9x (7.7x before all
one-off items) as of June 30, 2023 and it forecasts that it will
only decline to a range of 7x-7.5x by the end of 2024. Actual
leverage will not only depend on EBITDA evolution but also on debt
levels and the use of the Forensics disposal proceeds, scenarios
for which will likely fall into the aforementioned range. Moody's
calculation of gross leverage expenses around $35 million of
one-off items which the rating agency expects will continue in
2024.

For comparison, Moody's calculated pro forma adjusted gross
leverage of 7.5x at the time of syndication, with an expectation
that it would reduce to 6.5x within 12 months. While the delayed
closing itself did not weaken credit quality materially, lack of
execution focus during a period of latency held back operating
performance. Ultra has made good progress in addressing the
resulting operational disruptions including sub-par supply chain
planning, manufacturing practices and labour availability,
principally in its main division, Maritime.

In addition to the uneven track record in Maritime, Ultra had to
draw up to $200 million on its RCF to fund working capital and some
debt repayments during 2022 and in Q1 2023. Most of the $250
million proceeds from the sale of Ultra's specialised radio
frequency business were used to pay down the RCF in April 2023. It
left Ultra with a similar debt quantum versus syndication but
around $20 million lower EBITDA. Hence, governance considerations
including management credibility and track record and financial
policy and risk management are an important factor in the rating
action.

Ultra's cash generation is also tracking behind Moody's
expectations and the rating agency forecasts that it will take at
least until 2025 for the company to generate material free cash
flow (FCF). Higher interest rates, substantial one-off items and
operational issues in Maritime are the main reason behind Ultra's
lack of FCF. Moody's estimates that Ultra will have negative
Moody's-adjusted FCF (after exceptional and interest costs) of
-$120 million to -$130 million in 2023. Assuming a reduction in
cash one-off items to a range of $50 million - $60 million, Moody's
forecasts very modestly positive FCF in 2024, despite over 10%
EBITDA growth. The company would rely on working capital inflows
(as projected for 2023) to generate more material FCF.

The B3 CFR also reflects Moody's view that Ultra has a solid
business profile, mainly supported by the company's robust market
position in complex defence and commercial applications, with a
strong growth outlook for its product portfolio. Increased
submarine activity by adversaries, elevated geopolitical tensions,
the need to upgrade ageing defence equipment, and growing demand
for connectivity, interoperability and cyber protection drive high
demand. Moody's also expects that Ultra will benefit from further
cost savings and operational improvements as a result of the
company's transformation programme.

LIQUIDITY

Ultra's good liquidity supports its credit quality. The company had
$147 million of cash on balance sheet at the end of June 2023.
Moody's expects that Ultra will maintain a comfortable amount of
cash on balance sheet of $50 million to $100 million and the
company faces a FCF burn of around $50 million in H2 2023. However,
Moody's estimates that the recent disposal of the Forensics
division has provided around $250 million of cash (assuming a
mid-teens EBITDA multiple). Ultra's liquidity benefits from a fully
undrawn revolving credit facility (RCF) of $230 million equivalent.
The RCF has one springing first lien net leverage covenant, tested
when drawings exceed 40% of total commitments, under which the
company will retain sufficient headroom.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

Ultra's senior secured first lien term loan B tranches of $883.5
million and EUR450 million and the pari passu-ranking GBP190
million RCF borrowed by Cobham Ultra SeniorCo S.a.r.l are rated B2,
one notch above the CFR. It reflects their seniority in the capital
structure and ranking ahead of the $460 million senior unsecured
notes issued by Cobham Ultra SunCo S.a r.l.

RATING OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations that Ultra will
(i) continue to grow revenue and EBITDA organically, leading to
some reduction in leverage and (ii) maintain at least adequate
liquidity, with reducing one-off cash costs.

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

Positive ratings pressure could develop if:

-- Moody's-adjusted leverage reduces sustainably below 6.5x, and

-- Moody's-adjusted FCF turns materially positive on a sustained
basis, and

-- Revenue grows organically at least by a mid-single digit
percentage with stable or growing EBITDA margins, with a positive
outlook for the company's programme portfolio, and

-- The company demonstrates a financial policy consistent with
sustaining the above metrics, and

-- Liquidity is at least adequate.

Conversely, Ultra's ratings could be downgraded if:

-- Moody's-adjusted leverage fails to reduce organically or
following disposals towards 8x, or

-- Moody's-adjusted FCF remains negative beyond 2023, or

-- There is a material decline in organic revenues or EBITDA
margins or the loss of a material contract, or

-- Liquidity concerns arise.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Aerospace and
Defense published in October 2021.

