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

                          E U R O P E

          Thursday, November 23, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 235

                           Headlines



F R A N C E

CHROME HOLDCO: S&P Downgrades ICR to 'B-', Outlook Stable


G E R M A N Y

WEPA HYGIENEPRODUKTE: Moody's Ups CFR to Ba3 & Sr. Sec. Bonds to B1
WEPA HYGIENEPRODUKTE: S&P Affirms 'B+' ICR, Alters Outlook to Pos.


I R E L A N D

ADAGIO X EUR: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F-R Notes
AURIUM CLO XI: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to EUR12MM Class F Notes
PENTA CLO 15: S&P Assigns Prelim B- (sf) Rating to Cl. F Notes


I T A L Y

LUTECH SPA: S&P Assigns 'B' Issuer Credit Rating, Outlook Stable


L U X E M B O U R G

ARD FINANCE: Moody's Affirms 'B3' CFR & Alters Outlook to Negative


N E T H E R L A N D S

QWIC: Bankruptcy to Impact VDL Automatic Frame Production


P O R T U G A L

TRANSPORTES AEREOS: S&P Upgrades LT ICR to 'BB-', Outlook Stable


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

BRADY CONSTRUCTION: Owes More Than GBP4 Million to Creditors
LANEBROOK MORTGAGE 2023-1: Moody's Assigns B2 Rating to F Notes
LANEBROOK MORTGAGE 2023-1: S&P Assigns 'B-' Rating to Cl. F Notes
SQUIBB GROUP: Set to Go Into Administration
SSB LAW: Set to Go Into Administration Due to Financial Woes

WELCOME TO YORKSHIRE: Wakefield Council to Probe Cost of Collapse

                           - - - - -


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F R A N C E
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CHROME HOLDCO: S&P Downgrades ICR to 'B-', Outlook Stable
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S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on
Chrome HoldCo SAS, Cerba's parent, and issue ratings on the senior
secured debt to 'B-' from 'B'. The recovery rating on the debt
remains '3' (50%-70%; rounded estimate: 55%). S&P also lowered its
issue ratings on the company's senior unsecured notes to 'CCC' from
'CCC+'; our recovery rating on the debt remains '6' (0%-30%;
rounded estimate: 0%).

The stable outlook reflects S&P's view that Cerba will improve its
operating performance while integrating its latest acquisitions.
This will lead to stronger margins and its S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA ratio decreasing to 8.9x at
end-2024 and toward 8.0x in 2025, while maintaining adequate
liquidity.

S&P said, "France-based laboratory Cerba Healthcare's S&P Global
Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin weakened significantly in 2023
versus our expectations. This was driven by persistent inflationary
pressure on its operating performance and the anticipated synergies
stemming from past acquisitions that are yet to materialize. Amid
high debt, this leads us to expect a slower-than-expected
deleveraging trajectory.

"The reduction in volumes across all divisions (excluding COVID-19
testing) is steeper than we previously anticipated, owing to a
relatively tougher regulatory framework in France for the next
three years. As we anticipated, volume drops were higher in 2023.
This was due to both the lower level of PCR test sales that we
expected, but also a reduction in other tests. We now expect sales
to land at close EUR1.9 billion in 2023 versus our previous base
case of EUR2.0 billion in our forecast published in December 2022.
This is notably due to unexpected lower performances in the
international and clinical trials and research labs division."

The company will now deal with a new triennial plan announced by
the French Ministry of Health to control overall spending, after a
very supportive policy during the pandemic. As a result, the total
budget from the health care authority dedicated to reimbursed lab
testing will increase by only 0.4% annually until the end of 2026.
This gives S&P visibility on the labs segment, and is in line with
pre-pandemic years. However, to grow above 0.4%, the company will
need to gain market share, notably to the detriment of small
independent labs, while pushing more volume on nonreimbursed tests
that are also more profitable.

Additionally, the group continues its transformation to be present
across the entire value chain thanks to its diversification outside
of routine testing, enabling it to partner with the entire health
care services industry, which includes research and labs, public
and private hospitals, nursing homes, and veterinary clinics, among
others; this should ultimately help it to recover topline growth.
S&P considers that Cerba should naturally outperform the market in
2024 and 2025 with sales growth of 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively.
This is thanks to its size and diversified profile in terms of
testing capabilities.

S&P said, "Cerba's profit margins will be materially lower than we
expected in 2023.This is despite our previous anticipation of small
margin shrinkage for 2023, caused by a decrease in very profitable
PCR testing. Inflation is pressuring margins more than we expected
this year, therefore we forecast the EBITDA margin will pick up to
28.5% in 2025.

"We now estimate the company's adjusted EBITDA margin at 23.0% in
2023, lower than our previous forecasts. This is on the back of a
challenging operating environment owing to inflation, and to some
extent lower volumes pressuring sales versus the forecasts we
published in December 2022. In our view, short- to medium-term
economic challenges will impair all divisions, notably due to lower
sales levels as well as the necessary restructuring costs to fully
integrate and successfully streamline the acquisitions Cerba made
during the pandemic while implementing further cost savings.

"More importantly, inflationary pressure is more pronounced than we
previously anticipated, which is driving Cerba's cost base
upward--notably due to the high level of full-time employees (FTEs)
in the workforce. Cerba might take cost-cutting measures to
optimize its FTE workforce during 2024 and cope with the expected
lower volume of testing versus that in 2022 and 2023. Again, the
group reported it will now focus on organic growth while unlocking
cost synergies on its latest acquisitions that have not yet been
fully integrated. As such, we anticipate a pick-up in Cerba's
adjusted EBITDA margin to 26.5% in 2024 after significantly
dropping to 23% in 2023. We anticipate that all the above-mentioned
initiatives will allow Cerba's margin to gradually increase to
28.5% by 2025.

"We anticipate Cerba's underdelivered clinical trials and research
activities versus our December 2022 base case will further pressure
margins in both 2023 and 2024.We previously anticipated that the
clinical and research segment will offset Cerba's muted growth in
2023 and 2024, as this segment has historically been a growth
driver. A tough environment in the virology segment, coupled with a
shift in demand from pandemic-related studies to other therapeutic
areas, and from antivirals to vaccines, took place in 2023.
Therefore, we expect the decline in margins for 2023 and 2024 to be
more abrupt than originally anticipated.

The pandemic no longer being treated as a public health emergency
triggered the early termination or nonstart of all COVID-19-related
laboratory research. Similarly, the increase in cost of funding due
to global interest rate hikes has heavily penalized biotech
funding, which was a growth driver for this division. S&P said, "As
a result, we think that Cerba's backlog, which was well composed
with COVID-19-related research, was significantly hit and that the
segment will lag our expectations for both 2023 and 2024. However,
the company is actively working on replenishing its backlog. It has
communicated that, as of June 2023, the backlog stood at EUR490
million, which should materialize in its topline growth during the
second half of 2024 and 2025."

S&P said, "Given our EBITDA margin trajectory, we expect Cerba's
deleveraging path in 2024 and 2025 to be slower than before. In our
previous base case, we forecast leverage to peak at 7.8x in 2023,
driven by COVID-19-testing fading away and lower margins. Our
current forecast points toward a ratio of debt to EBITDA increasing
above 10x by year end. However, this results from
lower-than-expected volumes across all segments, inflationary
pressures, and a new regulatory framework for the next three years
that exert pressure on margins. In addition, potential
acquisitions, not factored into our projections, could delay
deleveraging. We now expect deleveraging to below 9x in 2024
(versus 7.8x in our previous base case) and to close to 8x in 2025
(versus 7.0x-7.5x). As this is significantly weaker, we no longer
view these credit metrics as in line with a 'B' rating.

"We expect a significant deterioration in EBITDA interest coverage
and FOCF to debt compared with our baseline projection in December
2022.We expect EBITDA interest coverage to decrease to 1.9x in
2023, versus 5.2x in 2022, owing to lower EBITDA levels and a
higher interest burden. Interest paid increased to EUR233 million
in 2023 from EUR197 million in 2022, while profitability is also
lower than we previously expected. However, we anticipate EBITDA
interest coverage will remain at this level despite an expected
rebound in absolute EBITDA of about EUR514 million in 2024 compared
to EUR438 million in 2023. The latter is driven by absolute cash
interest that should also increase, translating into close to
EUR249 million to be paid in 2024. We anticipate FOCF will remain
thin but positive at about EUR4 million in 2023, which would
represent 0.1% of total debt, due to an assumed reduction in total
capital expenditure (capex) to EUR80 million versus EUR192 million
last year. Weaker interest coverage ratios, elevated leverage, and
a relatively constrained FOCF to debt ratio are currently more
commensurate with a 'B-' rating.

"We still view Cerba's liquidity as adequate for the next 12
months. In our view, liquidity sources exceed uses by more than
1.2x because the group has EUR86.6 million in cash as of June 2023,
about EUR146 million of funds from operations (FFO), and about
EUR270 million available under its revolving credit facility (RCF).
We believe Cerba can effectively handle its intra-year working
capital requirements, capex, possible acquisitions, and interest
payments over the next year. We also view positively the lack of
significant debt maturities until the term loan B matures in 2028.
Even though the RCF is 40% drawn, we anticipate the group will
maintain sufficient room to meet its covenant test requirements. We
also view the group as reasonably protected against interest rate
fluctuations, since 80% of its total debt is at fixed rates."

