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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, November 10, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 226

                           Headlines



G E R M A N Y

SIGNA HOLDING: Arndt Geiwitz Named Chairman of Advisory Board
TECHEM VERWALTUNGSGESELLSCHAFT 674: Moody's Affirms 'B2' CFR


I R E L A N D

ALTADA TECHNOLOGY: Liquidator Raises Questions About Expenditure
BARINGS EURO 2023-2: Fitch Gives 'B-(EXP)' Rating on Class F Debt
JUBILEE CLO 2020-XXIV: Moody's Affirms B3 Rating on Class F Notes
MAN GLG II: Moody's Cuts Rating on EUR7.7MM Class F Notes to Caa2
PALMER SQUARE 2023-2: Fitch Assigns Final 'B-sf' Rating on F Notes



N E T H E R L A N D S

MEDIAN BV: Fitch Affirms 'B-' LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable


S P A I N

CAIXABANK PYMES 13: Moody's Gives (P)Caa1 Rating to Series B Notes


T U R K E Y

TURK TELEKOMUNIKASYON: Fitch Affirms B LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable
TURKCELL ILETISIM: Fitch Affirms 'B' LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

BLUE 02: To Be Wound Up, Owed GBP900,000 to Unsecured Creditors
EG GROUP: Moody's Affirms 'B3' CFR & Alters Outlook to Negative
HALL & JONES: Goes Into Voluntary Liquidation, Owes GBP150,000
IVC ACQUISITION: Moody's Affirms 'B3' CFR, Outlook Stable
ORIFLAME INVESTMENT: Fitch Lowers LongTerm IDR to 'CCC'

SAFESTYLE UK: Anglian Windows to Buy Assets From Administrators
SQUIBB GROUP: CVA Vote Delayed, Nov. 21 Virtual Meeting Set


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOOK REVIEW: The First Junk Bond

                           - - - - -


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G E R M A N Y
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SIGNA HOLDING: Arndt Geiwitz Named Chairman of Advisory Board
-------------------------------------------------------------
Marton Eder, Libby Cherry and Laura Malsch at Bloomberg News report
that Signa Holding GmbH replaced founder Rene Benko with a
restructuring expert as a financial crunch threatens the troubled
EUR23 billion (US$25 billion) real estate group that co-owns New
York's Chrysler Building and the Selfridges department store in
London.

According to Bloomberg, as concerns mount that a messy collapse
could reverberate across European property markets, investors in
the Innsbruck-based company agreed on Nov. 8 to name German auditor
Arndt Geiwitz chairman of the advisory board and shareholder
committee.  Mr. Benko's family trust will continue to own the
largest stake in Signa Holding, Bloomberg notes.

His appointment is a last-ditch effort to save the sprawling
property group, Bloomberg states.  After two decades of aggressive
expansion, rising interest rates and plunging valuations have hit
Signa's finances, Bloomberg discloses.

Mr. Geiwitz, a partner at law firm SGP, had already led insolvency
proceedings earlier this year at Signa's Galeria department store
chain in Germany, Bloomberg recounts.

The announcement comes after a week of turmoil that has seen the
Signa Development unit's bonds fall to around a third of their face
value and Fitch Ratings cutting the company's credit score deeper
into junk territory, Bloomberg relays.

Mr. Benko's ouster was prodded by a group of disgruntled
shareholders, including Austria construction tycoon Hans-Peter
Haselsteiner, Bloomberg states.  The investors had asked Benko to
make way for Mr. Geiwitz, Bloomberg notes.  It's unclear how long
the appointment will last, and Mr. Benko vowed to aid the
restructuring effort, according to Bloomberg.

Mr. Geiwitz's first task will be to clarify the full extent of
funding needs, Bloomberg says. Its debt load involves a broad range
of creditors spread across a complex array of financing -- from
debt secured against buildings to equity-like instruments which
offer profit participation rights, Bloomberg discloses.  There are
also promissory notes and one publicly traded bond.

The array of stakeholders pursuing their own interests creates a
significant challenge for Mr. Geiwitz.  Concern over the company's
future and the dire outlook for European commercial property may
complicate efforts to pull in more funding, according to
Bloomberg.


TECHEM VERWALTUNGSGESELLSCHAFT 674: Moody's Affirms 'B2' CFR
------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the B2 corporate family
rating and the B2-PD probability of default rating of Techem
Verwaltungsgesellschaft 674 mbH ("Techem" or "the company").
Concurrently Moody's affirmed the B1 rating of the senior secured
first lien term loan B, the B1 rating of the senior secured global
notes and the senior secured revolving credit facility (RCF)
maturing in 2025 raised by Techem Verwaltungsgesellschaft 675 mbH
and the Caa1 rating of the backed senior secured second lien notes
due 2026 raised by Techem. The outlook on all entities remains
stable.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating affirmation takes into account Techem's robust business
profile with solid earnings growth at high and stable margins which
Moody's expect to continue in the medium term. Considering Techem's
relatively high debt load and a rising interest rate environment,
the rating is weakly positioned, as the expected refinancing of the
2025 senior secured debt maturities could result in weakening
interest cover ratio and negative free cash flow generation.
Moody's expects Techem to address its refinancing needs well ahead
of its concentrated debt maturities in July 2025.

The B2 corporate family rating of Techem reflects the strong
profitability of the group, with a Moody's-adjusted EBITDA margin
in the 40s in percentage terms, driven by its leading position in
the German sub-metering market and growing supplementary services
business; good revenue visibility and stability because of the
non-discretionary nature of demand for energy services, long-term
contracts with customers and a supportive regulatory environment;
solid market position, with strong customer loyalty and high
barriers to entry because of the significant investment
requirements to replicate Techem's business model; and positive
free cash flow (FCF) generation, which could be used for debt
repayments.

Techem's rating is constrained by the group's high Moody's-adjusted
leverage ratio of 7.0x for the 12 months that ended June 2023;
modest geographical diversification, with just around 24% of
revenue generated outside Germany; the lower profitability of
Techem's energy efficiency solutions business and the expected
impact of higher interest expense on free cash flow and interest
cover.

RATIONALE FOR THE OUTLOOK

The stable outlook balances approaching maturities with material
expected changes in interest rates with solid organic growth and
profitability. The stable outlook implies the expectation of
refinancing to be addressed in the coming quarters. The rating is
weakly positioned, depending on financing structure and interest
rate levels negative rating pressure could build up.

LIQUIDITY

Techem's liquidity is adequate. The group's internal cash sources
comprised EUR47 million of cash and cash equivalents as of June
2023, as well as reported cash flow from operations of around
EUR327 million per year. The company removed the immediate maturity
risk of the RCF initially maturing in January 2025. Internal cash
sources and the RCF will cover all expected cash needs in the next
12-18 months.

Cash uses mainly include capital spending (around EUR140 million
during the 12 months that ended June 2023), while Moody's also
expect some moderate M&A spending. The liquidity assessment also
takes into account that there is one springing covenant (a senior
secured net leverage ratio) attached to the RCF, which will be
tested if the RCF is drawn by more than 40% and currently has ample
capacity.

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

WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATINGS UP

-- Leverage (Moody's-adjusted gross debt/EBITDA) below 6 x on a
sustained basis

-- Sustainable solid positive Moody's-adjusted free cash flow

-- EBITA/Interest sustainably maintained well above 2x post
refinancing

-- Track record of a prudent financial policy, illustrated by its
available cash flow being applied to debt reduction

WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATINGS DOWN

-- Failure to address refinancing well ahead of its maturities in
2025

-- Inability to reduce leverage materially below 7x debt/EBITDA
beyond 2024

-- EBITA/Interest sustainably falling below 1.5x

-- Negative Moody's-adjusted FCF on a sustained basis

-- B1 instrument ratings could be strained in case of any further
repayments of junior-ranking debt, which provides a buffer to the
senior secured debt and thus leads to the uplift of the instrument
rating versus the CFR

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

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

COMPANY PROFILE

Headquartered in Eschborn, Germany, Techem Verwaltungsgesellschaft
674 mbH (Techem) is a leading provider of energy services. Techem
operates through two divisions — energy services (accounting for
85% of group sales in the 12 months that ended June 2023) and
energy efficiency solutions (15%). Energy services provides the
sub-metering of heat and water consumption for multidwelling
housing units, energy cost allocation, and billing services. The
segment also offers supplementary services, such as smoke detector
installation and maintenance, and the analysis of legionella in
drinking water. Energy efficiency solutions offers a holistic
management of clients' energy consumption through the planning,
financing, construction and operation of heat stations, boilers,
cooling equipment and combined heating and power units. In the 12
months that ended June 2023, Techem generated total revenue of
EUR981 million, of which 76% was generated in Germany. Since 2018,
Techem is owned by a consortium led by Partners Group, a private
investment manager.




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I R E L A N D
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ALTADA TECHNOLOGY: Liquidator Raises Questions About Expenditure
----------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Lyons at The Currency reports that the liquidator of Altada
Technology Solutions has told creditors that he has questions about
expenditure by the artificial intelligence startup after reviewing
its bank accounts.

According to The Currency, these questions include the alleged use
of private jets and accommodation by company founders Allan
Beechinor and Niamh Parker, as well as other expenditure by the
company including staff meetings overseas in Disney World Orlando
and a company event at a five-star hotel in Cork.  

Accountant John Healy of Kirby Healy Chartered Accounts has told
creditors he wants to know more about expenditure of about EUR2
million by the company over an almost two-year period, The Currency
discloses.


BARINGS EURO 2023-2: Fitch Gives 'B-(EXP)' Rating on Class F Debt
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Barings Euro CLO 2023-2 DAC expected
ratings. The assignment of final ratings is contingent on the
receipt of final documents conforming to information already
reviewed.

   Entity/Debt            Rating           
   -----------            ------           
Barings Euro CLO
2023-2 DAC
  
   A XS2708352872     LT  AAA(EXP)sf   Expected Rating
   A-Loan             LT  AAA(EXP)sf   Expected Rating
   B-1 XS2708353094   LT  AA(EXP)sf    Expected Rating
   B-2 XS2708353250   LT  AA(EXP)sf    Expected Rating
   C XS2708353417     LT  A(EXP)sf     Expected Rating
   D XS2708353680     LT  BBB-(EXP)sf  Expected Rating
   E XS2708353847     LT  BB-(EXP)sf   Expected Rating
   F XS2708354068     LT  B-(EXP)sf    Expected Rating
   Subordinated
   XS2708354225       LT  NR(EXP)sf    Expected Rating

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Barings Euro CLO 2023-2 DAC is a securitisation of mainly senior
secured loans (at least 90%) with a component of senior unsecured,
mezzanine, and second-lien loans. The note proceeds will be used to
fund an identified portfolio with a target par of EUR400 million.
The portfolio will be managed by Barings (U.K.) Limited. The CLO
envisages a 4.6-year reinvestment period and a 7.6-year weighted
average life (WAL) test.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Average Portfolio Credit Quality (Neutral): Fitch places the
average credit quality of obligors in the 'B' category. The Fitch
weighted average rating factor (WARF) of the identified portfolio
is 24.2.

Strong Recovery Expectation (Positive): At least 90% of the
portfolio will comprise senior secured obligations. Fitch views the
recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch weighted
average recovery rate (WARR) of the identified portfolio is 64.0%.

Diversified Portfolio (Positive): The transaction includes various
other concentration limits, including the maximum exposure to the
three-largest Fitch-defined industries in the portfolio at 40%.
These covenants ensure that the asset portfolio will not be exposed
to excessive concentration.