COMPANY PROFILE

Ultra is a leading UK-based provider of sonar, radio frequency
electronics and electro-mechanical solutions to defence, aerospace,
space, commercial and security markets in the US, the UK, Europe,
Australia and Asia. In the 12 months ended June 30, 2023, Ultra
reported revenues of $1,121 million and EBITDA before exceptional
items of $222 million (excluding contributions from its Forensics
business sold in September 2023). The company is majority owned by
funds controlled by Advent International.

FERROGLOBE PLC: Moody's Upgrades CFR to B2, Outlook Remains Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Ferroglobe PLC's
("Ferroglobe" or "the company") corporate family rating to B2 from
B3 and its probability of default rating to B2-PD from B3-PD.
Ferroglobe is a large producer of silicon metal and
silicon/manganese alloys. Concurrently, Moody's has upgraded the
instrument rating of the backed senior secured notes due in 2025
("notes"), issued by Ferroglobe Finance Company, PLC, to B2 from
B3. The outlook for both entities remains stable.

"The rating upgrade reflects Ferroglobe's lower debt following the
partial repayment of its notes, the currently low Moody's-adjusted
debt/EBITDA of 1.2x for the twelve months to June 2023 and the
company's adequate liquidity", says Tobias Wagner, Moody's Vice
President - Senior Credit Officer.

RATINGS RATIONALE

Ferroglobe has made steady progress over the past 18 months in
improving its capital structure on the back of elevated prices for
silicon metal and other products. This includes a $150 million
redemption of the rated notes in July 2023 on top of around $50
million it bought back in the first half of 2023 and other debt
repayments. As a result, Moody's-adjusted debt has reduced to $363
million from $562 million at year-end 2022. The lower debt level is
positive, because it reduces interest costs on a costly debt
instrument in its capital structure and provides a stronger balance
sheet to weather the sector-related high demand volatility and low
demand visibility.

While EBITDA for the first half of 2023 has decreased from its
peak, which is likely continue in the second half of 2023, Moody's
expects leverage to remain moderate.  Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA
is likely to remain at current levels because the debt reduction
offsets lower EBITDA. Moody's expects the company to continue to
focus on further debt reduction in the first instance in the coming
quarters, but the company may also start to consider some
shareholder returns or growth investments over time.

While Ferroglobe has reaffirmed its EBITDA target for the year,
EBITDA generation and working capital swings will likely remain
volatile for the company, as illustrated by the EBITDA swing from
the recent trough in the first quarter of 2023 of $45 million on a
company-adjusted basis to $106 million in the second quarter of
2023. Likewise the company generated $210 million of cash flow from
a working capital inflow in the first half after a $263 million
outflow in 2022. The rating agency expects  some outflows in the
second half partly because of seasonal factors but also dependent
on volume and price evolution.

The rating continues to reflect Ferroglobe's position as one of the
largest producers in the silicon metal sector, especially outside
China, with a vertically integrated business model that provides
some protection against raw material price movements such as quartz
and metallurgical coal. Energy costs, however, remain important to
profitability and the company recently positively achieved a new
energy supply arrangement for its operations in Spain, which
enables the restart of operations. Restructuring efforts in recent
years should also continue to provide some support to
profitability.

The company's liquidity remains adequate and an important
consideration for the rating, because of the company's profit and
working capital volatility. As of June 2023, pro forma for the
notes redemption, the company had $209 million of cash and cash
equivalents on the balance sheet and access to an unused $100
million committed asset-backed facility due in 2027.

The rating of the senior secured 2025 notes remains aligned with
the CFR at B2. While the company has a range of secured and
unsecured local facilities, most notably the $100 million
asset-backed facility, the notes benefit from a comprehensive
guarantee and security package and remain the largest single debt
instrument in the capital structure.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Ferroglobe's ESG Credit Impact Score of CIS-4 reflects governance
risks, including the need to carefully manage its balance sheet and
liquidity because of the high volatility and low visibility in the
business. It also reflects mostly sector-driven exposure to
environmental and social risks.

RATING OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that the company
should be able to maintain solid metrics through most market
conditions, despite the volatility of profits and working capital.

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

The company's profits and cash flows remain exposed to volatility.
Therefore positive pressure is less likely to arise, but a
demonstrated ability to weather different market conditions while
maintaining moderate debt levels, solid metrics and good liquidity
and cash flow generation could result in positive pressure. In
addition, this would require Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA sustained
comfortably below 3.0x through the cycle.

Conversely, negative pressure could arise if debt levels rise or
liquidity weakens, for example from weak cash flow generation. An
inability to sustain profitability in a weak market environment
would also pressure the rating, and so would leverage rising above
4.0x.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Manufacturing
published in September 2021.