The recent change in governance remains in line with the group's
willingness and strategy to focus on medical innovation. Cerba has
recently announced the departure of its CEO, Jérôme Thill, who
will be succeeded by Emmanuel Ligner starting March 2024. This
shift in governance aligns seamlessly with Cerba's strategic
direction, reflecting a heightened emphasis on research endeavors.
By selecting a new CEO with a proven background in health care,
Cerba aims to steer its transition strategy, prioritizing the
advancement of medical innovation over routine activities.

The stable outlook mirrors on S&P's expectation that Cerba's
operating performance will improve, and profitability will recover
to adjusted EBITDA margins of 26.5%-28.5% over 2024-2025. Its base
case also reflects that management will pursue its integration
trajectory from its latest acquisitions and deliver synergies while
substantially reducing the pace and size of new mergers and
acquisitions (M&A).

S&P said, "We forecast adjusted EBITDA of least EUR438 million in
2023 and above this level in 2024, such that financial leverage
will remain around 8.1x-8.9x both in 2024 and 2025. We also expect
stronger positive FOCF after lease payments in the next 12-18
months.

"We could lower the ratings in the next 12 months if the margin
recovery is slower than anticipated, owing to a lower-than-expected
rebound in the specialty testing clinical and research segments,
coupled with an inability to execute cost savings. Additionally,
the group's inability to successfully restructure its newly
acquired lab network might lead to profitability pressure." The
latter could result in:

-- The entity's capital structure becoming unsustainable in the
long term due to an inability to post profitable growth in line
with our expectations.

-- Liquidity weakening materially and leading to a liquidity
crisis.

S&P said, "We could take a positive rating action if adjusted debt
to EBITDA fell sustainably below 7.0x and FOCF generation became
strongly positive. This could occur if the group significantly
improves its profitability, and successfully delivers cost savings
and synergies from the recent acquisitions. Additionally, a rebound
in the EBITDA margin will also be tied to the company's ability to
fully replenish its backlog on the clinical and research division.

"Governance factors are a moderately negative consideration in our
credit rating analysis of Chrome Holdco SAS (Cerba), as is the case
for most rated entities owned by private-equity sponsors. We
believe the company's highly leveraged financial risk profile
points to corporate decision-making that prioritizes the interests
of the controlling owners. This also reflects the generally finite
holding periods and a focus on maximizing shareholder returns.

"Environmental and social factors have had no material influence on
our credit rating analysis of Cerba. As a European diagnostic
laboratory, the company is playing a crucial role in helping to
detect and prevent health issues by offering biology testing to a
large patient base. Positively, we note that diagnostic
laboratories played a strong role during the pandemic by providing
COVID-19 testing."




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G E R M A N Y
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WEPA HYGIENEPRODUKTE: Moody's Ups CFR to Ba3 & Sr. Sec. Bonds to B1
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Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the long term corporate
family rating of the German tissue producer WEPA Hygieneprodukte
GmbH to Ba3 from B1 and the probability of default rating to Ba3-PD
from B1-PD. Concurrently, Moody's has upgraded the instrument
rating on the EUR600 million guaranteed senior secured bonds
maturing in 2026 and 2027 to B1 from B2. The rating outlook remains
stable.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating action reflects a significant recovery in WEPA's credit
metrics. The group's profitability is now exceptionally high, as
Moody's expect Moody's adjusted EBITDA margin in LTM Sep 2023 to be
around 18%, which based on still inflated sales, results in over
EUR300 million absolute EBITDA. In the previous record year 2020,
the group's EBITDA was EUR184 million. Moody's adjusted gross
leverage is expected to have declined below 2.5x in Q3 2023, which
is likely the trough level in the current cycle. The previous peak
in leverage, 10.6x, occurred in Q1 2022 and followed a previous
trough of 3.5x in Q2 2020. While external shocks in the last couple
of years were admittedly extreme and the company's action plan and
guidance points to lower volatility in the future, the swings in
profitability and metrics will likely remain significant and
constrain WEPA's credit profile.

Previously targeting a 12-13% EBITDA margin, WEPA has now revised
the target up to 13-14%. Higher and less volatile profitability
compared to the last two years is expected to result from the
company's strategic reorientation towards value over volume growth,
reduced price adaptation cycles and objectives to reduce exposure
to virgin pulp and increase self-sufficiency in energy, further
supported by a comprehensive hedging strategy.

The change in targeted profitability is also accompanied by a
downward revision of financial leverage. The company has tightened
its target net leverage corridor to 2x - 3x from 2.5x - 3.5x
previously. Moreover, it is comfortable with keeping the leverage
below 2x (1.6x in Q3 2023) and not using it for higher shareholder
return or large debt-funded capex or M&A as an extra buffer against
market volatility.

Moody's expect the profitability level to decline towards 12-13% in
2024, reflecting price adaptation to the lower level of input
costs. However, the rating will likely experience negative pressure
again should WEPA be unable to keep the margin within the 11% - 15%
range. The revised net leverage guidance translates broadly to 3x -
4.5x Moody's adjusted gross leverage, including off-balance sheet
receivables-based financing and cash balance. This is consistent
with Moody's requirements for the Ba3 rating category. However,
large deviations from the target range, as was the case in 2021,
will likely result in rating changes.

WEPA's weak track record of cash generation over the past decade is
a concern. WEPA's investments during 2013-2022 in the form of capex
(Moody's adjusted EUR790 million) and spending on acquisitions
(EUR156 million) far exceeded its cash earnings (Moody's adjusted
CFO EUR590 million). Nevertheless, the company distributed EUR116
million of dividends to its parent company WEPA SE, which
re-invested a large share of it into the group outside the
restricted group around WEPA Hygieneprodukte GmbH. The situation
reversed sharply in 2023 when the company generated EUR133 million
(Moody's adjusted free cash flow) alone in the first half-year.
WEPA believes that it has now achieved significant market share and
relevance for its customers and can be more selective on
investments going forward. WEPA targets consistently positive FCF
generation in the future while maintaining a dividend policy that
foresees a payout ratio of 33% of net income. A shift to a more
aggressive growth strategy or shareholder remuneration, creating a
prolonged period of negative free cash flow, will likely lead to a
rating reversal.    

The rating is mainly supported by (1) the group's leading market
position in the production of private-label consumer tissue
products, which benefit from fairly stable demand; (2) long
relationships and strong ties with customers, including joint
product development; (3) strategically located good-quality assets,
which are close to customers and limit transportation costs; (4)
focus on continuous efficiency improvements, including risk
management for raw material fluctuations; and (5) tightened
financial policy that targets reported net debt/EBITDA of 2x -3x
versus 2.5x – 3.5x previously (1.6x in Q3 2023).

The rating is primarily constrained by (1) WEPA's susceptibility to
volatile input costs, which has resulted in a high level of
volatility in its credit metrics in the past; (2) limited
geographical diversification, with operations mainly in mature
Western European markets, and a relatively narrow product portfolio
compared with larger peers, such as Essity Aktiebolag (Essity, Baa1
stable); (3) risks of profitability erosion due to downwards
pricing pressure or sudden increase in energy or other input costs;
(4) relatively weak track record of positive free cash flow (FCF)
generation over the past decade; and (5) some customer
concentration, with a few large customers having significant
pricing power.

RATIONALE FOR STABLE OUTLOOK

The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectation that WEPA's credit
metrics would remain adequate for the Ba3 rating category. This
includes Moody's adjusted gross leverage, which Moody's expect to
stay within 3.5x – 4.5x range. The company's more conservative
financial management will help buffer the inherent earnings
volatility. However, any signs of management's failure to sustain
an EBITDA margin (Moody's adjusted) within the 11% -15% range could
exert downward pressure on the rating.

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

Positive rating pressure could arise if:

-- Material improvement of the business profile with a clear
evidence of reduced earnings volatility;

-- Moody's-adjusted gross debt/ EBITDA, including securitisation,
below 3.5x on a sustained basis;

-- Moody's-adjusted EBITDA margin above 15% on a sustained basis;

-- Positive free cash flow generation, though expansion capex may
lead to limited periods of negative free cash flow.

Conversely, negative rating pressure could arise if:

-- Moody's-adjusted gross debt/ EBITDA, including securitisation,
above 4.5x on a sustained basis;

-- Moody's-adjusted EBITDA margin below 11% on a sustained basis.

-- Shift to a more aggressive growth strategy, resulting in weaker
credit metrics or liquidity, or both.

LIQUIDITY

WEPA's liquidity has improved and is adequate. Cash sources consist
of EUR99 million of cash on balance sheet as of September 2023,
further supported by the fully available EUR150 million revolving
credit facility (RCF) maturing in December 2026. The company's ABS
facility maturing in June 2027 is an additional source of funds.
The facility has been refinanced in 2022 and its maximum financing
volume has been increased to EUR220 million, of which EUR145
million have been utilized as of Q3 2023. In the next 12-18 months
Moody's expect WEPA to generate positive FCF in a range of EUR20-50
million.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATION

The B1 rating on the EUR600 million guaranteed senior secured notes
is one notch below the group's CFR. The rating on this instrument
reflects its junior ranking behind the EUR150 million super senior
RCF and Moody's assumption of preferred treatment for trade
payables in a going-concern scenario.