Portfolio Management (Neutral): The expected ratings are based on a
top 10 obligor concentration limit of 20%, a maximum fixed-rate
asset exposure of 15% and a 7.6-year WAL test. The transaction has
reinvestment criteria governing reinvestments similar to those of
other European transactions. Fitch's analysis is based on a
stressed-case portfolio with the aim of testing the robustness of
the transaction structure against its covenants and portfolio
guidelines.

The transaction can also step up the WAL test by 12 months at one
year after closing, subject to all tests being passed and the
adjusted collateral principal amount (defaults at the lower of
their Fitch- and S&P-calculated collateral value) being above the
reinvestment target par balance.

Cash Flow Modelling (Neutral): The WAL used for the transaction's
Fitch-stressed portfolio and matrices analysis is 12 months less
than the WAL covenant to account for structural and reinvestment
conditions after the reinvestment period, including the
satisfaction of the over-collateralisation (OC) test and Fitch
'CCC' limit, together with a consistently decreasing WAL covenant.
These conditions would in the agency's opinion reduce the effective
risk horizon of the portfolio during stress period.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

A 25% increase of the mean default rate (RDR) across all ratings
and a 25% decrease of the recovery rate (RRR) across all ratings
would result in downgrades to below 'B-sf' for the class F notes,
of one notch for the class D notes, two notches for the class C and
E notes, and no impact on the class A and B notes.

Downgrades, which are based on the identified portfolio, may occur
if the loss expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to
unexpectedly high levels of defaults and portfolio deterioration.
Due to the better metrics of the identified portfolio than the
Fitch-stressed portfolio the rated notes display a rating cushion
to a downgrade of up to two notches for the class B, D, and E
notes, and one notch for the class C and F notes. For the 'AAAsf'
notes, which are already at the highest rating on Fitch's scale, a
rating cushion is not possible.

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

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

A 25% reduction of the mean RDR across all ratings and a 25%
increase in the RRR across all ratings would result in upgrades of
no more than one notch for the class C notes, two notches for the
class B, D and F notes and three notches for the class E notes. The
'AAAsf' rated notes cannot be upgraded.

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

DATA ADEQUACY

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

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


JUBILEE CLO 2020-XXIV: Moody's Affirms B3 Rating on Class F Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the ratings on the following
notes issued by Jubilee CLO 2020-XXIV DAC:

EUR21,000,000 Class B-1 Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2034, Upgraded to Aa1 (sf); previously on Jan 13, 2021 Definitive
Rating Assigned Aa2 (sf)

EUR10,000,000 Class B-2 Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due 2034,
Upgraded to Aa1 (sf); previously on Jan 13, 2021 Definitive Rating
Assigned Aa2 (sf)

EUR20,500,000 Class C Deferrable Mezzanine Floating Rate Notes due
2034, Upgraded to A1 (sf); previously on Jan 13, 2021 Definitive
Rating Assigned A2 (sf)

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

EUR181,000,000 Class A Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due
2034, Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Jan 13, 2021 Definitive
Rating Assigned Aaa (sf)

EUR21,000,000 Class D Deferrable Mezzanine Floating Rate Notes due
2034, Affirmed Baa3 (sf); previously on Jan 13, 2021 Definitive
Rating Assigned Baa3 (sf)

EUR16,500,000 Class E Deferrable Junior Floating Rate Notes due
2034, Affirmed Ba3 (sf); previously on Jan 13, 2021 Definitive
Rating Assigned Ba3 (sf)

EUR8,250,000 Class F Deferrable Junior Floating Rate Notes due
2034, Affirmed B3 (sf); previously on Jan 13, 2021 Definitive
Rating Assigned B3 (sf)

Jubilee CLO 2020-XXIV DAC, issued in January 2021, is a
collateralised loan obligation (CLO) backed by a portfolio of
mostly high-yield senior secured European loans. The portfolio is
managed by Alcentra Limited. The transaction's reinvestment period
will end in January 2024.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating upgrades on the Class B-1, B-2 and C notes are primarily
a result of the benefit of the shorter period of time remaining
before the end of the reinvestment period in January 2024.

The affirmations on the ratings on the Class A, D, E and F notes
are primarily a result of the expected losses on the notes
remaining consistent with their current rating levels, after taking
into account the CLO's latest portfolio, its relevant structural
features and its actual over-collateralisation ratios.

The over-collateralisation ratios of the rated notes have improved.
According to the trustee report dated October 2023 [1] the Class
A/B, Class C, Class D, Class E and Class F OC ratios are reported
at 142.6%, 130.0%, 119.2%, 111.9% and 108.6% compared to October
2022 [2] levels of 141.7%, 129.2%, 118.5%, 111.3% and 107.9%
respectively.

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 closing of the
transaction in January 2021.

Key model inputs:

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: EUR302.2m

Defaulted Securities: None

Diversity Score: 56

Weighted Average Rating Factor (WARF): 2893

Weighted Average Life (WAL): 4.2 years

Weighted Average Spread (WAS) (before accounting for Euribor
floors): 4.2%

Weighted Average Recovery Rate (WARR): 43.6%

Par haircut in OC tests and interest diversion test:  None

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.

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, using the
methodology "Moody's Approach to Assessing Counterparty Risks in
Structured Finance" published in October 2023. 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: Once reaching the end of the
reinvestment period in January 2024, 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.

-- Weighted average life: The notes' ratings are sensitive to the
weighted average life assumption of the portfolio, which could
lengthen as a result of the manager's decision to reinvest in new
issue loans or other loans with longer maturities, or participate
in amend-to-extend offerings.

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.


MAN GLG II: Moody's Cuts Rating on EUR7.7MM Class F Notes to Caa2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has taken a variety of rating actions on
the following notes issued by Man GLG Euro CLO II D.A.C.:

EUR17,700,000 Class C Deferrable Mezzanine Floating Rate Notes due
2030, Upgraded to Aa1 (sf); previously on May 9, 2023 Affirmed Aa3
(sf)

EUR17,300,000 Class D Deferrable Mezzanine Floating Rate Notes due
2030, Upgraded to A3 (sf); previously on May 9, 2023 Affirmed Baa2
(sf)

EUR7,700,000 Class F Deferrable Junior Floating Rate Notes due
2030, Downgraded to Caa2 (sf); previously on May 9, 2023 Downgraded
to Caa1 (sf)

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

EUR207,000,000 (current outstanding amount EUR54,287,402.15) Class
A-1 Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2030, Affirmed Aaa (sf);
previously on May 9, 2023 Affirmed Aaa (sf)

EUR10,000,000 (current outstanding amount EUR2,622,579.82) Class
A-2 Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due 2030, Affirmed Aaa (sf);
previously on May 9, 2023 Affirmed Aaa (sf)

EUR43,900,000 Class B Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2030,
Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on May 9, 2023 Affirmed Aaa (sf)

EUR19,200,000 Class E Deferrable Junior Floating Rate Notes due
2030, Affirmed Ba2 (sf); previously on May 9, 2023 Affirmed Ba2
(sf)

Man GLG Euro CLO II D.A.C., issued in December 2016 and partially
refinanced in August 2019, is a collateralised loan obligation
(CLO) backed by a portfolio of mostly high-yield senior secured
European loans. The portfolio is managed by GLG Partners LP. The
transaction's reinvestment period ended in January 2021.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating upgrades on the Class C and Class D notes are primarily
a result of the deleveraging of the Class A-1 and Class A-2 notes
following amortisation of the underlying portfolio since the last
rating action in May 2023.

The downgrade on the rating on the Class F notes is primarily a
result of the deterioration in the over-collateralisation ratio
since the last rating action in May 2023 and a shorter weighted
average life of the portfolio which leads to reduced time for
excess spread to cover shortfalls caused by future defaults.

The affirmations on the ratings on the Class A-1, A-2, B and E
notes are primarily a result of the expected losses on the notes
remaining consistent with their current ratings after taking into
account the CLO's latest portfolio, its relevant structural
features and its actual over-collateralization (OC) levels.

The over-collateralisation ratios of Class F has deteriorated since
the rating action in May 2023. According to the trustee report
dated April 2023 [1] Class F OC ratio is reported at 104.64%
compared to October 2023 [2] level of 104.42%. Moody's notes that
the October 2023 principal payments are not reflected in the
reported OC ratios.

The Class A-1 and A-2 notes have paid down by approximately EUR38.4
million (17.74%) since the last rating action in May 2023 and
EUR160.0 million (73.77%) since closing. As a result of the
deleveraging, the majority of over-collateralisation (OC) has
increased. According to the trustee report dated April 2023 the
Class A/B, Class C, Class D and Class E ratios are reported at
147.44%, 132.00%, 119.74% and 108.56% compared to October 2023
levels of 154.25%, 135.73%, 121.47% and 108.79% respectively.
Moody's notes that the October 2023 principal payments are not
reflected in the reported OC ratios.

Key model inputs:

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: EUR197.1m

Defaulted Securities: EUR6.9 m

Diversity Score: 41

Weighted Average Rating Factor (WARF): 2894

Weighted Average Life (WAL): 3.12 years

Weighted Average Spread (WAS) (before accounting for Euribor
floors): 3.68%

Weighted Average Coupon (WAC): 5.50%

Weighted Average Recovery Rate (WARR): 44.19%

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.

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 providers,
using the methodology "Moody's Approach to Assessing Counterparty
Risks in Structured Finance" published in October 2023. 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.


PALMER SQUARE 2023-2: Fitch Assigns Final 'B-sf' Rating on F Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Palmer Square European CLO 2023-2 DAC
notes final ratings.

   Entity/Debt                  Rating             Prior
   -----------                  ------             -----
Palmer Square
European CLO
2023-2 DAC

   Class A XS2697591191     LT  AAAsf   New Rating   AAA(EXP)sf
   Class B-1 XS2697591357   LT  AAsf    New Rating   AA(EXP)sf
   Class B-2 XS2697591514   LT  AAsf    New Rating   AA(EXP)sf
   Class C XS2697591787     LT  Asf     New Rating   A(EXP)sf
   Class D XS2697591944     LT  BBB-sf  New Rating   BBB-(EXP)sf
   Class E XS2697592165     LT  BB-sf   New Rating   BB-(EXP)sf
   Class F XS2697592322     LT  B-sf    New Rating   B-(EXP)sf
   Subordinated Notes
   XS2697592678             LT  NRsf    New Rating   NR(EXP)sf

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Palmer Square European CLO 2023-2 DAC is a securitisation of mainly
senior secured obligations (at least 90%) with a component of
senior unsecured, mezzanine, second-lien loans and high-yield
bonds. Note proceeds were used to purchase a portfolio with a
target par of EUR400 million. The portfolio is actively managed by
Palmer Square Europe Capital Management LLC. The collateralised
loan obligation (CLO) has an about 4.5-year reinvestment period and
seven-year weighted average life (WAL) test. The WAL can step up
initially to seven years, subject to conditions, 1.5 years from
closing.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Average Portfolio Credit Quality (Neutral): Fitch places the
average credit quality of obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The Fitch-weighted
average rating factor (WARF) of the identified portfolio is 23.8.

High Recovery Expectations (Positive): At least 90% of the
portfolio comprises senior secured obligations. Fitch views the
recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch-weighted
average recovery rate (WARR) of the identified portfolio is 65.2%.

Diversified Asset Portfolio (Positive): The transaction includes
two Fitch matrices, both effective at closing, corresponding to a
top-10 obligor concentration limit at 20%, fixed-rate asset limits
of 7.5% and 15%, and a maximum seven-year WAL test. The transaction
also includes various concentration limits, including the maximum
exposure to the three-largest Fitch-defined industries in the
portfolio at 40%. These covenants ensure the asset portfolio will
not be exposed to excessive concentration.