COMPANY PROFILE

Headquartered in London and listed on the Nasdaq, Ferroglobe PLC is
a large producer of silicon metal and silicon/manganese alloys.

JABMO: Bought Out of Administration by Expandi Group
----------------------------------------------------
Business Sale reports that Jabmo, a business to business (B2B)
account-based marketing platform with offices in Europe and the US,
has been acquired out of administration by UK marketing and
advertising tech firm Expandi Group.

Jabmo is headquartered in Paris and provides ABM B2B marketing
strategies for 50 of the largest manufacturing, healthcare and life
sciences organisations in the world.  The company fell into
administration in February 2023, Business Sale recounts.

According to Business Sale, Expandi Group, which claims to be the
largest EMEA provider of B2B MarTech and AdTech services, has now
acquired all of Jabmo's assets out of administration.  The UK firm
will relaunch the Jabmo platform, leveraging the majority of its
previous features, including CRM and marketing automation and
integration with major social media platforms, while combining it
with its existing applications, Business Sale discloses.

Jabmo's marketing assets will be integrated by the group into its
Expandi MarTech platform, including the Cynance platform, which
provides third- and first-party intent-data analytics, and the
AccountInsight advertising platform, which is based on unique IP
addresses, Business Sale states.

The deal will enable Expandi to serve all key markets in APAC and
North America, as a result of Jabmo's established US network and
enriched data across markets, Business Sale notes.


JERSEY REDS: Set to Enter Administration Amid Financial Woes
------------------------------------------------------------
Jon Newcombe at RugbyPass reports that Jersey Reds, the winners of
last year's Championship, are set to enter administration.

RugbyPass understands that the withdrawal of one of the club's main
investors has contributed to a budget over-spend of circa
GBP500,000 last season and they have been in financial difficulties
for some time.

Jersey government has offered its support over a number of years,
to the tune of over GBP1 million, but patience has grown thin,
RugbyPass states.

Jersey Reds, the professional arm of the club, became a standalone
company last year, safeguarding the future of the amateur set-up,
RugbyPass notes.

According to RugbyPass, a club statement reads: "Jersey Reds regret
to confirm that the club ceased trading at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday,
September 27, and is exploring the way forward.  However,
liquidation appears inevitable unless a solution can be found in
the very short term.

"The professional side made the move amid a continuing backdrop of
uncertainty about the future of English rugby's second tier, having
competed in the RFU Championship for the past 11 years and won the
league last season.

"The decision came with an admission that the club would be unable
to pay September salaries due this week, and would not be
travelling to south-west England to fulfil the scheduled Friday
night cup fixture against Cornish Pirates."

Reds Chairman Mark Morgan said he was devastated that the move "had
to be made", but that it had become clear on Wednesday that there
was no alternative.

"We had been able to start the season and maintain sufficient funds
to cover the summer, but regret that our conversations with
potential new investors as well as existing ones have been
unsuccessful," he said.  "At one stage at the end of last season it
appeared there was a viable way forward for the second tier once
the new Professional Game Agreement was implemented from summer
2024, but Championship clubs have been left in the dark since that
point and this led to a growing fatigue among those who may have
invested, but could not be given any concrete assurance about when
the new structure would come in, or how it would be funded."


PEOPLE TREE: Put Into Liquidation, Owes More Than GBP8.5MM
----------------------------------------------------------
Aoife Morgan at Retail Gazette reports that Ethical fashion brand
People Tree has put its UK business into liquidation after racking
up more than GBP8.5 million in debt.

The label, which counts actress Emma Watson and model Jo Wood as
fans, shot to popularity due to its use of organic materials and
campaigning for better treatment of garment workers.

However, following an extended deteriorating in trading, the
retailer has warned creditors that it cannot meet its debt, Retail
Gazette states.

According to The Guardian, the brand owes almost GBP1.6 million to
three big creditors, including GBP816,893 owed to investors Shared
Interest and Oikocredit, which have been secured by personal
guarantees by former husband and wife founders James and Safia
Minney.

Suppliers in India are owed more than GBP500,000 combined, Retail
Gazette notes.

People Tree have appointed Opus Restructuring & Insolvency as
liquidators to dissolve the UK business, Retail Gazette relates.

The brand has made most of its employees redundant in the last few
months, but documents relating to the liquidation show 14 employees
are jointly owed GBP243,000, Retail Gazette discloses.

Customers are also still waiting on refunds from June, Retail
Gazette states.