The RCF and the guaranteed senior secured notes share the same
collateral package, consisting of materially all of the group's
assets, as well as upstream guarantees from most of the group's
operating subsidiaries, representing a substantial share of assets
and EBITDA. However, RCF lenders benefit from priority treatment in
a default scenario because their claims have a priority right of
payment before any remaining proceeds are distributed to the
holders of the guaranteed senior secured notes.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Paper and
Forest Products published in December 2021.

COMPANY PROFILE

Headquartered in Arnsberg, Germany, WEPA Hygieneprodukte GmbH
(WEPA) is among the leading producers and suppliers of tissue paper
products in Europe. The company focuses on private-label consumer
tissue products, which generate around 90% of its group sales, with
the remainder generated primarily from tissue solutions for
Professional applications. The company operates 22 paper machines
and over 80 converting lines in 13 production sites across Europe
and has around 4,000 employees. WEPA generated around EUR1.9
billion revenue in the 12 months that ended in September 2023. The
company operates in Europe, with an established footprint in DACH,
Italy, Benelux, France, Poland and the UK.    

WEPA HYGIENEPRODUKTE: S&P Affirms 'B+' ICR, Alters Outlook to Pos.
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S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook on German
tissue-manufacturer WEPA Hygieneprodukte GmbH (Wepa) to positive
from stable and affirmed the 'B+' long-term issuer credit rating.

S&P also affirmed the 'B+' issue rating on the group's EUR200
million floating-rate notes maturing in 2026, as well as the EUR400
million fixed-rate notes maturing in 2027, maintaining the '4'
recovery rating on the notes.

S&P said, "The positive outlook reflects our expectation that the
more prudent financial policy and robust operating performance will
support deleveraging, with S&P Global ratings-adjusted leverage
approaching 2.3x by year-end 2023 and remaining below 3.5x in
2024.

"The outlook revision to positive stems from Wepa's resilient
performance during the first nine months of 2023 and our
expectation of leverage remaining below 3.5x in 2024. In the first
nine months of 2023, Wepa was able to largely maintain the price
increases passed on to customers in 2022, to mitigate surging pulp
and energy costs. Contrarily to our previous expectations of more
rapid pricing revisions, prices only moderately declined during the
first nine months of 2023. In our view, Wepa has been able to
sustain the prices thanks to its leading position in the European
private label consumer tissue market and solid relationships with
retailers. In the future, we expect Wepa to be able to better
manage its profitability because it moved away from annual
negotiations with retailers to more frequent sales price revisions
to face the inherent volatility of its input costs. For the first
nine months of 2023, we also observe an increase in volumes
supporting the company's organic growth. As a result, we now expect
the group's revenue to stand at EUR1.85 billion in 2023, with an
S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 17%,
bolstered by continuously high pricing, despite normalizing input
costs. We do not expect Wepa to maintain this level of
profitability in the medium term and anticipate margins will
normalize at about 13.0%-13.5% in 2024, on the back of the
progressive downward revision of sales prices. This translates into
S&P Global Ratings-adjusted net leverage reducing to 2.3x in 2023
and about 3.0x in 2024, from 5.9x in 2022. The lower leverage is
primarily due to improved EBITDA and cash flow generation, given
our expectation that the company will closely manage its working
capital and capex requirements.

"Wepa has revised its financial policy, with a target leverage at
2x-3x. We calculate this is equivalent to roughly 2.5x-3.5x on an
S&P Global Ratings-adjusted basis given we include in our
calculation the use of asset-backed securities (ABS). In our view,
this testifies to management's intention to focus on deleveraging.
The company's dividend policy remains unchanged at one-third of net
income with dividend distributions expected in the range of EUR10
million-EUR12 million in 2023 and about EUR52 million in 2024.
Furthermore, we do not assume the company will undertake large
debt-funded acquisitions in the near term.

"Wepa has a limited record of positive FOCF generation, but we
expect the company will report annual FOCF above EUR60 million per
year over 2023-2024, thanks to the termination of expansionary
projects.Given completion of the latest expansionary projects (a
new paper machine in the U.K. and the start-up of an additional
paper machine in Poland along with converting lines in several
plants across Europe), we expect Wepa's capex will reduce to about
EUR60 million-EUR70 million in 2023, down from EUR124 million in
2021 and EUR95 million in 2020. We do, however, expect some further
investments in 2024, with capex temporarily increasing to EUR90
million-EUR95 million in 2024, on carry-over investments and
projects related to energy efficiency and fiber optimization,
before normalizing to a level of about EUR75 million starting in
2025. Combined with the expected expansion of its EBITDA base, we
believe Wepa will generate higher reported FOCF than historically
seen, of above EUR60 million in 2023 and above EUR90 million in
2024 (it was negative EUR9.2 million at year-end 2022). Our base
case reflects a significant working capital outflow in 2023, given
reduced investments in security stocks and the deflationary impact
on inventory will be offset by a significant EUR95 million
reduction of Wepa's ABS facility. For 2024, we expect a positive
working capital inflow, supported by a progressive reduction of
sales prices. In our view, recurring cash flow generation will
alleviate financial pressure from future input cost volatility and
accelerate Wepa's deleveraging, but we have a limited record of the
company being able to generate significant and sustainable FOCF.

"We view Essity's potential exit from private labels as an
opportunity for Wepa. Sweden-based health and hygiene products
manufacturer Essity AB (BBB+/Stable/A-2) has announced a strategic
review and potential divestiture of its private label business to
focus primarily on its branded portfolio. In our view, this could
represent an opportunity for established private label players like
Wepa, which could expand their market share. The company could rely
on its established relationships with retailers, having been able
to supply them during times of supply chain stress and retaining
strong positioning in the competitive private label market in key
European countries like Germany (28.5% market share), France
(32.9%), Italy (21%), the U.K. (22.1%), and Poland (16%).
Additionally, we note Wepa has a focus on sustainability and
proposes itself as a sustainable partner of choice for retailers,
supporting market share gains.

"High inflation levels support demand for private-label products.
Overall, we believe that personal care products are an essential
consumer product category, mainly in developed countries, and we do
not expect a significant contraction of demand, despite higher
prices due to higher raw material costs. We anticipate potential
changes in consumer shopping habits in light of general increases
in the price of entire grocery shopping baskets. In this context,
private label manufacturers like Wepa, as well as small and niche
manufacturers, could gain momentum since they can benefit from cost
competitiveness, good quality, innovation, and improved
sustainability credentials.

"In our 'B+' rating, we take into consideration the inherent
volatility in the tissue industry affecting Wepa's credit
metrics.The fluctuations in Wepa's EBITDA margins are primarily
driven by swings in pulp prices and the necessity for tissue
producers to adjust sales prices to preserve profitability, which
historically has weighed in Wepa's credit metrics. We expect these
volatile conditions will continue to affect Wepa's credit metrics
in the coming years, even though pulp prices have decreased
compared with peak levels observed in September 2022. We note Wepa
has now shortened the length of its contracts, giving the company a
better ability to pass on to customers pressure from input costs.
That said, we have a limited record of the company revising its
prices multiple times a year to better align pressure on margins
with pricing initiatives, especially in times of normalizing input
costs. Additionally, we believe exposure to changing market
conditions and price fluctuations can cause the company's operating
performance and cash generation to rapidly change. Although we
expect resilient results in 2023, with leverage at 2.3x, we still
see a certain degree of uncertainty in our base case from 2024 but
nevertheless we consider the company to have sufficient headroom
under its current credit metrics in case of changing market
conditions. We forecast adjusted leverage moving to about 3x in
2024 and 2025, which will give the company headroom if needed. In
the past, Wepa has displayed large fluctuations in its adjusted
debt to EBITDA, with the lowest point being 4.1x in 2020 and
spiking at roughly 8.2x in 2021. We do not expect the recent
extreme volatility to recur, but our rating assessment reflects our
view the industry remains volatile and so do Wepa's credit metrics.
We believe the company's strategy of focusing on recycled paper,
hybrid product categories (mix of virgin pulp and recycled fibers),
and alternative virgin fibers (e.g., miscanthus grass) will ensure
long-term sustainability for its operations and reduce reliance on
price volatile wood-based virgin fibers, progressively supporting
lower volatility in credit metrics.

"The positive outlook reflects our expectation that Wepa's more
prudent financial policy, and robust operating performance will
result in adjusted debt to EBITDA sustainably below 3.5x. This is
despite our view that sales price will reduce and therefore S&P
Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin will contract to a more
normalized level of 13.0%-13.5% in 2024 from 17% in 2023."

Downside scenario

S&P said, "We could revise the outlook to stable over the next
12-18 months if Wepa experienced higher earnings volatility due to
input cost fluctuations and an inability to increase prices, or if
we were to observe intensified competition leading to profitability
erosion. Under this scenario, we would observe
weaker-than-anticipated FOCF and adjusted leverage sustainably
above 4x."