Portfolio Management (Neutral): The transaction has an about
4.5-year reinvestment period and includes reinvestment criteria,
similar to those of other European transactions. Fitch's analysis
is based on a stressed-case portfolio with the aim of testing the
robustness of the transaction structure against its covenants and
portfolio guidelines.

Cash Flow Modelling (Positive): The WAL used for the transaction's
Fitch-stressed portfolio analysis is 12 months less than the WAL
test. This accounts for the strict reinvestment conditions
envisaged after the reinvestment period, including passing both the
coverage tests, Fitch WARF test and the Fitch 'CCC' bucket limit,
together with a progressively decreasing WAL covenant. In Fitch's
opinion these conditions reduce the effective risk horizon of the
portfolio during stress periods.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

A 25% increase of the mean rating default rate (RDR) across all
ratings and a 25% decrease of the rating recovery rate (RRR) across
all the ratings of the identified portfolio would lead to
downgrades of no more than one notch for the class E notes and to
below 'B-sf' for the class F notes but would have no impact on the
class A to D notes.

Downgrades, which are based on the identified portfolio, may occur
if the loss expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to
unexpectedly high levels of default and portfolio deterioration.
Due to the better metrics and shorter life of the identified
portfolio than the Fitch-stressed portfolio, the class E and F
notes show a rating cushion of three notches, the class B and D
notes of two notches, the class C notes of one notch while the
class A notes have no rating cushion.

Should the cushion between the identified portfolio and the
Fitch-stressed portfolio be eroded either due to manager trading or
negative portfolio credit migration, a 25% increase of the mean RDR
across all ratings and a 25% decrease of the RRR across all the
ratings of the stressed portfolio would lead to downgrades of up to
two notches for the class A to D notes and to below 'B-sf' for the
class E and F notes.

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

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

During the reinvestment period, upgrades, which are based on the
Fitch-stressed portfolio, may occur on better-than-expected
portfolio credit quality and a shorter remaining WAL test, leading
to the ability of the notes to withstand larger-than-expected
losses for the remaining life of the transaction.

After the end of the reinvestment period, upgrades may occur on
stable portfolio credit quality and deleveraging, leading to higher
credit enhancement and excess spread available to cover losses in
the remaining portfolio.

DATA ADEQUACY

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

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




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

MEDIAN BV: Fitch Affirms 'B-' LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable
----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Median B.V.'s Long-Term Issuer Default
Rating (IDR) at 'B-', with Stable Outlook. Fitch has also affirmed
Median's term loan B (TLB) senior secured rating at 'B' with a
Recovery Rating of 'RR3'.

The 'B-' IDR balances the company's high leverage and aggressive
financial policy with its leading market position in the
non-cyclical private mental care and rehabilitation care markets of
Germany, the UK and Spain, which are aided by an overall balanced
regulatory environment across jurisdictions. Its limited ability to
improve profitability due to high personnel and rental expenses
combined with reimbursement pressure, plus the current high
interest rate environment, result in EBITDAR fixed charge coverage
about 1.3x to 2026.

The Stable Outlook reflects its view that Median will gradually
reduce leverage as occupancy rates steadily return to pre-pandemic
levels, albeit at a slower pace than Fitch previously envisioned.
Fitch expects Median to continue its build-and-buy strategy through
bolt-on acquisitions across the geographies it is present in,
leading to EBITDAR gross leverage remaining at around 6.5x to
2026.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Margins Remain Under Pressure: Fitch expects EBITDA margins to be
about 7.5% in 2023 due to a slower-than-expected recovery of
occupancy in Germany, in addition to higher costs from staff hiring
in the UK. The increased cost has offset increases in revenues
stemming from higher payor rates and an improved treatment mix in
the UK operations.

Fitch continues to expect payor rates to improve by mid-single
digits across all geographies in 2024 which, coupled with the
occupancy rate returning to its pre-pandemic levels, should improve
EBITDA margins. However, Fitch forecasts labour costs to remain
high (above 60% of revenues), limiting the EBITDA margin to 9% by
2026.

Execution Risks Constrain Financial Flexibility: Fitch sees high
execution risks in Median's buy-and build strategy with sale and
lease back (SALB) in the current higher interest rate environment.
Fitch forecasts that Median's EBITDAR fixed-charge coverage will
remain around 1.3x to 2026 due to increased lease payments, which
are linked to inflation and account for about 11% of revenue, plus
higher interest expenses.

Increased rent and higher interest expenses, coupled with
non-recurring expenses and a return of pandemic-related subsidies,
would result in a negative free cash flow (FCF) generation until
end-2024, further constraining its already limited financial
flexibility.

M&A to Drive Growth: Median's acquisition of Hestia Clinics for
about EUR120 million reflects its continued intention to expand
inorganically. Management will likely SALB the real estate of the
clinics acquired, in line with its strategy. Fitch expects annual
bolt-on acquisitions of EUR100 million, funded with internal cash
flows and Fitch-estimated incremental debt, as Fitch believes
Median will remain opportunistic on M&A.

Fitch views a larger acquisition as event risk, subject to their
business risk and integration complexity, acquisition economics and
funding mix. Median's record of lowering acquisition multiples by
undertaking SALB on the real estate of acquired targets supports
some deleveraging but it remains limited.

Deleveraging Limited: Fitch projects EBITDAR gross leverage at 7.1x
in 2023, and for it to remain at around 6.5x to 2026. Median has
limited organic deleveraging scope given its regulated operations,
modest operating and cash flow margins, and the potential for
excess cash to be reinvested in bolt-on acquisitions.

Pan-European Operator, Diversified Service Offering: Median
benefits from geographic diversification across three of Europe's
larger economies with a high share of healthcare spending, unlike
most Fitch-rated EMEA healthcare-service providers. The entry into
the Spanish market through the Hestia buy, despite its modest
operational contribution, has broadened Median's pan-European
healthcare platform to meet growing demand for rehabilitation and
mental care in Europe with a favourable regulatory environment.
Leading national market positions, albeit in narrowly defined
areas, with a reasonably diverse range of services, also contribute
to greater operating resilience.

Constructive Regulatory Frameworks: Median benefits from stable and
well-funded state-backed healthcare systems in Germany, Spain and
the UK, with constructive pricing policies allowing private
operators to pass on most inflationary cost increases.

The German state promotes rehabilitation care over disability
pension to reduce the longer-term burden on the social care system
by reintegrating patients into work and social life after acute
medical treatment. In the UK, the government's funding pledge to
assign a growing share of the NHS's budget to adult mental health
(at least GBP2.3 billion a year by 2023-2024) provides a supportive
framework for independent private operators. In Spain, the
government increased by 67% its mental healthcare budget for 2023.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Fitch rates Median under Fitch's Ratings Navigator for Healthcare
Providers. Global sector peers tend to cluster in the 'B'/'BB'
range, driven by the traits of their respective regulatory
frameworks influencing the quality of funding and government
healthcare policies, and companies' operating profiles, including
scale, service and geographic diversification, and payor and
medical treatment mix. Many sector providers pursue debt-funded M&A
strategies, given the importance of scale and limited room for
maximising organic return.

European sector peers have similar operating characteristics of
stable patient demand with regulated frameworks but a limited
ability to enforce price increases above inflation, and the need
for operating efficiencies while maintaining well-invested clinic
networks to safeguard competitive sustainability. Nevertheless,
ratings tend to be constrained by weak credit metrics expressed in
highly leveraged balance sheets as a result of continuing national
and cross-border market consolidation, with EBITDAR gross leverage
at 6.0x-7.0x and tight EBITDAR fixed charge cover metrics of
1.5x-2.0x.

Median's 'B-' IDR reflects its pan-European operations in mostly
balanced regulatory frameworks, albeit with limited scope for
profitability improvement given sector-specific high operating
leverage. Its credit risk profile is weaker than that of peers like
Mehilainen Ythyma Oy (B/Stable) and Almaviva Developpement
(B/Stable), where despite Median's larger scale pan-European
operations, Fitch is expecting tighter EBITDAR fixed charge
coverage of around 1.3x and volatile FCF generation to 2026.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

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

- Organic revenue to increase mid-single digits in 2023-2024 and
low-single digits thereafter, as a result of higher reimbursement
rates across both Germany and the UK, coupled with an improved
occupancy rate in Germany and a better product mix in the UK

- Annual acquisitions at EUR130 million in 2023 and EUR100 million
in the following years, funded by a committed revolving credit
facility (RCF) and new debt issuance. This will in turn boost sales
growth to high single digits in 2023-2024 and mid-single digits in
2025-2026

- EBITDAR margin of 18.5% in 2023, steadily increasing to close to
20% in 2026

- Rent expense slightly above 11% of sales over 2023-2026, leading
to an EBITDA margin of 7.5% in 2023, and steadily increasing to 9%
by 2026

- Capex at around 2.5%-3% of revenue in 2023-2026

- SALB proceeds of around EUR120 million in 2023 and EUR80 million
in 2024

- No dividends paid

RECOVERY ANALYSIS

In the recovery analysis, Fitch assumes that Median would be
reorganised as a going concern (GC) in bankruptcy rather than
liquidated, given its strong market position across selected
services lines in Germany and the UK and a high share of rented
estate.

Fitch estimates Median's GC EBITDA at around EUR120 million,
reflecting integration challenges, adverse regulatory changes
leading to declining occupancy rates, an unfavourable shift in
payor/medical indication mix, or rising costs, especially as the
personnel-intensive business is plagued by staff shortages.

Fitch continues to apply a 6.0x enterprise value/EBITDA multiple to
the GC EBITDA to calculate a post-reorganisation enterprise value.
This multiple considers the social-infrastructure asset nature of
the healthcare business, supported by long-term demand and high
barriers to entry; geographic diversification and constructive
regulatory frameworks; and trading and acquisition multiples of
listed sector peers averaging 10.0x-12.0x.

The multiple is 0.5x below that of Mehilainen, whose business
benefits from wide diversification across health and social care, a
leading market position in Finland - now also growing abroad,
higher share of variable cost and lower capital intensity, given
its exposure to occupational health and outpatient care. Median's
GC multiple is in line with that of other national hospital
operators, such as Almaviva Developpement, and several other
privately rated EMEA sector peers.

After deducting 10% for administrative claims, its waterfall
analysis generates a ranked recovery for the senior secured TLB in
the 'RR3' category, leading to a 'B' senior secured rating, which
includes an equally ranking RCF of EUR120 million that Fitch
assumes will be fully drawn before distress. This results in a
waterfall-generated recovery computation output percentage of 70%,
based on current metrics and assumptions.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- EBITDA margin trending to 9% on a sustained basis

- Positive FCF on a sustained basis

- EBITDAR gross leverage below 6.5x on a sustained basis

- EBITDAR fixed charge coverage above 1.5x on a sustained basis

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

- Risk to the business model resulting from adverse regulatory
changes to public and private funding in Germany, Spain and the UK,
or challenges in executing the M&A growth strategy leading to the
erosion of EBITDA margin to below 6% on a sustained basis

- Negative FCF margins on a sustained basis

- Tightening liquidity headroom with increased RCF use

- EBITDAR gross leverage above 7.5x on a sustained basis

- EBITDAR fixed charge coverage below 1.2x on a sustained basis

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Satisfactory Liquidity: Fitch expects Median to have satisfactory
liquidity, given the lack of significant debt repayments until
September 2027, its available cash balance of EUR37 million (excl.
EUR25 million that Fitch treats as not readily available for debt
service), and around EUR35 million currently available under its
EUR120 million RCF due in April 2027.