PETROFAC LTD: S&P Affirms 'BB-' LT ICR & Alters Outlook to Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised downward its outlook to stable from
positive on oil services company Petrofac Ltd. At the same time,
S&P affirmed its 'BB-' long-term issuer credit rating on Petrofac
Ltd. and its 'BB-' issue credit rating on Petrofac's $600 million
secured notes due in 2026.

The stable outlook takes into account Petrofac's recently enhanced
backlog and good pipeline of opportunities on the one hand and the
delay on improving its net debt position and overall profitability
on the other.

The outlook revision to stable from positive is driven by
Petrofac's delay in reducing net debt and its need to refinance a
significant portion of its maturities by October 2024.
Year-to-date, the company has secured $3.4 billion. S&P said, "This
brought the backlog to $6.6 billion at the end of June 2023,
compared with $3.8 billion in October 2021 when we assigned our
'BB-' long-term issuer credit rating and our 'BB-' issue rating. At
the same time, Petrofac was not able to deleverage its balance
sheet. As of June 30, 2023, its reported net debt was close to $600
million, compared with our previous expectation of zero net debt by
the end of 2023 (based on the forecast from 2021). In our view, the
slower-than-expected deleveraging means that the company has become
more sensitive to weak profitability associated with its legacy
backlog. In addition, the delay makes it harder for the company to
refinance its $162 million revolving credit facility (RCF) and the
two $45 million term loans maturing in October 2024. Yet,
Petrofac's liquidity remains adequate. Our ratings continue to
reflect the company's financial objective of zero reported net
debt. According to our forecast, Petrofac would reach this
objective by the end of 2024."

The company's profitability will likely remain weak until the
second half of 2024 because of legacy contracts. In the first half
of 2023, Petrofac reported another negative EBITDA of minus $16
million. S&P said, "We expect full-year EBITDA will be broadly
neutral, compared with our previous expectation of about $200
million. These poor results reflect lower activity levels, $67
million of write-downs due to one-off actions, no margin
recognition on some contracts due to adverse developments, and some
other overheads. Petrofac expects that it will have restored its
profitability by the second half of 2024, which we had not
anticipated previously."

S&P said, "We view positively the building of a backlog track
record of well above $5 billion that should translate into
materially improved profitability starting in the second half of
2024.The company has increased its backlog substantially in the
first half of the year. This is mainly due to a major contract with
Tennet and is part of Petrofac's $13 billion framework agreement,
which includes the construction of six offshore platforms and other
onshore elements through 2026. We expect Petrofac will sign more
new contracts in 2023 and the first half of 2024 to at least
maintain the current level of backlogs. The main opportunities are
in Algeria and the Middle East. We note positively that the
proportion of lump sum contracts with Tennet is only about
one-third. This, in turn, reduces cost overrun risk to some
extent." This will contribute to a gradual improvement in the
company's performance and the current ratings.

The stable outlook balances Petrofac's recently enhanced backlog
and good pipeline of opportunities with delays on improving its net
debt position and, to a lower extent, its liquidity management.

S&P said, "Under our base case, we expect EBITDA will be neutral or
slightly negative in 2023 and amount to $100 million-$150 million
in 2024. This will translate into weak credit measures in 2023,
debt to EBITDA of about 3x and funds from operations (FFO) to debt
of about 20% in 2024. We expect S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to
EBITDA of 3x-4x, FFO to debt of more than 20% over the cycle, and a
backlog above $5 billion.

"We could see negative ratings pressure over the next six months if
we revised downward our projected negative reported net debt
position by the end of 2024 (currently close to $600 million)."
This could happen if:

-- Expected working capital inflows in the second half of 2023 and
the first half of 2024 are lower than S&P expected; and

-- EBITDA in 2023 and 2024 is lower than expected.

Other triggers may include:

-- Lack of clarity about the company's liquidity management; and

-- Low order intake that could reduce the backlog sustainably to
less than $5 billion.

S&P could consider raising the ratings in the next 12-18 months
if:

-- Petrofac refinances a significant portion of its maturities by
October 2024;

-- The company improves its net debt position and meets its
financial policy objectives;

-- Adjusted debt to EBITDA is 3x-4x and adjusted FFO to debt is
above 20% throughout the cycle; and

-- Petrofac's backlog, including an expansion of its new energies
division after an appropriate increase in profitability,
comfortably exceeds $5 billion.