Upside scenario

S&P said, "We could raise our rating on Wepa if the group
demonstrated the ability to manage the inherent high volatility of
EBITDA that characterizes its business. We would also view
positively an established record of positive FOCF and ability to
reduce adjusted leverage to below 4.0x. This could stem from
operational levers like sustained changes in contracts with
retailers and pricing strategy, along with changes in the product
mix, with a lasting reduction of exposure to volatile virgin pulp.

"ESG factors are an overall neutral consideration in our credit
rating analysis of Wepa. We believe consumer tissue should benefit
from growth in home cleaning and personal hygiene. Furthermore,
affordability remains important for consumers, which should support
private-label manufacturers such as Wepa. Wepa's profitability has
been exposed to some degree of volatility due to pulp price
fluctuations. We believe this will be gradually mitigated, as the
company targets 60% of products manufactured from recycled and
alternative-to-virgin fibers by 2030 (about 40%, according to
management)."




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

ADAGIO X EUR: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F-R Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Adagio X EUR CLO
DAC's class A-R Loan and class A-R, B-1R, B-2R, C-R, D-R, E-R, and
F-R notes. At closing, the issuer also issued unrated class Z-R
notes and subordinated notes.

This transaction is a reset of an existing transaction, which S&P
Global Ratings did not rate. At closing, the existing classes of
notes were fully redeemed with the proceeds from the issuance of
the replacement notes, which were also used to pay fees and
expenses incurred in connection with the reset.

The ratings reflect S&P's assessment of:

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

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

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

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

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

  Portfolio benchmarks
                                                       CURRENT

  S&P weighted-average rating factor                  2,915.72

  Default rate dispersion                               488.11

  Weighted-average life (years)                           4.66

  Obligor diversity measure                             113.55

  Industry diversity measure                             20.26

  Regional diversity measure                              1.30


  Transaction key metrics
                                                       CURRENT

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

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                        2.68

  Covenanted 'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)        34.47

  Covenanted weighted-average spread (%)                 3.80

  Covenanted weighted-average coupon (%)                 4.00


Asset priming obligations and uptier priming debt

Under the transaction documents, the issuer can purchase asset
priming obligations and/or uptier priming debt to address the risk,
where a distressed obligor could either move collateral outside the
existing creditors' covenant group or incur new money debt senior
to the existing creditors.

Rating rationale

Under the transaction documents, the rated notes pay quarterly
interest unless a frequency switch event occurs. Following this,
the notes will switch to semiannual payments. The portfolio's
reinvestment period will end approximately 4.66 years after
closing.

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

S&P said, "In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR330 million
target par amount, and the portfolio's covenanted weighted-average
spread (3.80%), covenanted weighted-average coupon (4.00%), and
covenanted weighted-average recovery rates at each rating level. We
applied various cash flow stress scenarios, using four different
default patterns, in conjunction with different interest rate
stress scenarios for each liability rating category.

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

Until the end of the reinvestment period on July 20, 2028, the
collateral manager may substitute assets in the portfolio for so
long as our CDO Monitor test is maintained or improved in relation
to the initial ratings on the notes. This test looks at the total
amount of losses that the transaction can sustain as established by
the initial cash flows for each rating, and it compares that with
the current portfolio's default potential plus par losses to date.
As a result, until the end of the reinvestment period, the
collateral manager may through trading deteriorate the
transaction's current risk profile, as long as the initial ratings
are maintained.

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

S&P considers the transaction's legal structure and framework to be
bankruptcy remote, in line with its legal criteria.

S&P said, "Following our analysis of the credit, cash flow,
counterparty, operational, and legal risks, we believe our ratings
are commensurate with the available credit enhancement for the
class A-R Loan and class A-R notes. Our credit and cash flow
analysis indicates that the available credit enhancement for the
class B-1R, B-2R, C-R, D-R, and E-R notes could withstand stresses
commensurate with higher ratings than those we have assigned.
However, as the CLO is in its reinvestment phase starting from
closing, during which the transaction's credit risk profile could
deteriorate, we have capped our ratings assigned to the notes.

"For the class F-R notes, our credit and cash flow analysis
indicate that the available credit enhancement could withstand
stresses commensurate with a lower rating. However, we have applied
our 'CCC' rating criteria, resulting in a 'B- (sf)' rating on this
class of notes." The ratings uplift (to 'B-') reflects several key
factors, including:

-- The available credit enhancement for this class of notes is in
the same range as other recently issued European CLOs that we
rate.

-- The portfolio's average credit quality is similar to other
recent CLOs.

-- S&P's model generated break-even default rate at the 'B-'
rating level of 24.22% (for a portfolio with a weighted-average
life of 4.66 years), versus if it was to consider a long-term
sustainable default rate of 3.1% for 4.66 years, which would result
in a target default rate of 14.45%.

-- The actual portfolio is generating higher spreads versus the
covenanted thresholds modelled in S&P's cash flow analysis.

S&P said, "Taking the above factors into account and following our
analysis of the credit, cash flow, counterparty, operational, and
legal risks, we believe that our ratings are commensurate with the
available credit enhancement for all the rated classes of notes.

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

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

The transaction securitizes a portfolio of primarily senior-secured
leveraged loans and bonds, and will be managed by AXA Investment
Managers US Inc.

Environmental, social, and governance

S&P said, "We regard the exposure to environmental, social, and
governance (ESG) credit factors in the transaction as being broadly
in line with our benchmark for the sector. Primarily due to the
diversity of the assets within CLOs, the exposure to environmental
credit factors is viewed as below average, social credit factors
are below average, and governance credit factors are average." For
this transaction, the documents prohibit assets from being related
to certain activities, including, but not limited to the
following:

-- Any obligor involved in the following business activities as
defined in the manager's internal policies:

-- Climate risks;

-- Palm oil;

-- Controversial weapons;

-- Soft commodities;

-- Tobacco;

-- White phosphorous weapons; and

-- UN Global Compact violations.

Accordingly, since the exclusion of assets from these industries
does not result in material differences between the transaction and
S&P's ESG benchmark for the sector, we have not made any specific
adjustments in our rating analysis to account for any ESG-related
risks or opportunities.

  Ratings

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

  A-R       AAA (sf)    148.00     3mE + 1.75%      40.00  

  A-R Loan  AAA (sf)     50.00     3mE + 1.75%      40.00

  B-1R      AA (sf)      23.00     3mE + 2.50%      30.00

  B-2R      AA (sf)      10.00           6.50%      30.00
  
  C-R       A (sf)       23.10     3mE + 3.35%      23.00

  D-R       BBB- (sf)    23.10     3mE + 5.50%      16.00

  E-R       BB- (sf)     13.20     3mE + 8.36%      12.00

  F-R       B- (sf)      13.20     3mE + 10.80%      8.00

  Z-R       NR           14.46     3mE + 11.00%      3.62

Subordinated notes  NR   14.20         N/A            N/A

*The ratings assigned to the class A-R Loan and class A-R, B-1R,
and B-2R reset notes address timely interest and ultimate principal
payments. The ratings assigned to the class C-R, D-R, E-R, and F-R
reset notes address ultimate interest and principal payments.
§The payment frequency switches to semiannual and the index
switches to 6mE when a frequency switch event occurs.
NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.
3mE--Three-month Euro Interbank Offered Rate.
6mE--Six-month Euro Interbank Offered Rate.


AURIUM CLO XI: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to EUR12MM Class F Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Aurium CLO XI
DAC's class A Loan and the class A, B, C, D, E, and F notes. At
closing, the issuer also issued subordinated notes.

The ratings reflect S&P's assessment of:

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

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

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

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

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

  Portfolio benchmarks
                                                       CURRENT

  S&P weighted-average rating factor                   2782.26

  Default rate dispersion                               469.25

  Adjusted/actual weighted-average life (years)      4.66/4.20

  Obligor diversity measure                             130.88

  Industry diversity measure                             20.08

  Regional diversity measure                              1.28


  Transaction key metrics
                                                       CURRENT

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

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                        0.50

  Actual 'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)            36.40

  Actual weighted-average spread (%)                     4.32

  Actual weighted-average coupon (%)                     6.38


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

The portfolio's reinvestment period will end approximately 4.66
years after closing.

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

S&P said, "In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR400 million
target par amount, and the portfolio's covenanted weighted-average
spread (4.32%), covenanted weighted-average coupon (6.20%), and
covenanted weighted-average recovery rates at each rating level. We
applied various cash flow stress scenarios, using four different
default patterns, in conjunction with different interest rate
stress scenarios for each liability rating category.

"This transaction features a principal transfer test, which allows
interest proceeds exceeding the principal transfer coverage ratio
to be paid into either the principal or supplemental reserve
account. The interest proceeds can only be paid into the principal
account senior to the reinvestment overcollateralization test and
into the supplemental reserve account junior to the reinvestment
overcollateralization test. Therefore, we have not applied a cash
flow stress for this. Nevertheless, because the transfer to
principal is at the collateral manager's discretion, we did not
give credit to this test in our cash flow analysis.

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

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

The transaction's legal structure and framework is bankruptcy
remote, in line with S&P's legal criteria.

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

"Taking the above factors into account and following our analysis
of the credit, cash flow, counterparty, operational, and legal
risks, we believe that our ratings are commensurate with the
available credit enhancement for the class A Loan and the class A,
B, C, D, E, and F notes.