ISSUER PROFILE

Median is the result of a private equity-led merger of Median
(Germany) and Priory (UK), two leading providers of medical
rehabilitation and mental care services in their respective
countries.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Median has an ESG Relevance Score of '4' for Exposure to Social
Impact due to the healthcare market being subject to sector
regulation, as well as budgetary and pricing policies adopted in
Germany and the UK. Rising healthcare costs expose private hospital
operators to high risks of adverse regulatory changes, which could
constrain the companies' ability to maintain operating
profitability and cash flows. This has a negative impact on the
credit profile and is relevant to the rating in conjunction with
other factors.

Unless otherwise disclosed in this section, the highest level of
ESG credit relevance is a score of '3'. This means ESG issues are
credit neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity,
either due to their nature or the way in which they are being
managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs
in the rating process; they are an observation of the materiality
and relevance of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt             Rating      Recovery   Prior
   -----------             ------      --------   -----
Median B.V.         LT IDR B- Affirmed            B-

   senior secured   LT     B  Affirmed   RR3      B




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

CAIXABANK PYMES 13: Moody's Gives (P)Caa1 Rating to Series B Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has assigned the following provisional
ratings to the debts to be issued by CAIXABANK PYMES 13, FONDO DE
TITULIZACION (the Issuer):

EUR2,610M Series A Notes due April 2047, Assigned (P)Aa3 (sf)

EUR390M Series B Notes due April 2047, Assigned (P)Caa1 (sf)

The transaction is a static cash securitisation of unsecured loans
granted by CaixaBank, S.A. ("CaixaBank", LT Bank Deposits A3/ST
Bank Deposits P-2, LT Counterparty Risk Assessment A3(cr)/ST
Counterparty Risk Assessment P-2(cr)) to corporates, small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and self-employed individuals
located in Spain.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The ratings of the Notes are primarily based on the analysis of the
credit quality of the underlying portfolio, the structural
integrity of the transaction, the roles of external counterparties
and the protection provided by credit enhancement.

In Moody's view, the strong credit positive features of this deal
include, among others: (i) performance of CaixaBank originated
transactions have been better than the average observed in the
Spanish market; (ii) granular and diversified pool across industry
sectors; (iii) refinanced and restructured assets have been
excluded from the pool; and (iv) a reserve fund equivalent to 5% of
the principal outstanding amount of the rated Notes, which can be
used to cover potential shortfalls on interest or principal
payments on the Notes. However, the transaction also presents
challenging features, such as: (i) significant regional exposure to
Catalonia at around 24.6% of the pool volume; (ii) strong linkage
to CaixaBank as it holds several roles in the transaction
(originator, servicer and account bank), and (iii) approximately
55.1% of the portfolio bears a floating interest rate while the
Notes are paying a fixed rate and there is no interest rate hedge
mechanism in place.

Key collateral assumptions:

Mean default rate: Moody's assumed a mean default rate of 9% over a
weighted average life of 3.3 years (equivalent to a Ba3 proxy
rating as per Moody's Idealized Default Rates). This assumption is
based on: (1) the available historical vintage data, (2) the
performance of the previous transactions originated by CaixaBank,
and (3) the characteristics of the loan-by-loan portfolio
information. Moody's also took into account the current economic
environment and its potential impact on the portfolio's future
performance, as well as industry outlooks or past observed
cyclicality of sector-specific delinquency and default rates.

Default rate volatility: Moody's assumed a coefficient of variation
(i.e. the ratio of standard deviation over the mean default rate
explained above) of 45%, as a result of the analysis of the
portfolio concentrations in terms of single obligors and industry
sectors.

Recovery rate: Moody's assumed a stochastic recovery rate with a
35% mean, primarily based on the characteristics of the
loan-by-loan portfolio information, complemented by the available
historical vintage data.

Portfolio credit enhancement: the aforementioned assumptions
correspond to a portfolio credit enhancement of 21%, that take into
account the current local currency country risk ceiling (LCC) for
Spain of Aa1.

As of September 25, 2023, the provisional portfolio was composed of
41,979 contracts amounting to EUR3,504.2 million. The top industry
sector in the pool, in terms of Moody's industry classification, is
the Beverage, Food & Tobacco sector (27.2%). The top borrower group
represents 0.7% of the portfolio and the effective number of
obligors is over 2,200. The assets were originated mainly between
2020 and 2023 and have a weighted average seasoning of 1.2 years
and a weighted average remaining term of 6.1 years. Around 13.9% of
the portfolio enjoys a principal grace period whose weighted
average remaining term is 0.75 years. The interest rate is floating
for 55.1% of the pool while the remaining part of the pool bears a
fixed interest rate. The weighted average interest rate of the pool
is 4.1%. Geographically, the pool is concentrated mostly in the
regions of Catalonia (24.6%) and Andalusia (14%). At closing,
assets in arrears between 30 and 90 days will be limited to up to
1% of the pool balance and assets in arrears for more than 90 days
will be excluded from the final pool. None of the loans are secured
by mortgages over real estate properties.

Key transaction structure features:

Reserve fund: The transaction benefits from a EUR150 million
reserve fund equivalent to 5% of the balance of the Series A and
Series B Notes at closing. The reserve fund provides both credit
and liquidity protection to the Notes.

Counterparty risk analysis:

CaixaBank will act as servicer of the loans for the Issuer, while
CaixaBank Titulizacion S.G.F.T., S.A.U. (NR) will be the management
company (Gestora) of the transaction.

All of the payments under the assets in the securitised pool are
paid into the collection account at CaixaBank. There is a daily
sweep of the funds held in the collection account into the Issuer
account. The Issuer account is held at CaixaBank with a transfer
requirement if the rating of the account bank falls below Ba2.

Principal Methodology:

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "SME
Asset-Backed Securitizations methodology" published in July 2023.

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

The Notes' ratings are sensitive to the performance of the
underlying portfolio, which in turn depends on economic and credit
conditions that may change. The evolution of the associated
counterparties risk, the level of credit enhancement and the
Spain's country risk could also impact the Notes' ratings.




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

TURK TELEKOMUNIKASYON: Fitch Affirms B LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Turk Telekomunikasyon A.S.'s (TT)
Long-Term Foreign- (LTFC) and Local-Currency (LTLC) Issuer Default
Ratings (IDRs) at 'B' with a Stable Outlook. Fitch has also
affirmed the telecoms company's National Long-Term Rating at
'AAA(tur)' with a Stable Outlook.

As a government-related entity, TT's ratings are constrained by the
Turkish sovereign's 'B' LTFC and LTLC IDRs, which are on Stable
Outlook. The ratings reflect continued uncertainty over TT's
fixed-line concession, intense competition and continued high cost
inflation, which put pressure on price increases to preserve EBITDA
margins. Despite successful repricing actions, revenue growth will
lag cost inflation in 2023 due to TT's contractual relationship
with clients.

Rating strengths remain its strong market position as the country's
incumbent integrated telecoms operator with a leading converged
offering across mobile and TV. It is an essential service provider
to customers in Turkiye, meaning limited churn and good revenue
growth in a difficult economic environment. Its financial policy
continues to be prudently managed with an effective hedging
strategy, which should allow TT to maintain ample leverage headroom
over the next four years.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Government-related Entity: The controlling interest held by the
Turkiye Wealth Fund (B/Stable) in TT underpins its view of the
company as a government-related entity (GRE). Its assessment of
TT's overall links with the state under its GRE methodology is
'Strong' and as such TT's LTFC and LTLC IDRs are capped by the
sovereign's 'B' ratings. TT's Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) at
'bb' is higher than the sovereign rating.

Inflationary Pressure on EBITDA Margin: Fitch expects pressure from
growing operating costs but recent price increases in wholesale and
retail broadband of 70% and 50%, respectively, will help mitigate
inflationary pressures as consumer price index inflation hit 61.5%
in September 2023. Fitch expects TT to continue with its price
revisions on its mobile and fixed services in line with the general
market. Fitch expects Fitch-defined EBITDA margins to decline by
high single digits to around 31% in 2023 before they improve
gradually over the next four years.

Capex Focuses on Fixed Line: A 5G deployment on a larger scale is
not expected until 2025 at the earliest and initial 5G adoption is
likely to remain slow, owing to the high cost of handset upgrades,
premium data subscription charges associated with 5G and the
continued strengths of 4G services with consumers. Fitch expects at
least 50% of TT's capex to remain on fibre build-out. Fitch expects
TT's continued build-out to be more selective to protect returns
and to focus on average revenue per user (ARPU) growth.

Upselling to Support ARPU Growth: Average fixed-line speeds in
Turkiye are still low at around 40Mbit and, together with low fibre
utilisation, Fitch sees ample room for upselling to higher speeds
and continued customer acquisitions/activations. Migrating
customers onto the more margin-accretive higher speed packages and
an expanding fibre base will support ARPU. Fitch expects increasing
data usage by the young and tech-savvy Turkish population to drive
continued upselling into higher data speeds in fixed and larger
data packages in mobile. Together with price revisions this should
sustain ARPU growth in the medium-to-long term.

Low leverage, Ample Flexibility: Gross debt has continued to
increase, reflecting sharp depreciation in the lira against the
dollar and euro. As of 2Q23 gross debt had increased 56% yoy to
TRY60 billion while around 78% of gross debt was raised in hard
currencies. TT's hard-currency cash and foreign-currency (FX)
derivatives have helped maintain Fitch-defined net leverage below
2x over the last four years.

Fitch expects net leverage to increase to 1.7x in 2023, on the back
of continued high cost inflation, before it gradually decreases in
2024 and 2025 as price adjustments start to mitigate higher
operating costs. TT's effective hedging strategy should enable it
to maintain ample leverage headroom well below its negative rating
threshold of 5x Fitch-defined net debt/EBITDA over the next four
years.

Upcoming Refinancing Needs: TT's two USD500 million bonds mature in
June 2024 and February 2025 respectively. As financing conditions
remain tough, Fitch expects weaker interest coverage ratios if this
debt is refinanced. As of 2Q23 TT held cash of TRY9 billion, of
which 38% was in hard currencies. It also has access to USD320
million of FX-protected time deposits, which are not included in
cash. Fitch believes that TT has sufficient cash at hand to
refinance the 2024 maturity without any new issuance. Nevertheless,
refinancing risk remains and reliance on short-term local
borrowings may intensify pressure on TT's liquidity profile in an
uncertain FX environment.

Remaining Concession Uncertainty: TT's ratings factor in some
long-term uncertainty relating to the expiry of its fixed-line
concession agreement in 2026. The Turkish government may not
automatically renew this concession with TT but instead tender the
contract out to third parties. In this scenario Fitch expects TT to
participate in any tender process but Fitch does not have
visibility to evaluate its impact on TT's financials at this stage.
Fitch believes that TT's management will continue to pursue a
conservative financial policy and that the likelihood of a
non-renewal of the concession is low.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

TT has a similar operating profile to other European incumbent
peers such as Royal KPN N.V. (BBB/Stable) and BT Group plc
(BBB/Stable). The strength of TT stems mainly from its leading
fixed-line operations in Turkiye with its increasing fibre
deployment as a key advantage. It is also a fully integrated
telecoms operator with a solid mobile market share of around 30%
and increasing pay-TV penetration. TT's SCP is, however, affected
by a weak operating environment in Turkiye and FX risk.

Leverage thresholds for TT's current ratings are tighter than for
European peers' due to higher risk from the FX mismatch between
mainly hard-currency debt and lira-denominated cash flow.