S&P said, "Environmental factors are a negative consideration in
our rating analysis of engineering and construction companies, such
as Petrofac, which are highly integrated into the oil and gas value
chain. A large part of the backlog relates to onshore and offshore
projects (for example offshore wind projects with Tennet) from
large oil and gas companies. As such, Petrofac's growth prospects
are exposed to energy transition risks, such as gradually declining
profitability and investment trends from large oil and gas
companies. The company's ability to shift toward sustainable energy
could offset the negative bias. Governance factors are a moderately
negative consideration in our analysis of Petrofac because of a
four-year investigation by the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office, which
was settled in October 2021 and included a penalty of GBP77 million
(approximately $106 million). As a result, the company was
suspended from bidding in Saudi Arabia and from competing in Abu
Dhabi National Oil Company tenders, but we note that Petrofac has
recently regained access to these markets."


S4 CAPITAL: S&P Lowers LongTerm ICR to 'B+', Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on S4
Capital PLC and the issue ratings on its debt to 'B+' from 'BB-'.

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that S4
Capital will return to organic revenue growth over the next 12
months, allowing the group to stabilize its EBITDA margin at
10%-12% and adjusted leverage to remain below 4x. The stable
outlook also reflects our expectation that the group will build a
track record of stronger internal controls, risk management, and
financial reporting.

"The downgrade reflects our view that S4 Capital now presents
materially weaker growth prospects, lower margins, and weaker free
cash flows than we had expected. We have revised our forecast
following the group's latest profit warning for 2023 issued on
Sept. 18, 2023, the second in three months. We now expect that a
tougher macroeconomic outlook, budget constraints for clients in
the technology sector (which accounts for 44% of the group's
revenue), and a pull-back in spend among smaller, regional clients
will lead to a reported revenue decline of about 2% in 2023. We
also expect weaker profitability in 2023 in line with the company's
lowered guidance and due to higher operating costs in the first
half of 2023, mostly because of higher wages and travel costs, as
well as ongoing restructuring costs. This will lead to weaker cash
flow and we now forecast free operating cash flow (FOCF) to debt
will decline below 5% in 2023, from over 17% in 2022.

"We consider that S4 Capital's track record of execution, its
near-term organic growth prospects, and profitability metrics are
now materially weaker than peers like Stagwell Inc. (BB-/Stable/--)
and large advertising holding groups.

"We consider that S4 Capital's organic growth prospects are
uncertain beyond 2023. High concentration on key clients, an
uncertain macroeconomic outlook, and a mixed track record of
execution lead to a somewhat unpredictable revenue growth forecast
for S4 Capital in 2024-2025. We have therefore tempered our
expectations to 5% organic revenue growth over the same period,
which is materially below our initial expectation of over 20%. We
believe that digital advertising will continue to grow faster than
the broader advertising industry the next three to five years. That
said, S4 Capital's ability to increase its revenue at or above the
digital advertising sector average will depend on its ability to
attract new clients and increase the spend of existing smaller
clients, something we do not expect to see in 2023. We also note
that the group's concentration on a small number of large clients
has recently increased, making it more vulnerable in case of
potential contract losses or some of these clients scaling back
spending. The group's largest eight clients accounted for 45% of
total revenues over the first half of 2023, and their relative
contribution is increasing due to declining revenues among smaller,
regional and local clients. This means that the result of
negotiations with single "whopper" clients (each contributing at
least $20 million of annual revenue) could have a material impact
on the group's revenues going forward.

"EBITDA margins will remain well below industry average in the near
term. We consider that S4 Capital's profitability metrics are
materially weaker relative to advertising peers such as Stagwell
(about 17%), WPP (about 15%), and Publicis (about 20%). We now
expect the group will show S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA
margins of about 10% in 2023, improving marginally to 11% in 2024,
but below an already weak 11.9% in 2022. This is because S4
Capital's revenue has come under pressure after the group invested
heavily in headcount to support high organic growth rates. We
understand the group has recently started cutting costs, although
that is happening later than we had expected. Last year, it
increased its efforts to contain staff costs through headcount
controls, headcount reduction has only materialized over the first
half of 2023 and therefore we believe it will take until 2024 to
see the full effect of these initiatives."

The reputational impact of S4 Capital's recent track record poses
further risks in a confidence-driven business. S4 Capital's
standing in the capital markets has severely deteriorated over the
past two years, reflected in a share price decline of about 90%
from the high in September 2021. S&P believes this will hurt S4's
ability to expand through acquisitions in the foreseeable future.

S4 Capital has a policy of funding acquisitions 50% in cash and 50%
in S4 Capital shares, meaning that a strong share price is needed
to pursue material acquisitions (to avoid material dilution among
existing shareholders). S&P also notes that a number of key
management members are heavily invested in the company's shares and
that the current operating underperformance and deterioration in
the share price could therefore lead to higher turnover among key
talent, which could in turn lead to further operational
disruptions. Similarly, it believes that S4 Capital's recent track
record of operating underperformance could damage its reputation
and relationships with existing and prospective clients, although
we understand such risks have not materialized so far.