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

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

Environmental, social, and governance

S&P said, "We regard the exposure to environmental, social, and
governance (ESG) credit factors in the transaction as being broadly
in line with our benchmark for the sector. Primarily due to the
diversity of the assets within CLOs, the exposure to environmental
credit factors is viewed as below average, social credit factors
are below average, and governance credit factors are average. For
this transaction, the documents prohibit assets from being related
to certain activities, including, but not limited to the following:
illegal activities, child or forced labour, asbestos fibres,
sanctioned products, speculative extraction of oil and gas,
controversial weapons, hazardous chemicals and pesticides, illegal
drugs or narcotics, non-sustainable palm oil production, civilian
weapons or firearms, tobacco, thermal coal, fossil fuels, private
prisons, activities that adversely affect animal welfare, payday
lending, pornography or prostitution, trade in endangered wildlife,
or opioids.

"Accordingly, since the exclusion of assets from these industries
does not result in material differences between the transaction and
our ESG benchmark for the sector, we have not made any specific
adjustments in our rating analysis to account for any ESG-related
risks or opportunities."

Aurium CLO XI is a European cash flow CLO securitization of a
revolving pool, comprising euro-denominated senior secured loans
and bonds issued mainly by speculative-grade borrowers. Spire
Management Ltd. manages the transaction.

  Ratings list

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


   A        AAA (sf)     183.00     3mE + 1.70%      38.00

   A Loan   AAA (sf)      65.00     3mE + 1.70%      38.00

   B        AA (sf)       45.00     3mE + 2.35%      26.75
     
   C        A (sf)        22.50     3mE + 3.00%      21.13

   D        BBB- (sf)     26.50     3mE + 4.75%      14.50

   E        BB- (sf)      18.00     3mE + 7.24%      10.00

   F        B- (sf)       12.00     3mE + 9.12%       7.00

  Sub notes NR            25.00         N/A            N/A

*The ratings assigned to the class A Loan, and class A and B notes
address timely interest and ultimate principal payments. The
ratings assigned to the class C, D, E, and F notes address ultimate
interest and principal payments.
§The payment frequency switches to semiannual and the index
switches to 6mE when a frequency switch event occurs.
3mE--Three-month Euro Interbank Offered Rate.
6mE--Six-month Euro Interbank Offered Rate.
NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.


PENTA CLO 15: S&P Assigns Prelim B- (sf) Rating to Cl. F Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its preliminary credit ratings to Penta
CLO 15 DAC's class A loan and class A, B, C, D, E, and F notes. At
closing, the issuer will also issue unrated subordinated notes.

Under the transaction documents, the rated notes will pay quarterly
interest unless there is a frequency switch event, upon which the
notes will pay semiannually.

This transaction notably features a class A loan with a zero
balance at closing and the presence of "make-whole" payments on the
class A notes. The class A loan will not be funded on the closing
date but will be if the initial class A lender elects to convert
all of the class A notes into a class A loan. The terms of the
class A notes and the class A loan are the same.

If the class A notes or class A loan are redeemed prior to Dec. 20
2025, and the holders of such debt receive par plus any accrued
interest up to the redemption date, they will also receive a class
A make-whole payment amount. This effectively compensates for
interest which is foregone as a result of the class A debt's early
redemption. For the avoidance of doubt, S&P's ratings do not
address the payment of such make-whole amounts. Additionally, class
A debt holders may vote (two-thirds majority required) in favour of
waiving these make-whole payments. The non-payment of these amounts
will not constitute an event of default.

This transaction has a 1.5-year non-call period and the portfolio's
reinvestment period will end approximately 4.6 years after
closing.

The preliminary ratings reflect S&P's assessment of:

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

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

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

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

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

  Portfolio benchmarks
                                                        CURRENT

  S&P Global Ratings weighted-average rating factor    2,919.92

  Default rate dispersion                                590.44

  Weighted-average life (years)                            4.57

  Obligor diversity measure                              113.55

  Industry diversity measure                              20.78

  Regional diversity measure                               1.28


  Transaction key metrics
                                                        CURRENT

  Total par amount (mil. EUR)                            350.00

  Identified assets (%)*                                     96

  Ramp-up at closing (%)*                                    75

  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)                                 0

  Number of performing obligors                             127

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

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                          2.43

  'AAA' weighted-average recovery  
  covenanted(%)*/actual(%)§                         35.09/36.09

  Weighted-average spread covenanted(%)*/actual(%)§†  4.00/4.18

  Weighted-average coupon covenanted(%)*/actual(%)§   4.60/5.17

*As a percentage of target par.
§As a percentage of identified assets.
†Weighted-average spreads are numbers with floors.

Rating rationale

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

"In our cash flow analysis, we modelled the EUR350 million par
amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread of 4.00%, and the
actual weighted-average recovery rates. We applied various cash
flow stress scenarios, using four different default patterns, in
conjunction with different interest rate stress scenarios for each
liability rating category.

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

"Following the application of our structured finance sovereign risk
criteria, we consider the transaction's exposure to country risk to
be limited at the assigned preliminary ratings, as the exposure to
individual sovereigns does not exceed the diversification
thresholds outlined in our criteria.

"The transaction's legal structure is expected to be bankruptcy
remote, in line with our legal criteria.

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

"For the class F notes, our credit and cash flow analysis indicate
that the available credit enhancement could withstand stresses
commensurate with a lower rating. However, we have applied our
'CCC' rating criteria, resulting in a preliminary 'B- (sf)' rating
on this class of notes." The ratings uplift (to 'B-') reflects
several key factors, including:

-- The available credit enhancement for this class of notes is in
the same range as other recently issued European CLOs that S&P's
rate.

-- The portfolio's average credit quality is similar to other
recent CLOs.

-- S&P's model generated break-even default rate at the 'B-'
rating level of 25.62% (for a portfolio with a weighted-average
life of 4.57 years), versus if it was to consider a long-term
sustainable default rate of 3.1% for 4.57 years, which would result
in a target default rate of 14.17%.

-- The actual portfolio is generating higher spreads versus the
covenanted thresholds modelled in our cash flow analysis.

S&P said, "Following our analysis of the credit, cash flow,
counterparty, operational, and legal risks, we believe that our
preliminary ratings are commensurate with the available credit
enhancement for the class A loan and class A, B, C, D, E, and F
notes.

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

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

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors

S&P said, "We regard the exposure to ESG credit factors in the
transaction as being broadly in line with our benchmark for the
sector. Primarily due to the diversity of the assets within CLOs,
the exposure to environmental credit factors is viewed as below
average, social credit factors are below average, and governance
credit factors are average. For this transaction, the documents
prohibit assets from being related to certain activities,
including, but not limited to the following: the production or
trade of illegal drugs or narcotics; the development, production,
maintenance of weapons of mass destruction, including biological
and chemical weapons; the trade in ozone depleting substances;
manufacture or trade in pornography or prostitution materials;
payday lending; gambling; and more than 5% of revenues derived from
tobacco distribution manufacture or sale.

"Accordingly, since the exclusion of assets from these industries
does not result in material differences between the transaction and
our ESG benchmark for the sector, we have not made any specific
adjustments in our rating analysis to account for any ESG-related
risks or opportunities."

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

  A         AAA (sf)    217.00    38.00   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 1.70%

  A loan†   AAA (sf)      0.00    38.00   Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                          plus 1.70%

  B         AA (sf)      34.50    28.14   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 2.45%

  C         A (sf)       20.70    22.23   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 3.30%

  D         BBB- (sf)    23.00    15.66   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 5.70%

  E         BB- (sf)     15.40    11.26   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 8.05%

  F         B- (sf)      13.10     7.51   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 9.08%

  Sub       NR           26.73      N/A   N/A

*The preliminary ratings assigned to the class A loan, class A
notes, and B notes address timely interest and ultimate principal
payments. Our ratings on the class A loan and class A notes do not
address the payment of "make-whole" interest due to early
redemption. The preliminary ratings assigned to the class C, D, E,
and F notes address ultimate interest and principal payments.
§The payment frequency switches to semiannual and the index
switches to six-month EURIBOR when a frequency switch event occurs.

†At closing the class A loan will have a notional balance of
zero but on any business day the initial class A lender may elect
to convert all of the class A notes into a class A loan of equal
principal amount.
NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.




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

LUTECH SPA: S&P Assigns 'B' Issuer Credit Rating, Outlook Stable
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'B' rating to Italian digital
services provider Lutech SpA and its EUR338 million senior secured
notes.

S&P said, "At the same time, we withdrew our 'B' ratings on Libra
GroupCo SpA, since the entity has been merged into Lutech SpA. The
outlook on Libra GroupCo at the time of the withdrawal was stable.

"The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the group will
successfully deleverage, further boosted by the acquisition of Atos
Italia, with adjusted debt to EBITDA declining to below 6.5x and
FOCF to debt above 5% in 2023."

After the merger of Libra GroupCo SpA and its subsidiary Libra
Italy Solution S.r.l. into Lutech SpA, Lutech SpA switched from
being the guarantor to being the issuer of the 5.00% EUR338 million
senior secured notes due 2027.