On the National Rating scale, TT's profile compares well with
Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri A.S.'s (Tupras, AAA(tur)/Stable) and
Arcelik A.S.'s (AAA(tur)/Stable). The latter benefits from its
exposure to international markets, which is also reflected in its
IDR being higher than the Turkish sovereign rating.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Key Assumptions Within Its Rating Case for the Issuer:

- Revenue growth of 63% in 2023, and gradually slowing to 16% by
2026

- Fitch-defined EBITDA margin to fall to 31% in 2023, before
improving to 40% by 2026

- Capex at around 26% of revenue between 2023 and 2026

- Negative net working-capital changes at 0.5%-1% of sales for the
coming four years

- Dividend payments of around 50% of net income in 2024-2026

- The fixed-line concession expiring in 2026 to be renewed

RECOVERY ANALYSIS

KEY RECOVERY RATING ASSUMPTIONS

- The recovery analysis assumes that TT would be a going concern in
bankruptcy and that the company would be reorganised rather than
liquidated

- A 10% administrative claim

- The going-concern EBITDA estimate reflects Fitch's view of a
sustainable, post-reorganisation EBITDA level on which Fitch bases
the valuation of the company

- The going-concern EBITDA is estimated at TRY12.3 billion

- An enterprise value multiple of 4x

With these assumptions, its waterfall generated recovery
computation (WGRC) for the senior unsecured notes is in the 'RR1'
band. However, according to Fitch's Country-Specific Treatment of
Recovery Ratings Criteria, the Recovery Rating for Turkish
corporate issuers is capped at 'RR4'. The Recovery Rating for
senior secured notes is therefore 'RR4' with the WGRC output
percentage at 50%.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- Positive rating action on Turkiye would lead to a corresponding
action on TT, provided TT's SCP is at the same level or higher than
the sovereign rating, and the links between the government and TT
remain strong

The Below Factors Could Lead to a Positive Revision of the SCP but
Not Necessarily TT's IDR:

- Better visibility in the renewal of the concession agreement
ending in 2026 as well as decreased FX mismatch between TT's net
debt and cash flows and or more effective hedging in place

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

- EBITDA net leverage above 5.0x on a sustained basis

- Material deterioration in pre-dividend FCF margins, or in the
regulatory or operating environments

- Negative action on Turkiye's Country Ceiling or LTLC IDR could
lead to a corresponding action on TT's LTFC or LTLC IDRs,
respectively

- Sustained increase in FX mismatch between TT's net debt and cash
flows

- Excessive reliance on short-term funding, without adequate
liquidity over the next 12-18 months

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Adequate Liquidity: At end-June 2023 TT held cash of TRY9 billion
and access to TRY8.2 billion of FX-protected time deposits. Fitch
expects the company to see modestly negative pre-dividend FCF in
2023 before returning to positive FCF in 2024-2026. Nevertheless,
TT has sufficient cash at hand and proven access to international
capital and loan markets to cover the upcoming maturities of the
two USD500 million bonds in June 2024 and February 2025,
respectively.

ISSUER PROFILE

TT is the incumbent fixed-line operator in Turkiye and also offers
a range of mobile, broadband, data, TV and fixed-voice services.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

TT's ratings are capped by the sovereign ratings of Turkiye.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG
issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on
the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are
being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt             Rating           Recovery   Prior
   -----------             ------           --------   -----
Turk Telekomunikasyon A.S.          

                  LT IDR      B        Affirmed         B

                  LC LT IDR   B        Affirmed         B

                  Natl LT     AAA(tur) Affirmed         AAA(tur)

   senior
   unsecured      LT          B        Affirmed   RR4   B

TURKCELL ILETISIM: Fitch Affirms 'B' LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S's
(Tcell) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B' with a Stable
Outlook. Fitch has also affirmed the company's National Long-Term
Rating at 'AAA(tur)' with a Stable Outlook.

Tcell's ratings are constrained by Turkiye's Country Ceiling of
'B'. The ratings also reflect stable EBITDA margins despite
inflationary pressures and continued considerable fibre-to-home
(FTTH) capex, even though this is not pressuring free cash flow
(FCF) generation which remains positive in its forecasts. Rating
strengths remain Tcell's leading market share in mobile in Turkiye,
a growing fibre broadband customer base and low leverage.

Tcell's Fitch-defined EBITDA net leverage was 1.2x at end-2022,
which is well below the average for EMEA investment-grade peers'.
Fitch expects Tcell to maintain ample leverage headroom over the
next four years and solid pre-dividend FCF generation.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Price Revisions Offset Inflationary Pressures: Tcell continues to
successfully navigate a high inflationary environment (inflation
remains high in Turkiye with an annualised 61.4% as of October
2023), via continued inflation-adjusted price revisions within both
mobile and fixed-line services. Prices for telecommunication
services are still rather low in Turkiye and given the country's
fairly young population Fitch expects that further price increases
will be viable to manage inflation.

Cost inflationary pressures will remain with likely minimum wage
increases once a year and potential volatility on energy costs.
Tcell's investments in solar and wind energy aim to cover 65% of
their total consumption by 2026. In 2022 around 6% of Tcell's cost
base comprised energy expenses.

Upselling Opportunities Remain: Tcell has had strong mobile net
subscriber additions in the last two years, well ahead of their two
main competitors. Tcell is successfully leveraging on data services
to migrate users to post-paid contracts and higher data packages
and Fitch expects this trend to continue in the medium term, albeit
at a slower pace. The share of post-paid mobile subscriptions has
risen to around 70% of total mobile subscriptions, suggesting a
higher revenue potential from service upselling and reduced churn
volatility.

Low fibre coverage and utilisation create ample room for upselling
onto higher speeds and just below 25% of Tcell's customers have
100Mbit or higher speeds, even after significant upswing in
upgrades post-Covid-19. Sustained high inflation and a weakened
lira continue to weigh on Turkish households' living costs in 2023,
which could delay average revenue per user (ARPU) growth as
customers settle for lower ARPU-generative products.

Low Leverage: Continued lira depreciation against the dollar and
euro have led to gross debt (excluding leases) increasing 63% yoy
in 2Q23. Around 70% gross debt is denominated in hard currencies
while Tcell's hard-currency cash and foreign-currency (FX)
derivatives have helped it maintain Fitch-defined net debt at below
1.5x EBITDA over the last four years. Fitch estimates net leverage
will remain around 1x in 2023 and 2024 before it gradually
decreases. Its effective hedging strategy should enable it to
maintain ample headroom relative to its negative rating sensitivity
of 5x net debt/Fitch-defined EBITDA.

Continued Fibre Roll-out: Fibre rollout will continue to be a
significant driver of Tcell's capex in the coming four years. Fibre
penetration in Turkiye remains low at around 28%, which creates
ample opportunities for Tcell to gain market share from incumbent
Turk Telekomunikasyon. In 2022 Tcell expanded their fibre
infrastructure by adding 887,000 homes passed. The strong
trajectory has continued into 2023 as Tcell added another 10% of
fibre subscribers annually in 2Q23 to a total homes passed of 5.7
million, surpassing their yearly target of 300,000 additions.

Fibre Capex Reduces FX Impact: Fibre build-out mainly comprises
local currency capex, which is more favourable than mobile capex
made in hard currencies, given sharp lira depreciation. The
capex-to-sales ratio guidance of 22% for 2023 includes continued
high fibre deployment and one-off investments stemming from the
earthquake in February 2023.

5G Deployment will Wait: Turkiye continues to face a challenging
macroeconomic climate with high inflation and currency
depreciation, in turn holding back widespread 5G deployment. Any
deployment on a large scale is not expected until 2025 at the
earliest and initial 5G adoption is likely to remain slow, owing to
the high cost of handset upgrades, premium data subscription
charges associated with 5G and the continued strengths of 4G
services with consumers. Fitch would expect additional uses in the
enterprise segment to be more viable before they can provide
economic incentives for Tcell to promote a wider 5G roll-out.

Manageable Refinancing Risk: The refinancing of Tcell's first of
their two USD500 million bonds is drawing closer with the first
maturity in October 2025. While financial conditions remain tough,
Tcell had at end-2Q23 a large FX cash equivalent reserve of USD1.4
billion, a committed USD180 million revolving credit facility (RCF)
Fitch expects the company to continue to generate positive FCF.
This will help mitigate refinancing risks but future interest
coverage ratios may weaken as the cost of debt remains high.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Tcell's ratings are well-positioned relative to its closest peer
Turkish incumbent, Turk Telekomunikasyon A.S.'s (TT; B/Stable). TT
has a similar operating profile, although its strength stems from
its incumbent fixed-line operations, has higher leverage, a less
flexible cost base and greater FX risk associated with its hard
currency-denominated debt. Both undertake active debt portfolio
management using derivatives but TT holds less hard-currency cash.
Both Tcell's and TT's ratings are affected by a weak operating
environment in Turkiye and FX risks.

Absent of FX risks and associated sovereign pressures, Tcell has a
similar or stronger rating profile, both business and financial, to
that of western European telecom peers such as Royal KPN N.V.
(BBB/Stable) and Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG (BBB/Stable).
Tcell has stronger growth potential than these peers even when
adjusted for inflation, and has developed a broader understanding
of mobile-based digital services and data monetisation. Tcell's
ratings are constrained by Turkiye's Country Ceiling of 'B'. No
parent/subsidiary or operating environment aspects affect the
rating.

Fitch does not consider Tcell's parent, the Turkiye Wealth Fund
(TWF, B/Stable), in assessing the telecoms company's direct links
with Turkiye (B/Stable), as per its criteria. TWF acts as the
strategic long-term investment arm and equity solutions provider of
Turkiye. Fitch believes that the strength of links between Tcell
and its majority shareholder TWF is 'Weak' to 'Moderate' and hence
rate Tcell on a standalone basis, without support from the parent.

Tcell's rating is not automatically constrained by Turkiye's IDR as
its debt is ring-fenced from TWF and extraction of excessive
dividends is limited by capital-markets laws. High minority
interest also makes any excessive dividends unlikely.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Key Assumptions Within Its Rating Case for the Issuer:

- Revenue growth of 67% in 2023, gradually slowing to around 18% by
2026, reflecting its view that inflation will begin to slow after
2023

- Fitch-defined EBITDA margins of around 35%-36% in 2023-2026

- Capex at around 22%-23% of revenue in 2023-2026

- Net working capital changes of -5% in 2023, before gradually
improving to -3% in 2026

- Dividend payments of around 25% of net income in 2023-2026

RECOVERY ANALYSIS

KEY RECOVERY RATING ASSUMPTIONS

- The recovery analysis assumes that Tcell would be a going-concern
(GC) in bankruptcy and that the company would be reorganised rather
than liquidated

- A 10% administrative claim

- The GC EBITDA estimate reflects Fitch's view of a sustainable,
post-reorganisation EBITDA level on which Fitch bases the
enterprise valuation (EV) of Tcell

- GC EBITDA is estimated at TRY14.5 billion

- An EV multiple of 4x

Fitch assumes Tcell's unsecured RCF of USD180 million to be fully
drawn. This, together with the above assumptions, results in its
waterfall-generated recovery computation (WGRC) for Tcell's senior
unsecured notes in the 'RR2' band. However, according to Fitch's
Country-Specific Treatment of Recovery Ratings Criteria, the
Recovery Rating for Turkish corporate issuers is capped at 'RR4'.
The RR for Tcell's senior secured notes is, therefore, 'RR4' with
the WGRC output percentage at 50%.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- An upgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling, assuming no change in
Tcell's underlying credit quality

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

- EBITDA net leverage above 5.0x on a sustained basis

- Material deterioration in pre-dividend FCF margins, or in the
regulatory or operating environments

- Sustained increase in FX mismatch between net debt and cash
flows

- A downgrade of Turkiye's Country Ceiling

- Excessive reliance on short-term funding, without adequate
liquidity over the next 12-18 months

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Sufficient Liquidity: Tcell reported cash of TRY35 billion at
end-June 2023 of which 68% (excluding FX swaps) was in hard
currencies. Tcell's hard-currency cash and FX derivatives mitigate
the impact of increased debt on net leverage and have helped Tcell
maintain low reported net debt. Fitch expects minimal EBITDA
pressures in 2023 on the back of successful price revisions that
will mitigate cost inflation. Fitch expects Tcell to continue to
generate positive FCF in 2023-2026.