S&P said, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that S4
Capital will return to organic revenue growth over the next 12
months, allowing the group to stabilize its EBITDA margin at
10%-12% and adjusted debt to EBITDA to remain below 4x. The stable
outlook also reflects our expectation that the group will build a
track record of stronger internal controls, risk management, and
financial reporting."

Downside scenario

S&P could lower the rating if:

-- Operating performance falls materially below our base case due
to a sharper decline in advertising revenue or operational issues
such as loss of key clients, translating into weaker profitability
and credit metrics, with S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage
increasing above 4x or FOCF to debt remaining below 10%; or

-- Its financial policy becomes more aggressive than S&P currently
expects, with sizable debt-funded acquisitions or shareholder
remuneration.

Upside scenario

S&P could raise the rating if:

-- S4 Capital regains a track record of executing its guidance,
returns to organic revenue growth (excluding the impact from
acquisitions) ahead of industry peers, and improves adjusted EBITDA
margins toward 15%; or

-- S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA declines well below
3x, FOCF rises consistently above 15%, and the company's financial
policy supports such improved credit metrics, with limited risk of
re-leveraging through debt-funded acquisitions or shareholder
distributions.

S&P said, "Governance factors are a negative consideration in our
credit rating analysis of S4 Capital. In our view, the group has a
broadly negative track record in the capital markets, given the
audit issues in 2022 and three profit warnings in the past two
years. We also believe executive chairman and founder Sir Martin
Sorrell has a significant degree of control over decision-making at
the group. Sir Martin owns about 1% of the group's listed shares
and has a special class B share that provides him with enhanced
rights. There is also key-man risk. Sir Martin's experience and
relationships in the media industry are a vital contributor to S4
Capital's ability to attract and retain new business, and his
departure from the group without a viable succession plan in place
could pose a risk to the group's current rapid growth."


STARS UK: Moody's Affirms 'B2' CFR, Outlook Remains Stable
----------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed all the ratings of Stars UK
Bidco Limited (Theramex or the company), including its B2 corporate
family rating, its B2-PD probability of default rating, and the B2
ratings of its senior secured bank credit facilities. The outlook
remains stable.

The rating action follows the company's agreement to acquire two
oral menopause drugs from Viatris Inc. (Baa3 stable) for $245
million. The acquisition and associated costs will be funded by a
fully fungible add-on to the company's existing senior secured term
loan B of EUR240 million. The company will also upsize its existing
senior secured revolving credit facility by EUR30 million.

The rating reflects:

-- The company's strong position within a niche segment and its
portfolio of well-known and stable branded drugs

-- Strong recent trading and good prospects for growth driven by
new and recent launches and increasing adoption of menopause
treatments

-- Relatively high leverage of 6.3x Moody's-adjusted debt / EBITDA
as at June 2023 pro forma for the transaction, which is expected to
gradually reduce

-- Adequate debt servicing although with limited cash generation
after license acquisition and integration costs

RATINGS RATIONALE

The B2 CFR reflects the company's: (1) relatively defensive product
portfolio with steady growth prospects; (2) leading positions in
niche segments with brand strength and good sales and marketing
capabilities; (3) balanced global geographic footprint; and (4)
high margins and profitability versus generics players.

The rating also reflects the company's: (1) limited scale as
measured by revenue and EBITDA; (2) lack of therapeutic diversity
with a degree of product concentration; (3) asset-light business
model with supply chain disruption risk, and reliance on Teva
Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (Teva, Ba2 stable); (4) risks of
continued pricing and inflation pressures; (5) high leverage and
use of debt to fund drug license acquisitions; and (6) limited cash
flow generation impacted by inventory build and new product launch
costs.

In August 2023 Theramex agreed to acquire the European distribution
rights to two menopause oral drugs, Duphaston and Femoston (D&F),
from Viatris. Total acquisition costs including transaction fees
will be fully debt-financed, and the transaction will increase the
company's Moody's-adjusted leverage from 5.7x as at June 2023 to
6.3x pro forma for the acquisition. Moody's expects the company to
reduce leverage gradually to around 6x in 2024 and 5.7x in 2025,
supported by recent and new drug launches and positive momentum
within the menopause market.