S&P said, "The ratings are in line with our former ratings on
Lutech's former parent entity Libra GroupCo. In September 2023,
Libra GroupCo and its subsidiary Libra Italy Solution S.r.l.,
merged into Lutech SpA, which is now the surviving entity of the
group structure. Following this merger, the sole shareholder of
Lutech will be Libra Holdco SARL. There are no changes to our base
case, or the financial documentation compared with our former
rating on Libra GroupCo. While Libra GroupCo was the issuer of the
EUR338 million senior secured notes due in 2027 and Lutech the
guarantor under the indenture governing the notes, following the
completion of the merger, Lutech is now the issuer of the notes.

"The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Lutech will
successfully reduce leverage, further boosted by the acquisition of
Atos Italia, with adjusted debt to EBITDA declining below 6.5x in
2023. This will be supported by EBITDA growth, thanks to favorable
market trends and Lutech's leading market position in certain
solutions, as well as the contribution from Atos Italia.
Furthermore, we expect the group to maintain solid cash flow
conversion by posting free operating cash flow (FOCF) to debt
higher than 5% in the next 12 months, a rebound from 2022, which
was hit by one-offs."

Downside scenario

S&P said, "We could lower the ratings if Lutech's adjusted debt to
EBITDA increased to above 7.0x and FOCF after leases didn't at
least break even. In our view, this could result from
weaker-than-expected operating performance, for example, due to
material market share losses, increased inflation, supply chain
disruptions, or a significantly weaker economic environment in
Italy than anticipated. It could also occur if Lutech encountered
issues in integrating Atos Italia or pursued additional sizable
debt-financed acquisitions or dividend recapitalizations."

Upward scenario

S&P could raise the rating if Lutech performed well above its
expectations, leading to a reduction in debt to EBITDA to below
5.0x and an increase in FOCF to debt to above 10% on a sustainable
basis. Additionally, an upgrade would hinge on Lutech's adherence
to a financial policy in line with those metrics.




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

ARD FINANCE: Moody's Affirms 'B3' CFR & Alters Outlook to Negative
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the B3 long-term corporate
family rating and the B3-PD probability of default rating of ARD
Finance S.A. (Ardagh), the top entity within the restricted group
of Luxembourg-based metal and glass packaging manufacturer Ardagh
Group S.A.

Concurrently, Moody's has affirmed the B1 rating on the backed
senior secured notes and the Caa1 rating on the backed senior
unsecured notes issued by Ardagh Packaging Finance plc, and the
Caa3 rating on the senior secured PIK toggle notes issued by ARD
Finance S.A. The outlook on both entities has changed to negative
from stable.

"The outlook change to negative reflects Ardagh's weaker than
anticipated year-to-date September 2023 results, its weak credit
metrics and Moody's expectation for marginal organic deleveraging
as well as negative free cash flow until 2025 at a time when the
group will have to address significant debt maturities in a high
interest rate environment," says Donatella Maso, a Moody's Vice
President – Senior Credit Officer and lead analyst for Ardagh.

RATINGS RATIONALE

Ardagh's operating performance has been weaker than expected during
the first nine months of 2023 across both glass (ARGID) and metal
can (Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. or AMP, B2 stable) businesses,
leading the group to revise downwards its 2023 EBITDA guidance. The
group's performance was negatively impacted by lower volumes due to
prolonged customer destocking, softer consumer demand and specific
issues with a major beer customer in North America, which was
particularly evident in Q2 and Q3 2023. While the group was able to
partially offset lower volumes with higher prices, its margins were
affected by lower fixed cost absorption.

Difficult market conditions prevented Ardagh from improving its
earnings and already weak credit metrics relative to Moody's
previous forecasts. As a result, LTM September 2023 Moody's
adjusted leverage remains very high at around 9.5x, a level well
above the maximum leverage tolerance for the B3 rating category. At
the same time, the group's free cash flow (FCF) continues to be
negative due to high capital expenditures primarily related to
investments in can capacity and new furnaces.

That said, the rating agency acknowledges that, while 2023 trading
remains weak, the group's operating performance should improve
going forward owing to a gradual normalisation in customer orders
and to Ardagh's efforts to improve its profitability and cash flow
generation, albeit with associated restructuring costs. More
specifically, the group is consulting on the potential closure of
its Whitehouse (Ohio) can plant, following the planned
rationalization of its German steel can lines at the end of 2023;
and it has significantly reduced glass production in Q3 and in Q4
2023 in order to address temporary industry overcapacity and manage
inventories, while downsizing the North America glass footprint in
response to the beer market disruption. Ardagh has also announced
its plans to curtail growth capital expenditures for the
foreseeable future following a period of significant investments.
However, the expected recovery in performance will largely depend
on external factors such as customer behaviour in terms of pricing
and promotional activities as well as the evolution of consumer
demand, representing a degree of uncertainty.

Moody's believes that Ardagh will require material EBITDA gains in
order to delever on an organic basis and turn its FCF into positive
territory. Under Moody's revised forecasts, the group will reduce
its gross leverage below 9.0x and be FCF neutral from 2025 onwards,
leaving Ardagh weakly positioned in the B3 rating category.

Moreover, Ardagh has significant debt maturities in 2025-2027. If
the current interest rate environment remains unchanged, the group
will likely have to refinance at higher rates. Given Moody's
expectation of marginal leverage reduction, low EBIT/interest cover
ratio at around 1.0x, and negative or weak FCF, there is low
capacity for Ardagh to accommodate higher interests. Ardagh will
need to find alternative sources of liquidity including potential
asset sales, to reduce its debt ahead of this refinancing to
maintain a sustainable capital structure. Moody's notes that in its
recent Q3 earnings call, Ardagh outlined that its primary focus was
on deleveraging, through EBITDA growth and enhanced FCF conversion,
while noting that other levers could also play a role in this
process.  

Ardagh's B3 rating also reflects its high share of commoditised
products, for which the pricing pressure needs to be offset by cost
savings and efficiency improvements, innovation and volume growth
in a competitive operating environment; and its track record of an
aggressive financial policy.

Ardagh's B3 rating continues to take into consideration the group's
scale, its leading market positions in both the glass and metal
packaging industries, and some diversity across substrates and
regions. Ardagh also benefits from long term customer relationships
and pass-through clauses in most of its contracts, which partly
mitigate a fairly concentrated customer base and exposure to input
cost inflation. Despite recent headwinds due to the customer
destocking effect, Ardagh operates in an industry with limited
cyclicality and long term positive fundamentals driven by
sustainability trends and the emergence of new drink categories.

LIQUIDITY

Moody's considers Ardagh's liquidity as adequate, albeit weakening,
because of approaching significant debt maturities over 2025-27 and
expectation for negative FCF. Ardagh's glass division has $700
million backed senior secured notes due in April 2025 issued by
Ardagh Packaging Finance plc, c.$2.5 billion equivalent backed
senior secured notes due in 2026 issued by Ardagh Packaging Finance
plc and c. $4 billion equivalent backed senior unsecured and senior
secured PIK toggle notes due in 2027 is issued by Ardagh Packaging
Finance plc and ARD Finance S.A.

Ardagh's liquidity is supported by $458 million of cash as of
September 30, 2023, $309 million of which is unrestricted at ARGID;
an undrawn asset-based lending (ABL) facility of $433 million due
February 2027 at ARGID, and an undrawn ABL facility of $415 million
due August 2026 at AMP; and certain supplier financing and
non-recourse factoring arrangements. More specifically, ARGID's
liquidity is also supported by $205 million cash up-streamed from
AMP in the form of dividends based on the ARGID's holding of AMP
ordinary shares (76%) and AMP preferred shares (100%).

The ABL facilities are subject to a springing financial covenant
that would require ARGID and AMP to maintain a fixed-charge
coverage ratio of 1.0x, tested quarterly, if 90% or more of the
facility is drawn. Moody's expects the group to maintain adequate
flexibility under the covenant over the next 12-18 months.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The B3-PD probability of default rating on ARD Finance S.A. is in
line with the CFR. This is based on a 50% family recovery rate
assumption, as is typical for capital structures that include both
bank debt and bonds.

The B1 rating on the backed senior secured notes issued by Ardagh
Packaging Finance plc is two notches above the B3 CFR, reflecting
the significant amount of debt ranking behind them. The Caa1 rating
of the backed senior unsecured notes issued by Ardagh Packaging
Finance plc is one notch below the B3 CFR, reflecting their
subordination to the sizeable amount of senior secured debt that
ranks ahead. The notes, both secured and unsecured, are guaranteed
by the majority of the group's restricted subsidiaries (primarily
the glass packaging business with the exclusion of Ardagh Glass
Africa). The senior secured notes are secured by a first-priority
lien on all non-ABL collateral, consisting of stocks and assets.

The Caa3 rating of the senior secured PIK toggle notes issued by
ARD Finance S.A. reflects the significant amount of debt ranking
ahead and its reliance on the cash upstreamed from the listed
entity Ardagh Group S.A. for the payment of cash interests. The
senior secured PIK toggle notes at ARD Finance S.A. benefit from a
pledge over the shares of Ardagh Group S.A. and ARD Group Finance
Holdings S.A., and are not guaranteed.