The company uses mainly proxy hedges but also currency and
cross-currency swaps to prevent FX fluctuations in debt
repayments.

ISSUER PROFILE

Tcell is the leading mobile network operator in Turkiye with strong
market shares in mobile, along with fibre broadband and IPTV
providing a converged product.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG
issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on
the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are
being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt              Rating           Recovery   Prior
   -----------              ------           --------   -----
Turkcell Iletisim  
Hizmetleri A.S       LT IDR  B        Affirmed          B

                     Natl LT AAA(tur) Affirmed          AAA(tur)

   senior
   unsecured         LT      B        Affirmed   RR4    B



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

BLUE 02: To Be Wound Up, Owed GBP900,000 to Unsecured Creditors
---------------------------------------------------------------
William Telford at PlymouthLive reports that a Plymouth holiday
company which ceased trading left debts of nearly GBP900,000
unpaid.

Travel agency Blue 02 Ltd, which was based in Plympton, is to be
wound up with unsecured creditors receiving just 1p for every pound
they are owed.

Blue 02 Ltd went into administration two years ago after Covid
travel restrictions meant more than GBP3 million had to be refunded
to customers, PlymouthLive recounts.  But administrators were able
to save the Blue O Two brand, by selling some business assets to a
connected company, Scuba Tours Worldwide Ltd, which shared
directors, in what is called a pre-pack deal, PlymouthLive
relates.

It meant jobs were saved and about 1,700 customers could still get
their holidays, PlymouthLive states. Scuba Tours Worldwide
continues to trade today as Blue O Two.

But administrators for Blue 02 Ltd have served notice that they
will wind up the administration this month and the company will
then be dissolved, PlymouthLive notes.  And they have revealed that
20 unsecured creditors were claiming GBP878,600 but will receive
just 1.01p in the pound -- a total of GBP8,886 will be paid,
PlymouthLive discloses.

Blue 02 Ltd was set up in 2004, trading from offices in Langage
Business Park, and at the time of its collapse into administration
employed 27 people.  It specialised in diving holidays to exotic
foreign locations such as Indonesia, Thailand and Bikini Atoll and
had arranged more than two million dives for customers.  But in
2021 the company said the UK's stringent Covid travel restrictions
made it "almost impossible" to deliver diving trips, PlymouthLive
relays.

At the time, directors said the business had been a "high growth
success story" pre-Covid but in addition to refunding millions of
pounds to holiday-makers, the financial damage caused by the
pandemic meant there was no way forward for Blue 02 Ltd and it
ceased trading on November 15, 2021, PlymouthLive relates.

According to PlymouthLive, administrators from FRP Advisory Trading
Ltd, based in Bristol, were appointed by Blue O2 Ltd's directors.
The administrators have now reported that they were able to sell a
freehold property, owned by the company, for GBP545,000 and in
total realised assets worth GBP789,415, PlymouthLive discloses.

But the company faced huge debts, PlymouthLive notes.  Barclays,
which had charges over assets including the freehold property, has
now been paid GBP557,365, but was owed GBP4.3 million in respect of
CBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme) lending, a
mortgage and Barclaycard exposure from customers who had paid
deposits to Blue 02 Ltd., PlymouthLive states.


EG GROUP: Moody's Affirms 'B3' CFR & Alters Outlook to Negative
---------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the B3 long term corporate
family rating of UK-based global independent fuel forecourt
retailer EG Group Limited (EG, EG Group or the company) and its
B3-PD probability of default rating. Concurrently, Moody's has
affirmed the B3 and Caa2 ratings on EG's first and second lien term
loans and backed senior secured instrument ratings issued by its
subsidiaries EG Finco Limited, EG Global Finance plc., EG America
LLC, EG Dutch Finco B.V. and EG Group Australia Pty Ltd. Moody's
has assigned a B3 rating to the proposed $500 million equivalent
add-on first lien backed senior secured term loan borrowed by EG
Finco Limited and EG America LLC. The outlook was changed to
negative from stable.

The rating action reflects that:

-- Weaker operating performance is impacting the company's ability
to improve its credit metrics in line with its expectations. Credit
metrics are referred to pro forma for the sale of its UK and
Ireland (UK&I) operations to ASDA (Bellis Finco PLC, B2 stable),
the sale and leaseback transaction in the US and the two non-core
asset disposals in the US, of which proceeds will and have been
used to repay debt (totalling around $4 billion). Pro-forma Moody's
adjusted gross debt/ EBITDA is expected to increase closer to 7x by
year-end along with interest cover, as measured by Moody's adjusted
EBIT/ interest expense below 1x, largely impacted by its higher
interest expense and is expected to remain around 1x over the next
12-18 months.

-- In the absence of significant improvement in earnings, the
company's ability to generate free cash flow, will be challenging
particularly given the higher interest burden faced by the company
under the new capital structure. This is as per Moody's
calculations and assuming the company's growth capex is not
curtailed further, which management has identified as a lever to
manage its cash flow.

-- Moody's had expected the remaining 2025 maturities to be
addressed by Q3 2023. The rating assumes the company successfully
executes the refinancing of the remaining 2025 maturities, which
total close to $2.7 billion following the Amend and Extend of the
Groups $3.2bn term loans to a maturity date of February 2028, which
becomes effective following completion of the UK&I disposal.

RATINGS RATIONALE

EG's B3 CFR continues to reflect its strong position as a large,
independent motor-fuel forecourt operator. The company owns
multiple networks of petrol stations, convenience stores and
foodservice outlets across the US, Europe, and Australia. The
business has grown rapidly through a series of acquisitions to
become one of the leading independent motor-fuel forecourt and
convenience stores operators across several regions. The sector
benefits from broadly stable patterns because favourable trends in
convenience shopping and foodservice largely offset gradually
falling fuel demand due to increased vehicle fuel efficiency and
rising electric vehicle penetration.

EG's B3 CFR also reflects its significant operating leverage due to
the prevalence of the company owned, company operated (COCO)
business model compared to other operating models. EG has a history
of rapid, large and debt funded acquisitions, although the pace of
external growth has materially reduced over the last few years. Its
credit metrics remain weak post the transaction with ASDA and free
cash flow is expected to be negative, per Moody's expectations.
Moody's also recognises the longer term challenge the company faces
to manage the transition to alternative fuel and the potential
investment requirements.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL & GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS  

EG's ESG Credit Impact Score of CIS-5 indicates that the rating is
lower than it would have been if ESG risk did not exist. EG's CIS-5
is driven by Moody's assessment of governance risk exposures
including an aggressive financial strategy, weak credit metrics,
and a majority private equity ownership. Governance risks are
somewhat mitigated by the progress made over the past three years
during which EG has appointed independent directors to its board,
improved internal controls and published consolidated accounts with
an unqualified opinion by its auditors since 2021. EG's high
environment risk exposure is largely driven by the company's
exposure to carbon transition risk through the longer-term trend
away from fuel consumption towards alternative fuel, for which EG
is building out its ultra-fast electric vehicle charging
infrastructure. EG's high exposure to social risk relates to
exposure to demographic and societal trends, in line with Moody's
sector heatmap for retailers and reflects EG's exposure to
structural shifts in consumer demand.

LIQUIDITY

Moody's considers EG's liquidity to be adequate, with proforma cash
on balance sheet of $177million in addition to its $378 million
revolving credit facility (RCF). Moody's expects the company to
draw on its RCF to meet its cash flow requirements. EG has a
substantial freehold portfolio valued at around $4 billion. The
ability of the company to make use of its asset portfolio as an
alternative source of liquidity was demonstrated by  the sale and
leaseback transaction in the US completed in May 2023.

EG has $2.7 billion senior secured notes maturing in 2025 issued by
EG Global Finance plc., which management needs to refinance.
Moody's assessment of liquidity is based on this being successfully
executed shortly. The company has launched its $500 million
equivalent backed senior secured first lien term loan B add-on
borrowed by EG Finco Limited and EG America LLC, which in part
starts to address this.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The B3 rating of the backed senior secured instruments is in line
with the CFR and reflects the fact that they represent most of the
debt in the capital structure. The relatively small second lien
debt is rated Caa2, reflecting its position behind the first lien
instruments in the event of a default.

RATING OUTLOOK

The negative outlook reflects EG's weakened operating performance
and weaker than expected credit metrics. In the absence of earnings
growth Moody's estimates free cash flow generation to be negative,
pressuring the rating.

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

Positive rating pressure could develop if the company is able to
address its debt maturities while at the same time reducing
leverage, as evidenced by Moody's adjusted gross debt to EBITDA,
sustained below 6.5x improving interest coverage, as measured by
adjusted EBIT / interest expense, sustainably above 1.5x, and
significant positive free cash flow generation. An upgrade would
also require the company to maintain at least adequate liquidity.

Negative rating pressure could develop if the company fails to
address its remaining 2025 maturities shortly. EG Group's ratings
could be under additional downward pressure if it is unable to grow
its EBITDA, resulting in leverage not decreasing, free cash flow
remaining negative or Moody's-adjusted EBIT/ interest expense below
1.0x for a prolonged period.

LIST OF AFFECTED RATINGS

Issuer: EG Group Limited

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Negative From Stable

Affirmations:

Probability of Default Rating, Affirmed B3-PD

LT Corporate Family Rating, Affirmed B3

Issuer: EG America LLC

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Negative From Stable

Affirmations:

Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Local Currency), Affirmed B3

BACKED Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Local Currency),
Affirmed B3

Assignments:

BACKED Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Local Currency),
Assigned B3

Issuer: EG Dutch Finco B.V.

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Negative From Stable

Affirmations:

Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Foreign Currency), Affirmed
B3

BACKED Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Foreign Currency),
Affirmed B3

Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Local Currency), Affirmed B3

BACKED Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Local Currency),
Affirmed B3

Issuer: EG Finco Limited

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Negative From Stable

Affirmations:

Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Foreign Currency), Affirmed
B3

Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Local Currency), Affirmed B3

BACKED Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Local Currency),
Affirmed B3

BACKED Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Foreign Currency),
Affirmed B3

Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Foreign Currency), Affirmed
Caa2

Assignments:

BACKED Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Foreign Currency),
Assigned B3

Issuer: EG Global Finance plc.

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Negative From Stable

Affirmations:

BACKED Senior Secured Regular Bond/Debenture (Foreign Currency),
Affirmed B3

Issuer: EG Group Australia Pty Ltd

Outlook Actions:

Outlook, Changed To Negative From Stable

Affirmations:

BACKED Senior Secured Bank Credit Facility (Local Currency),
Affirmed B3

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

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

COMPANY PROFILE

EG Group is a global retailer operating petrol stations,
convenience stores and foodservice outlets in Europe, the United
States and Australia. The group was created through the merger of
Euro Garages and European Forecourt Retail (EFR) Group in 2016. EG
has evolved through a series of acquisitions to become one of the
leading independent motor-fuel forecourt operators in Europe, the
US and Australia. The company completed in October the sale of its
UK & I operations to ASDA. Proforma for this transaction the
company reported revenue of $26 billion and company adjusted EBITDA
$1.1 billion (excluding IFRS 16) for the last LTM to June 30,
2023.