Theramex holds solid market positions in the women's health
category, focusing on contraception, fertility, menopause and
osteoporosis. Whilst it distributes pharmaceuticals globally its
key strengths are in its largest Western European markets of UK,
France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Annual growth across the
company's therapeutic areas was in the low to mid-single digit
percentages over the ten years to 2021. Over the last 18 months the
company has achieved above-market revenue growth, increasing by
around 25% in 2022 and 14% the first half of 2023. This has been
supported by increased product and marketing focus, new licenses
and product launches, a degree of pandemic recovery, and in
particular by  recent awareness campaigns driving very strong
growth in menopause products in the UK, and to a lesser extent in
Ireland and Spain. The acquisition of D&F provides Theramex with
the opportunity to leverage menopause market growth, whilst also
benefiting from more focused sales and marketing efforts. However
there remains resistance to hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
treatments for menopause in many markets and growth to date has
been driven by HRT patches rather than oral treatments.

Theramex plans product launches next year in osteoporosis and a
recent entry into uterine health, a high growth category, which
will further stimulate expansion. However the company also faces
several trading headwinds, in particularly the expiry of patents
for contraceptive drug Zoely in 2022 and 2023, which represents
around 12% of company sales pro forma for the acquisition. The
company's osteoporosis treatment Actonel GR (6% of pro forma sales)
also faces a patent expiry in the EU in 2025. In addition there are
regulatory pressures on prices and inflation of staff and contract
manufacturing costs providing margin headwinds, although to date
the company has successfully navigated this environment through a
combination of selective price increases, cost management and
volume growth.

The company remains solidly cash generative with low ongoing
capital expenditure leading to good conversion of earnings to cash.
However the company reinvests this cash in new licenses, milestone
payments for recent new drug acquisitions, costs for technical
transfers of manufacturing and in also in buffer stock. Moody's
forecasts Theramex to generate free cash flow (FCF), prior to
milestone payments, in the range of EUR25 -40 million per annum
over 2024 and 2025, with Moody's-adjusted FCF / debt in the low to
mid-single digit percentages. As a result and due to high leverage
the rating is relatively weakly positioned, although it is expected
to strengthen as growth is delivered through 2024. Any further
material debt-funded acquisitions could put pressure on the ratings
particularly if expected earnings growth is not achieved.

LIQUIDITY

Theramex has adequate liquidity. At June 2023 the company held cash
of EUR51 million, pro forma for the transaction, and had EUR110
million availability under its revolving credit facility (RCF) due
2029, taking into account the proposed EUR30 million RCF upsize.
Moody's expects the company to generate low positive free cash flow
over the next 12-18 months. The RCF has a springing maintenance
covenant based on net leverage, tested if drawn at 40% or more.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The B2 ratings on the upsized EUR790 million senior secured term
loan B and EUR130 million senior secured RCF, borrowed by Stars UK
Bidco Limited, are in line with the CFR, reflecting the fact that
they are the only debt instruments in the capital structure.

RATING OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that Theramex will
be able to sustain its market position and successfully launch new
products without experiencing any major supply issues. As a result,
the outlook assumes gradual revenue and EBITDA growth and ensuing
gross deleveraging as well as materially positive free cash flow
generation. Finally, the outlook also incorporates Moody's
expectation that the company will not embark on any further
materially releveraging debt-funded acquisitions or make
debt-funded shareholder distributions.

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

Upward pressure on Theramex's ratings could develop if: (1) the
company continues to grow revenues and EBITDA after the expiration
of the Zoely patent in selected European markets; and (2) product
and supplier concentration reduces; and (3) Moody's-adjusted
leverage decreases below 4.5x on a permanent basis; and (4)
Moody's-adjusted FCF/debt increases to well above 10% continuously.
Upward ratings pressure would also require the absence of
shareholder distributions and further material debt-funded
acquisitions.

Theramex's ratings could be under downward pressure if: (1) revenue
and EBITDA decline organically or in case of significant supply,
operational or litigation issues; or (2) Moody's-adjusted leverage
fails to reduce sustainably well below 6.0x, including as a result
of debt-funded transactions; or (3) FCF generation reduces to below
5% of Moody's-adjusted debt on a sustained basis or the liquidity
position deteriorates materially.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Pharmaceuticals
published in November 2021.

CORPORATE PROFILE

Headquartered in London, UK, Theramex is primarily a sales and
marketing organisation focused on women's health pharmaceuticals.
Most of its portfolio is made up of branded generic prescription
drugs acquired following the company's carve-out from Teva in 2018.
In 2022 Theramex generated revenue of EUR333 million and company
reported EBITDA before exceptional items of EUR103 million.
Theramex is owned by financial sponsors Carlyle and PAI Partners
following a secondary LBO which closed in August 2022.