RATIONALE FOR NEGATIVE OUTLOOK

The negative outlook reflects Ardagh's weak credit metrics at a
time when operating performance is weaker than expected and the
group will face growing debt maturities over 2025-27 in a higher
interest rate environment.

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

Given the negative outlook, upward pressure on the rating is
unlikely over the next 12 to 18 months. However, positive rating
pressure could develop if Ardagh's Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA
falls towards 7.0x, its FCF turns positive, both on a sustained
basis, while maintaining adequate liquidity.

Ardagh's rating could be downgraded if it fails to reduce its
Moody's-adjusted debt/EBITDA towards 8.0x; its FCF does not
meaningfully improve beyond 2024; or its liquidity weakens because
of lack of progress in refinancing its 2025-2027 debt maturities at
a manageable cost.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Packaging
Manufacturers: Metal, Glass and Plastic Containers published in
December 2021.

COMPANY PROFILE

ARD Finance S.A. (Ardagh) is the parent company of Ardagh Group
S.A., one of the largest global suppliers of metal and glass
containers to the beverage and food end markets. The company
operates 65 production facilities (24 metal beverage can production
facilities and 41 glass container manufacturing facilities) in 16
countries, with a significant presence in Europe and North America,
and employs around 20,000 people.

Following its delisting in October 2021, Ardagh is a privately held
company owned and controlled by Paul Coulson, the former Chairman
of the group. For the 12 months that ended September 30, 2023,
Ardagh generated $9.4 billion of revenue and $1.3 billion of
EBITDA.



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

QWIC: Bankruptcy to Impact VDL Automatic Frame Production
---------------------------------------------------------
Bike Europe reports that Qwic said an unexpected tax bill made
brand owner Hartmobile decide to apply for insolvency in
self-administration last week, followed by a bankruptcy.

According to Bike Europe, this decision will also impact the start
of the new automatic frame production line at VDL in Breda, the
Netherlands.

The pandemic related supply chain constraints followed by the
quickly rising costs for the high level of inventory this year made
the conditions very challenging for Qwic and many others, Bike
Europe discloses.

Qwic was always known as one of the early innovators in the e-bike
market in the Netherlands.





===============
P O R T U G A L
===============

TRANSPORTES AEREOS: S&P Upgrades LT ICR to 'BB-', Outlook Stable
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term issuer credit and issue
ratings on Transportes Aereos Portugueses S.A. (TAP) and its senior
unsecured debt to 'BB-' from 'B+'.

The stable outlook reflects S&P's expectation that air passenger
traffic will solidify at pre-pandemic levels, assuming
macroeconomic and/or geopolitical conditions do not deteriorate
unexpectedly and sharply and ticket fares remain close to 2023
levels, allowing TAP to maintain rating-commensurate credit
metrics.

TAP's higher-than-expected air passenger fares will translate into
strong earnings this year. In the first nine months of 2023, the
average yield (passenger revenue divided by revenue passenger
kilometers [RPK]) increased 12% year over year, after a 17%
increase in 2022. This was supported by uninterrupted and strong
demand on all TAP's major long-haul routes to destinations such as
Brazil, North America, and Portuguese speaking Africa, as well as
Portugal's position as a popular leisure travel destination. The
strong performance offset cost increases from a build-up in
deployed capacity and general cost inflation, with nonfuel cost per
available seat kilometer (CASK), which also excludes nonrecurring
items, increasing 10% year over year. In turn, TAP recorded EBITDA
of EUR726 million for the period, compared with EUR502 million a
year earlier. Underpinned by this year-to-date performance, S&P now
forecasts adjusted EBITDA of at least EUR900 million for full-year
2023, compared with its April forecast of EUR770 million-EUR780
million, which was similar to EUR778 million in 2022.

S&P said, "We believe this record-high EBITDA may not be sustained
beyond 2023 given expected margin pressure from cost inflation. We
also think that TAP's downsized fleet and its highly congested
major hub in Lisbon will limit significant topline growth potential
in the medium term. That said, we forecast industrywide capacity
will remain constrained due to delays in aircraft deliveries,
issues with Pratt & Whitney-manufactured engines, general shortages
of jet engines and spare parts, and workforce shortages across the
entire aviation network, which should help keep air fares well
above pre-pandemic levels. High yields should largely alleviate
pressure from elevated fuel prices, coupled with increasing costs
from compliance with EU emissions trading system (ETS) rules and
elevated inflation, on TAP's cost base. Alongside active cost
management, this will underpin TAP's adjusted EBITDA staying at
2022 levels or above in 2024.

TAP's stronger cash flow generation and enhanced capacity to
deleverage support our SACP revision to 'b+' from 'b'.
Better-than-expected EBITDA in the first nine months of 2023 more
than absorbed investments in fleet upgrades, including capital
expenditure (capex) of EUR162.5 million and lease payments. It also
supported the redemption of the EUR200 million senior unsecured
notes due in June 2023. S&P said, "We now expect positive FOCF
after leases for full-year 2023, which will improve TAP's
deleveraging prospects. In our view, the airline's adjusted debt
will decrease to about EUR3.5 billion at year-end 2023 from EUR3.7
billion at year-end 2022, and likely further in 2024. We do not
deduct cash for our calculations of total adjusted debt and credit
ratios. This translates into adjusted FFO to debt of 15%-20% in
2023 and 2024, compared with 14.4% in 2022, and is commensurate
with our 'BB-' rating threshold of more than 12%."

S&P said, "Our assessment of a moderate likelihood that the
Portuguese government will provide extraordinary support to TAP, if
needed, translates in one notch of uplift to the rating from the
SACP. Our view is underpinned by the track record of state aid to
date, and the airline's importance to the government, which, via
the Directorate General of Treasury and Finance (DGTF) is currently
TAP's sole shareholder. We note that within the scope of the
restructuring plan and state aid approved by the European
Commission in December 2021, TAP still has EUR686 million in
outstanding capital, compared to EUR662 million in financial debt
excluding leases as of Sept. 30, 2023, which was fully subscribed
by the Portuguese government but has yet to be injected. We
understand that the government views the airline as a strategic
asset that is important to economic development and tourism. TAP is
one of the largest employers in the country and is the largest
exporter of domestic services. Furthermore, the airline provides
reasonable air connectivity to major trade partners' cities (apart
from Spain), given the peripheral location of Portugal in Europe,
which would otherwise be less efficiently accessible by alternative
modes of transport. At the same time, our assessment is constrained
by the government's plans to privatize TAP in the near term and
potential risk that this may lead to a significant reduction in
state ownership, relinquishment of control, and weakening of the
link with TAP.

"The stable outlook reflects our expectation that TAP's air
passenger traffic will solidify at pre-pandemic levels in the next
12 months, assuming macroeconomic and/or geopolitical conditions do
not deteriorate unexpectedly and sharply and air passenger fares
remain close to recent levels, allowing TAP to sustain adjusted FFO
to debt above 12%. The stable outlook also hinges on our assumption
that the upcoming privatization won't change our assessment of the
moderate likelihood of extraordinary financial support from the
Portuguese government.

"We could lower the rating if TAP's adjusted FFO to debt falls
below 12% and remains there for a prolonged period without
prospects of recovery. This may happen, for example, if passenger
travel demand unexpectedly deteriorates and pressures air fares.

"Furthermore, we could lower the rating if we believe that the
likelihood of government support has weakened or if we lower our
unsolicited sovereign rating on Portugal below 'BBB-'.

"We could upgrade TAP if its adjusted FFO to debt improves above
20% and remains there. This could occur if TAP's EBITDA
significantly outperforms our base case, for example, on account of
stronger and resilient yields and continued cost control.

"If we raise our unsolicited rating on Portugal, it would not
automatically lead to an upgrade of TAP.

"We now view social factors as a moderately negative consideration
in our credit rating analysis of TAP, compared with negative
previously. We forecast that the number of passengers flying with
TAP (as a measure of demand) will return to about 95% of
pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and close to 100% in 2024, from about
81% in 2022. That said, the pandemic highlighted the inherent
sensitivity of air traffic to health and safety risk, particularly
for long-haul flights, to which TAP has significant exposure."

Environmental factors are a moderately negative consideration, like
for the broader airline industry, reflecting pressure to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. Tightening environmental regulations for
European airlines, particularly those proposed in the EU's "Fit for
55" package, could significantly increase costs under the EU ETS,
bring in a mandate for minimum sustainable aviation fuel usage, and
even introduce a kerosene tax. However, TAP's fleet will become
more fuel efficient with new deliveries of the latest-generation
planes. As of Sept. 30, 2023, 68% of TAP's mid- and long-haul
operational fleet consisted of Airbus neo aircraft.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credit factors for this
change in credit rating/outlook and/or CreditWatch status:

-- Health and safety




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

BRADY CONSTRUCTION: Owes More Than GBP4 Million to Creditors
------------------------------------------------------------
William Telford at CornwallLive reports that a construction company
has left more than GBP4 million in debts after going bust.

According to CornwallLiveLive, Cornwall-based family-run Brady
Construction Services Ltd owes money to more than 200 creditors
across Devon and Cornwall including in Plymouth, Exeter and
Torbay.