The group is headquartered in Blackburn, England and is owned
equally by funds managed by TDR Capital LLP and the two brothers
who founded Euro Garages, Mohsin and Zuber Issa.


HALL & JONES: Goes Into Voluntary Liquidation, Owes GBP150,000
--------------------------------------------------------------
Matthew Chandler at North Wales Pioneer reports that a property
management company in Llandudno has gone into voluntary
liquidation.

Hall & Jones Properties Ltd issued a winding up resolution on Sept.
29, North Wales Pioneer relates.

Lisa Ion and Mark Colman, of Leonard Curtis, a firm specialising in
insolvency matters, have been appointed as its joint liquidators,
North Wales Pioneer discloses.

According to documents listed on Companies House, the business has
an estimated debt of roughly GBP150,000, North Wales Pioneer
states.

This includes roughly GBP45,000 loaned to HM Revenue & Customs,
GBP38,200 to Lloyds Bank, and GBP30,465 to Development Bank of
Wales, North Wales Pioneer notes.

The business was established in 2008 by co-owners Richard Hall and
Elfyn Jones.


IVC ACQUISITION: Moody's Affirms 'B3' CFR, Outlook Stable
---------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the B3 corporate family
rating and the B3-PD probability of default rating of UK-based
veterinary services group IVC Acquisition Midco Ltd (IVCE or the
company). Concurrently, the rating agency has assigned B3 ratings
to the EUR and GBP denominated extended backed senior secured
instrument ratings on IVC Acquisition Ltd's first lien term loan B
tranches and first lien revolving credit facility (RCF). Moody's
has also assigned a B3 rating to the USD denominated backed senior
secured first lien term loan B issued by VetStrategy Canada
Holdings Inc (VS). The outlook on all entities is stable.

The rating action reflects that:

-- The refinancing of the VS debt within the IVCE capital
structure changes the perimeter of the rating agency's assessment
of its credit profile to a consolidated basis, increasing its scale
and diversification.

-- Organic performance has improved after a slowdown last year,
while margins reflect inflation pressures and investments into
people and platform.

-- Credit metrics are set to improve over the next 18-24 months,
however, remain stretched with Moody's adjusted debt/ EBITDA of 8x
(excluding exchangeable shares), EBITA/ interest expense just above
1x and Moody's adjusted FCF/ debt well below 5% at fiscal 2023.

-- The equity injection and further commitments from its
shareholders is credit positive, strengthening liquidity and
reducing the company's high leverage.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The B3 CFR reflects the consolidated group's credit profile,
including VS, which increases its scale by over 25% and extends
geographic diversification outside of Europe. The company has also
extended the existing debt of IVC Acquisition Ltd by a further two
years, prudently managing its maturity profile. Organic performance
has improved after a slowdown last year, with like-for-like (LfL)
growth for fiscal 2023 (September 30, 2023) at 9%, surpassing
pre-pandemic levels. Although the inflationary environment is
pressuring margins, Moody's expects management to manage its cost
base through several cost savings and efficiency initiatives that
will support EBITDA and margin growth. EBITDA growth is further
supported by strong market fundamentals. The market benefits from
steady market growth around 5-6%, driven by increased vet visits
and spend per pet. Moody's expects that the company will maintain a
good degree of resilience in a deteriorating macroeconomic
environment because elasticity in demand and price in the
veterinary services market is low.

Conversely, the CFR is constrained by (1) IVCE's high leverage of
8.0x (excluding exchangeable shares) for fiscal 2023, and although
set to decrease towards 6.5x the company has a history of
re-leveraging through debt funded acquisitions; (2) inflationary
pressures on materials and labour costs reducing margins; (3) the
company faces working capital movements from acquisitions which
introduces some volatility in an otherwise cash generative
business; and (4) increases in borrowing costs will impact free
cash flow (FCF).

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL & GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS

Governance is a key factor in IVCE's credit profile. The company
has a long track record of temporarily increasing leverage through
debt add-ons and the elevated pace of its acquisitions. This makes
the robustness of business controls paramount. Acquisition and
integration processes appear well-established but larger deals and
those in newer countries may present more risks. Social risks
pertaining to human capital are more acute in the current
macro-economic environment, in particular shortages of vets and
nurses, leading to higher personnel costs through increased use of
overtime and locums or increased wage inflation.

LIQUIDTY

Moody's expects that IVCE's liquidity will remain adequate over the
next 12-18 months. Post transaction close IVCE will have over
GBP500 million of unrestricted cash on balance sheet and full
availability of its GBP618 million backed senior secured first lien
revolving credit facility (RCF) borrowed by IVC Acquisition Ltd,
with its maturity extended to 2028. It has a net senior leverage
springing covenant, under which the company will retain ample
headroom. Given its highly acquisitive strategy, Moody's expect
that the group will draw on its RCF. The company received GBP800
million fresh equity in July 2023 and has a further GBP400 million
committed to come in in 2024, which is credit positive and supports
its liquidity position.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The ratings on the backed senior secured first lien RCF, GBP2.7
billion equivalent GBP- and Euro-denominated backed senior secured
first lien extended term loan Bs issued by IVC Acquisition Ltd and
the GBP1.0 billion new USD five-year backed senior secured first
lien term loan B under VS, are B3 in line with the CFR. This
reflects the large proportion of first lien debt within the capital
structure, as well as the high associated first lien leverage. IVCE
has a GBP238 million senior secured second lien facility and a
Canadian dollar-denominated GBP128 million equivalent second lien
facility ranking behind in the event of security enforcement.

COVENANTS

Moody's has reviewed the marketing draft terms for the amended and
restated credit facilities. Notable terms include the following:

Guarantor coverage will be at least 80% of consolidated EBITDA
(determined in accordance with the agreement) and include all
companies representing 5% or more of consolidated EBITDA. Security
will be granted over key shares, material bank accounts and key
receivables, and floating charges will be granted in England and
Wales and where otherwise available, subject to the agreed security
principles.

Unlimited pari passu debt is permitted up to a secured net leverage
ratio (SNLR) of 5.50x, and unlimited total debt is permitted
subject to a 2x fixed charge coverage ratio. The pari passu debt
may be incurred by way of incremental facilities.  Any restricted
payments are permitted if total leverage is 6.0x or lower, and any
repayment of subordinated debt is permitted if SNLR is 4.0x or
lower. The obligation to repay asset sale proceeds in full (subject
to exceptions) is not subject to a leverage test.

Adjustments to consolidated EBITDA include the full run rate of
cost savings and synergies, capped at 25% of consolidated EBITDA
and believed to be realisable within 12 months of the relevant
event.

The proposed terms, and the final terms may be materially
different.

RATING OUTLOOK

The stable outlook on IVCE's ratings reflects Moody's expectation
that the company will continue to record organic growth and will
remain free cash flow positive. There is an expectation for the
company decrease leverage, however it has a track record of
re-leveraging through debt funded acquisitions. The stable outlook
also assumes that IVCE will maintain adequate liquidity, including
substantial cash balances and availability under its revolving
credit facility.

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

IVCE's rating could be upgraded should (1) the company record solid
like-for-like revenue and EBITDA growth along with a successful
track record of acquisitions' integration and synergy realisation,
(2) Moody's-adjusted gross debt/EBITDA approaches 6.5x sustainably,
(3) IVCE generate and maintain positive FCF generation with
Moody's-adjusted FCF/debt sustained toward 5% and Moody's adjusted
EBITA/ interest increases towards 1.5x.

IVCE's ratings could be under downward pressure if (1) organic
revenue and EBITDA growth softened toward zero, or (2) Moody's
adjusted gross debt/EBITDA failed to reduce sustainably toward 8.5x
or (3) Moody's adjusted EBITA/interest expense reduced to below
1.0x, or (4) FCF turned negative for a prolonged period or
liquidity weakened.

The Moody's adjusted-debt used in the guidance excludes the
exchangeable shares.  

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

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

CORPORATE PROFILE

IVC Evidensia, based near Bristol, England, is the largest
veterinary services group in Europe, with presence in 20 countries,
including the UK and Ireland, Canada, the Nordics and Baltics, the
Benelux, DACH countries, France and the Iberianpeninsula. At the
end of fiscal 2023, IVCE had around 2,500 sites and generated
around GBP3.4 billion of revenue and GBP605 million of EBITDA
before exceptional items.

Financial investor EQT has ultimate control over the company. It
also has Nestle S.A. (Aa3 stable), Silver Lake and Berkshire
Partners as financial sponsors, as well as other institutional
investors as significant minority investors.


ORIFLAME INVESTMENT: Fitch Lowers LongTerm IDR to 'CCC'
-------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Oriflame Investment Holding Plc's
(Oriflame) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CCC' from
'B-'. Fitch has also downgraded its senior secured debt to 'CCC-'
from 'B-'. The Recovery Rating has been revised to 'RR5' from
'RR4'.

The downgrade reflects its view of continuing severe structural
weakness of Oriflame's direct selling business model in combination
with lack of clarity over the company's turnaround plan. Even
assuming a partial restoration of its sharply contracted earnings,
Fitch expects the current capital structure to remain
unsustainable.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Compromised Business Model: Fitch views Oriflame's direct selling
business model as compromised, which is reflected in continuously
declining self-employed sales representatives since mid-2021. This
has resulted in business volumes and revenues contracting by over
25% in 3Q23. Fitch forecasts an even sharper structural
profitability decline to 4% in 2023 from an already severely
reduced 9% in 2022, despite efforts to maintain a pipeline of
innovative products and to keep investing in digitalisation.

Fitch believes that Oriflame's ability to recruit and retain sales
representatives is being massively challenged by improved
macroeconomic conditions and increased competition, particularly in
emerging markets.

Uncertain Turnaround Prospects: Business turnaround prospects are
uncertain as Oriflame seeks to address its sales and profitability,
on top of competitive challenges and inflation-driven margin
pressures. Its turnaround measures also lack visibility over their
detail and associated cost, particularly in rebuilding its sales
representatives network that is instrumental to driving business
volumes. Given the complexity of the operational restructuring,
Fitch believes it could take at least 12-24 months before
meaningful operational improvement would become visible.

Unsustainable Capital Structure: Oriflame's 'CCC' IDR reflects an
unsustainable capital structure with EBITDA net leverage projected
to remain at double digits to debt maturity in May 2026, and EBITDA
interest cover of just around 1.0x. These credit metrics make
refinancing extremely challenging and, unless a compelling
near-term operational turnaround is achieved, will likely lead to
debt restructuring.

Volatile Free Cash Flows: Fitch expects free cash flows (FCF) to
remain volatile, due to material uncertainties over the pace and
extent of operational improvement. Weak trading performance, in
combination with working-capital (WC) outflows and the unexpected
resumption of dividend payments of EUR35 million, will lead to a
negative FCF margin of 10% in 2023.

FCF could become neutral from 2024, assuming some EBITDA recovery
based on cost optimisation, contained WC needs supported by lower
inventory levels, and the absence of dividend distributions. While
Oriflame's credit profile in the past benefitted from its
asset-light business model and largely variable cost base, an
immediate comprehensive overhaul of the business model is key to
restoring an intrinsically cash generative profile.