VEDANTA RESOURCES: Moody's Cuts CFR to Caa2 & Unsec. Bonds to Caa3
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has downgraded to Caa2 from Caa1 the
corporate family rating of Vedanta Resources Limited (VRL). Moody's
has also downgraded to Caa3 from Caa2 its rating on the senior
unsecured bonds issued by VRL and those issued by VRL's wholly
owned subsidiary, Vedanta Resources Finance II Plc, and guaranteed
by VRL. At the same time, Moody's has maintained the negative
outlooks.  

"The downgrade reflects elevated risk of debt restructuring over
the next few months because VRL has not made any meaningful
progress on refinancing its upcoming debt maturities, in particular
the $1 billion bonds maturing each in January 2024 and August
2024," says Kaustubh Chaubal, a Moody's Senior Vice President and
lead analyst on VRL.

RATINGS RATIONALE

VRL's credit quality is constrained by its weak liquidity because
of large refinancing needs and interest expense amid tightening
financing conditions in global capital markets.

VRL's consolidated debt/EBITDA leverage was 3.7x as of March 2023
– substantially strong for its Caa category CFR. Still, the
company continues to face challenges in refinancing its debt, a
reflection of reduced appetite from the lending community, and a
key credit concern. VRL's Caa category CFR reflects the company's
unsustainable capital structure, aggressive risk appetite and weak
financial management.

In August 2023, holdco VRL sold a 4.3% stake in key subsidiary
Vedanta Limited (VDL) for around $500 million to stave off some of
the pressure arising from the holdco's imminent cash needs. Given
that its entire shareholding in VDL and that VDL's entire 64.9%
shareholding in Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL), which holds around
two-thirds of the group's consolidated cash, have already been
pledged, this implies VRL has limited financial flexibility to
raise financing.              

A softening commodity price environment will somewhat strain the
ability of VRL's operating subsidiaries to generate cash flow. More
importantly, the potential for contagion risk from the holdco's
debt woes may also impair the operating subsidiaries' ability to
raise funds to distribute dividends.

OUTLOOK

The negative outlook reflects VRL's persistently weak liquidity
profile and Moody's concerns over the company's ability to address
the imminent cash needs, especially at the holdco.

LIQUIDITY

Holdco VRL's liquidity remains persistently weak with management
fees and dividends from operating subsidiaries insufficient to meet
its looming debt maturities.

Liquidity at VRL's subsidiaries also remains weak. VRL's 63.8%
owned subsidiary VDL reported consolidated cash of INR142.9 billion
($1.7 billion) as of June 30, 2023. VDL's consolidated cash and
expected cash flow from operations will be insufficient to meet
capital expenditure, its own debt-servicing requirements and the
large dividends to address the holdco's cash needs.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) CONSIDERATIONS

VRL's concentrated ownership with sole shareholder, Volcan
Investments, keeps the risk elevated for related party transactions
to the detriment of creditors. In addition, several senior
management departures in recent years pose risks to the continuity
and stability of its operations, in Moody's view, especially at a
time when the company's liquidity remains persistently weak.
Moreover, VRL's unsustainable capital structure, weak liquidity and
poor liability management exhibit signs of an aggressive risk
appetite, a key credit negative.

VRL is also exposed to environmental risks associated with carbon
transition, water management and natural capital, as well as to
social risks emanating from health and safety concerns, especially
with the incidence of fatalities (13 in fiscal 2023) over the past
few years.

VRL's CIS-5 score reflects very high risks arising from ESG
considerations. Absent these risks, the company's large scale and
efficient asset base could support a higher rating.

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

Moody's is unlikely to upgrade VRL's ratings or revise its rating
outlook to stable prior to the company substantially improving its
liquidity profile. Any potential rating upgrade will depend on the
company meeting its refinancing needs over at least the upcoming
12-18 months as well as establishing a sustainable capital
structure.

Moody's could downgrade VRL's ratings further if the company fails
to make progress on funding arrangements to service its debt such
that the risk of default increases materially higher than indicated
by the current ratings.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Mining
published in October 2021.

Vedanta Resources Limited (VRL), headquartered in London, is a
diversified resources company with interests mainly in India. Its
main operations are held by Vedanta Limited (VDL), a 63.8%-owned
subsidiary. Through VRL's various operating subsidiaries, the group
produces oil and gas, zinc, lead, silver, aluminum, iron ore, steel
and power.

Delisted from the London Stock Exchange in October 2018, VRL is now
wholly owned by Volcan Investments Ltd. Founder chairman of VRL,
Anil Agarwal, and his family, are the key shareholders of Volcan.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, VRL generated revenues
of $18.3 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $4.8 billion.




===============
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.



                           *********


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

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

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


                * * * End of Transmission * * *