Tightened but Sufficient Liquidity Headroom: Oriflame's freely
available liquidity has markedly reduced in 2023, but remains
sufficient with EUR80 million available under its committed
revolving credit facility (RCF) and EUR70 million of
Fitch-restricted cash. Oriflame's sale of the foreign-exchange (FX)
part of its cross-currency interest rate swaps in 3Q23 on its
USD550 million bond to take advantage of the swaps' positive market
value improved short term liquidity by EUR13 million. While
near-term liquidity is adequate for debt service, market and
turnaround challenges may quickly exhaust the remaining liquidity
headroom.

Shareholder-Friendly Financial Policy: Fitch views the
reinstatement of EUR30 million dividend payment in early 2023 amid
substantial operational challenges as a sign of an aggressive
financial policy, despite the payment being permitted under
Oriflame's credit documentation. Further shareholder distributions
would add more pressure to its already high leverage metrics and
weak credit profile.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Fitch rates Oriflame using its Ratings Navigator Framework for
Consumer Companies. Oriflame's closest sector peer is Natura
Cosmeticos S.A. (BB/Positive) as it also operates in the
direct-selling beauty market. Natura has stronger business and
financial profiles than Oriflame, which are reflected in its higher
rating.

Like Oriflame, Natura is geographically diversified with exposure
to emerging markets but benefits from greater diversity across
sales channels and a substantially larger scale in the sector as
the fourth-largest pure beauty company globally after the
acquisition of Avon Products Inc. Natura's downgrade in June 2020
reflected the challenges of integrating Avon and from the pandemic
in Brazil. An equity injection has significantly improved leverage
metrics, resulting in the November 2020 upgrade back to 'BB'.

Oriflame is rated lower than THG PLC (B+/Negative), which operates
in the beauty and well-being consumer market. THG is smaller in
scale than Oriflame, as it operates mostly in the UK and Europe,
but it is not exposed to FX risks, although THG's revenue is
growing rapidly, organically and through M&A. Unlike Oriflame's,
THG's strategy is based on bolt-on, increasingly equity-funded,
M&A.

No Country Ceiling, parent-subsidiary linkage or operating
environment aspects apply to Oriflame's ratings.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's Key Assumptions within Its Rating Case for the Issuer:

- Revenue to decline around 20% in 2023 and around 2% in 2024,
followed by low-single-digit increase from 2025 on price-mix
effects and volumes recovery

- EBITDA margin to fall to 4.2% in 2023, before recovering to
around 8% by end-2026, based on revenue growth and cost
improvements

- Capex at around EUR8 million a year until end-2026

- No dividend distribution from 2024

- No M&A over the next four years

RECOVERY ANALYSIS

The recovery analysis assumes that Oriflame would be considered a
going concern (GC) in bankruptcy and that the company would be
reorganised rather than liquidated. Fitch has assumed a 10%
administrative claim.

In its bespoke recovery analysis, Fitch estimates GC EBITDA
available to creditors of around EUR75 million, which Fitch has
lowered from EUR95 million based on material reduction of the sale
representatives network and disposal of its Russian operations. The
GC EBITDA reflects Fitch's view of a sustainable,
post-reorganisation EBITDA level, which would allow Oriflame to
retain a viable business model.

An enterprise value (EV)/EBITDA multiple of 4.0x is used to
calculate a post-reorganisation valuation and is around half of its
2019 public-to-private transaction multiple of 7.2x.

Oriflame's super senior EUR100 million RCF is assumed to be fully
drawn on default and ranks senior to its senior secured notes of
EUR756 million (previously EUR707.5 million - the increase in value
is due to the FX hedging on the US dollar notes no longer being in
place). The waterfall analysis generated a ranked recovery for its
EUR250 million and USD550 million senior secured notes in the 'RR5'
band, indicating a 'CCC-' rating. The waterfall analysis generated
recovery computation (WGRC) output percentage is 22%, based on
current metrics and assumptions, down from 32% previously.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to an
Upgrade:-

Operational turnaround that supports a near-term EBITDA recovery
towards EUR70 million (Fitch-defined) and at least neutral FCF
generation

- Improving liquidity headroom with a largely available RCF

- Improving credit metrics trend

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

- Ineffective or weakly implemented operational turnaround leading
to continuing decline in revenues or EBITDA

- Persistently negative FCF exhausting remaining liquidity
headroom

- Increased likelihood of a debt restructuring that Fitch would
view as a distressed debt exchange

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Limited Liquidity: Fitch views liquidity as limited based on its
forecast end-2023 freely available cash balance of around EUR5
million (after adjusting for EUR70 million restricted cash required
for operating purposes). As of October 2023, Oriflame had drawn
down EUR20 million from the RCF, leaving an available balance of
EUR80 million.

Oriflame has no near-term maturities with the RCF and senior notes
coming due in 2025 and 2026, respectively, while interest rates are
hedged.

ISSUER PROFILE

Oriflame is a beauty manufacturer and direct selling company with a
presence in more than 60 countries.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless
otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG
issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on
the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are
being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not
inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the
relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision.

   Entity/Debt             Rating          Recovery   Prior
   -----------             ------          --------   -----
Oriflame Investment
Holding Plc          LT IDR CCC  Downgrade            B-

   senior secured    LT     CCC- Downgrade   RR5      B-


SAFESTYLE UK: Anglian Windows to Buy Assets From Administrators
---------------------------------------------------------------
Business Sale reports that Anglian Home Improvements (trading as
Anglian Windows Ltd) has agreed a deal to acquire certain Safestyle
UK assets from administrators.

Double glazing manufacturer and retailer Safestyle fell into
administration last month amid a number of pressures including cost
inflation, economic uncertainty and weak consumer demand, Business
Sale recounts.

Rick Harrison and Will Wright from Interpath Advisory were
appointed as joint administrators to the Bradford-based company on
October 30, 2023, and have now agreed a deal to sell the company's
order book and certain assets to Anglian Home Improvements,
Business Sale discloses.

Terms of the agreement are still to be finalised, as well as
certain legal requirements, Business Sale notes.  For the time
being, the joint administrators and Anglian Home Improvements have
entered into a sub-contractor agreement that will enable Anglian to
fulfil customer orders, Business Sale states.

The agreement follows the announcement that customer orders would
not be fulfilled by Safestyle while it was in administration and
that the joint administrators were seeking to secure a deal to sell
certain business and assets to a third-party firm, Business Sale
relays.

The interim sub-contractor arrangement means that Anglian will be
able to arrange completion or fulfilment of orders with customers,
including those who were mid-way through installations or had
booked a Safestyle UK installation, Business Sale says.  The joint
administrators have said that priority will be given to customers
part-way through their installations, Business Sale relates.


SQUIBB GROUP: CVA Vote Delayed, Nov. 21 Virtual Meeting Set
-----------------------------------------------------------
Grant Prior at Construction Enquirer reports that a vote by
creditors over the future of demolition specialist Squibb Group has
been delayed.

According to Construction Enquirer, creditors owed more than GBP23
million were due to vote on the firm's plans for a Company
Voluntary Arrangement on Nov. 9.

But CVA organiser Begbies Traynor has shifted the virtual meeting
back to Nov. 21, Construction Enquirer discloses.

The CVA proposals by Begbies Traynor show GBP23.3 million owed to
more than 300 creditors by the group which had a turnover of
GBP30.9 million for the year to January 31, 2022, Construction
Enquirer states.

Unsecured creditors in the supply chain are owed GBP13.8 million,
Construction Enquirer notes.

Suppliers and subcontractors owed money are being asked to agree
the CVA which could see payments of 65p in the pound on debts
compared to receiving just 1p in the pound if Squibb goes into
liquidation, according to Construction Enquirer.

The five-year CVA deal would see Squibb make monthly payments of
between GBP100,000 to GBP160,000 as it continued trading,
Construction Enquirer relays.

The company struck a deal with HMRC last year for extra time to pay
tax arrears of GBP4.4 million but a request for a further extension
was rejected and the tax authorities have issued a winding-up
petition which is due to be heard later this month, Construction
Enquirer discloses.

Three quarters or more in value of creditors need to agree for the
CVA to pass, Construction Enquirer notes.




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

[*] BOOK REVIEW: The First Junk Bond
------------------------------------
Author: Harlan D. Platt
Publisher: Beard Books
Softcover: 236 pages
List Price: $34.95
http://www.beardbooks.com/beardbooks/the_first_junk_bond.html

Only one in ten failed businesses is equal to the task of
reorganizing itself and satisfying its prior debts in some fashion.
This engrossing book follows the extraordinary journey of Texas
International, Inc. (known by its New York Stock Exchange stock
symbol, TEI), through its corporate growth and decline, debt
exchange offers, and corporate renaissance as Phoenix Resource
Companies, Inc. As Harlan Platt puts it, TEI "flourished for a
brief luminous moment but then crashed to earth and was consumed."
TEI's story features attention-grabbing characters, petroleum
exploration innovations, financial innovations, and lots of risk
taking.

The First Junk Bond was originally published in 1994 and received
solidly favorable reviews. The then-managing director of High Yield
Securities Research and Economics for Merrill Lynch said that the
book "is a richly detailed case study. Platt integrates corporate
history, industry fundamentals, financial analysis and bankruptcy
law on a scale that has rarely, if ever, been attempted." A retired
U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge noted, "[i]t should appeal as
supplementary reading to students in both business schools and law
schools. Even those who practice.in the areas of business law,
accounting and investments can obtain a greater understanding and
perspective of their professional expertise."

"TEI's saga is noteworthy because of the company's resilience and
ingenuity in coping with the changing environment of the 1980s, its
execution of innovative corporate strategies that were widely
imitated and its extraordinary trading history," says the author.
TEI issued the first junk bond. In 1986 it achieved the largest
percentage gain on the NYSE, and in 1987 suffered the largest
percentage loss. It issued one of the first bonds secured by a
physical commodity and then later issued one of the first PIK
(payment in kind) bonds. It was one of the first vulture investors,
to be targeted by vulture investors later on. Its president was
involved in an insider trading scandal. It innovated strip
financing. It engaged in several workouts to sell off operations
and raise cash to reduce debt. It completed three exchange offers
that converted debt in to equity.

In 1977, TEI, primarily an oil production outfit, had had a
reprieve from bankruptcy through Michael Milken's first ever junk
bond. The fresh capital had allowed TEI to acquire a controlling
interest of Phoenix Resources Company, a part of King Resources
Company. TEI purchased creditors' claims against King that were
subsequently converted into stock under the terms of King's
reorganization plan. Only two years later, cash deficiencies forced
Phoenix to sell off its non-energy businesses. Vulture investors
tried to buy up outstanding TEI stock. TEI sold off its own
non-energy businesses, and focused on oil and gas exploration. An
enormous oil discovery in Egypt made the future look grand. The
value of TEI stock soared. Somehow, however, less than two years
later, TEI was in bankruptcy. What a ride!

All told, the book has 63 tables and 32 figures on all aspects of
TEI's rise, fall, and renaissance. Businesspeople will find
especially absorbing the details of how the company's bankruptcy
filing affected various stakeholders, the bankruptcy negotiation
process, and the alternative post-bankruptcy financial structures
that were considered. Those interested in the oil and gas industry
will find the book a primer on the subject, with an appendix
devoted to exploration and drilling, and another on oil and gas
accounting.

Dr. Harlan D. Platt is a professor of Finance at D'Amore-McKim
School of Business at Northeastern University. He is a member of
the Board of Directors of Millennium Chemicals Inc. and is on the
advisory board of the Millennium Liquidating Trust. He served as
the Associate Editor-Finance for the Journal of Business Research.
He received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, and holds a
B.A. degree from Northwestern University.

This book may be ordered by calling 888-563-4573 or by visiting
www.beardbooks.com or through your favorite Internet or local
bookseller.



                           *********


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 * * *