The firm based in Bodmin, which also had offices in Plymouth, was
set up in 2012 but called a meeting of creditors earlier this month
and appointed liquidators last week, CornwallLiveLive relates.

Documents filed at Companies House reveal a huge trail of debts,
CornwallLiveLive states.  However, the company has left an
estimated GBP3.74 million in assets, including freehold land and
property worth GBP1.6 million and GBP1.8 million in cash,
CornwallLiveLive notes.

This will go a long way towards paying the debts, CornwallLiveLive
says.  But it is still estimated that unsecured creditors will
still end up short of close to GBP1 million, according to
CornwallLiveLive.

There will be enough cash to pay 34 workers' wage arrears and
holiday pay totalling GBP48,827 and a claim from the tax
authorities for GBP279,158, CornwallLiveLive states.  Both of these
are preferential claims.

However, 35 workers have also made claims totalling GBP232,722 as
unsecured creditors, CornwallLiveLive notes.  And there are claims
from dozens of companies amounting to GBP4.18 million.

Although the liquidators have assets they can realise, including
GBP2.7 million from work in progress and another GBP1.7 million
owed to Brady Construction Services, it is still estimated that the
total shortfall for creditors will be GBP999,590, CornwallLiveLive
discloses.  So it is likely that creditors will not receive
everything they are due.

Prior to appointing liquidators, Brady Construction Services said
the company's financial position meant it had "made the difficult
decision" to cease trading on Oct. 30, CornwallLiveLive recounts.


LANEBROOK MORTGAGE 2023-1: Moody's Assigns B2 Rating to F Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has assigned definitive ratings to Notes
issued by Lanebrook Mortgage Transaction 2023-1 PLC:

GBP200.00M Class A1 Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due August
2060, Definitive Rating Assigned Aaa (sf)

GBP150.62M Class A2 Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due August
2060, Definitive Rating Assigned Aaa (sf)

GBP20.03M Class B Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due August
2060, Definitive Rating Assigned Aa2 (sf)

GBP10.02M Class C Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due August
2060, Definitive Rating Assigned A1 (sf)

GBP8.01M Class D Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due August
2060, Definitive Rating Assigned Baa3 (sf)

GBP6.01M Class E Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due August
2060, Definitive Rating Assigned B1 (sf)

GBP6.01M Class F Mortgage Backed Floating Rate Notes due August
2060, Definitive Rating Assigned B2 (sf)

Moody's has not assigned ratings to the subordinated GBP2.00M Class
X1 Floating Rate Notes due August 2060 and the GBP2.00M Class X2
Floating Rate Notes due August 2060.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The Notes are backed by a static pool of United Kingdom buy-to-let
("BTL") mortgage loans originated by The Mortgage Lender Limited
("TML") a subsidiary of Shawbrook Bank Limited ("Shawbrook"). This
represents the 4th issuance out of the Lanebrook series.

Compared to the provisional structure, the final structure has a
higher level of excess spread driven primarily by lower final
coupons. This is a credit positive change at closing versus that
assessed for the provisional ratings. Most notably for the Class D
notes with the definitive rating assigned several notches higher
than the provisional rating.

The portfolio of assets backing the securitised pool amounts to
approximately GBP400.7 million as of October 26, 2023 pool cutoff
date. There are two Reserve Funds, a Liquidity Reserve Fund and a
General Reserve Fund. The amortising Liquidity Reserve Fund is
sized at 1.25% of the Class A & B Notes balance. Whilst the
amortising General Reserve Fund is sized at 1.25% of the Class A to
F Notes balance, less any amounts in the Liquidity Reserve Fund.
The total credit enhancement for the Class A Notes will be 13.75%.

The ratings are primarily based on the credit quality of the
portfolio, the structural features of the transaction and its legal
integrity.

According to Moody's, the transaction benefits from various credit
strengths such as a granular portfolio and an amortising liquidity
reserve sized at 1.25% of Class A and B Notes balance. However,
Moody's notes that the transaction features some credit weaknesses
such as an unrated servicer (TML) and originator (Shawbrook).
Various mitigants have been included in the transaction structure
such as Shawbrook (NR) acting as the replacement servicer to
mitigate the operational risk, and a back-up servicer facilitator
(Intertrust Management Limited (NR)) which is obliged to appoint a
back-up servicer if certain triggers are breached. To ensure
payment continuity over the transaction's lifetime, the transaction
documents incorporate estimation language whereby the cash manager
Citibank, N.A., London Branch (Aa3(cr)/P-1(cr)) can use the three
most recent servicer reports to determine the cash allocation in
case no servicer report is available. The transaction also benefits
from a clean pool containing no loans in arrears and no adverse
loan credit history at the pool cut-off date.

Moody's determined the portfolio lifetime expected loss of 1.4% and
Aaa MILAN Stressed Loss of 12.2% related to borrower receivables.
The expected loss captures Moody's expectations of performance
considering the current economic outlook, while the MILAN Stressed
Loss captures the loss we expect the portfolio to suffer in the
event of a severe recession scenario. Expected defaults and MILAN
Stressed Loss are parameters used by Moody's to calibrate its
lognormal portfolio loss distribution curve and to associate a
probability with each potential future loss scenario in the ABSROM
cash flow model to rate RMBS.

Portfolio expected loss of 1.4%: This is in line with the United
Kingdom BTL RMBS sector and is based on Moody's assessment of the
lifetime loss expectation for the pool taking into account: (i) the
collateral performance of TML originated loans to date, as provided
by the originator and observed in previously securitised
portfolios; (ii) limited track record of TML; (iii) limited
seasoning of loans in the pool; (iv) the current macroeconomic
environment in the United Kingdom; and (v) benchmarking with
comparable transactions in the UK market.

MILAN Stressed Loss of 12.2%: This is in line with than the United
Kingdom buy-to-let RMBS sector average and follows Moody's
assessment of the loan-by-loan information taking into account the
following key drivers: (i) the collateral performance of TML
originated loans to date as described above; (ii) the weighted
average indexed current loan-to-value of 73.9% which is in line
with the sector average; (iii) no borrowers with adverse credit
history or prior CCJs in the pool at the cut-off date.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Residential
Mortgage-Backed Securitizations Methodology" published in October
2023.

The analysis undertaken by Moody's at the initial assignment of
ratings for RMBS securities may focus on aspects that become less
relevant or typically remain unchanged during the surveillance
stage. Please see "Residential Mortgage-Backed Securitizations
Methodology" for further information on Moody's analysis at the
initial rating assignment and the on-going surveillance in RMBS.

FACTORS THAT WOULD LEAD AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS:

Factors that would lead to an upgrade of the ratings include: (i)
significantly better than expected performance of the pool together
with an increase in credit enhancement of Notes; or (ii) a
deleveraging of the capital structure.

Factors that would lead to a downgrade of the ratings include: (i)
an increase in the level of arrears resulting in a higher level of
losses than forecast; and (ii) economic conditions being worse than
forecast resulting in higher arrears and losses.

LANEBROOK MORTGAGE 2023-1: S&P Assigns 'B-' Rating to Cl. F Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Lanebrook
Mortgage Transaction 2023-1 PLC's class A1, A2, and B-Dfrd to
F-Dfrd notes. At closing, Lanebrook Mortgage Transaction 2023-1
issued unrated class X1-Dfrd notes, X2-Dfrd notes, and RC1 and RC2
certificates.

Lanebrook Mortgage Transaction 2023-1 is an RMBS transaction
securitizing a GBP400.7 million portfolio of buy-to-let (BTL)
mortgage loans secured on properties in the U.K.

The loans in the pool were originated between 2022 and 2023 by The
Mortgage Lender Ltd., a specialist mortgage lender, under a forward
flow agreement with Shawbrook Bank PLC.

The collateral comprises loans granted to experienced portfolio
landlords, none of whom have an adverse credit history.

The transaction benefits from a liquidity reserve fund, a general
reserve fund, and principal that can be used to pay senior fees and
interest on the most senior notes.

Credit enhancement for the rated notes consists of subordination.

The transaction incorporates a swap to hedge the mismatch between
the notes, which pay a coupon based on compounded daily Sterling
Overnight Index Average (SONIA), and the loans, which pay a fixed
rate of interest until they revert to a floating rate.

At closing, Lanebrook Mortgage Transaction 2023-1 used the proceeds
of the notes to purchase and accept the assignment of the seller's
rights against the borrowers in the underlying portfolio and to
fund the reserves. The noteholders benefit from the security
granted in favor of the security trustee, Citicorp Trustee Co.
Ltd.

There are no rating constraints in the transaction under S&P's
counterparty, operational risk, or structured finance sovereign
risk criteria. S&P considers the issuer to be bankruptcy remote.

  Ratings

  CLASS       RATING     CLASS SIZE (MIL. GBP)

  A1          AAA (sf)     200.00   

  A2          AAA (sf)     150.62

  B-Dfrd      AA (sf)       20.03

  C-Dfrd      A+ (sf)       10.02

  D-Dfrd      BBB+ (sf)      8.01

  E-Dfrd      BB (sf)        6.01

  F-Dfrd      B- (sf)        6.01

  X1-Dfrd     NR             2.00

  X2-Dfrd     NR             2.00

  RC1 Certs   NR              N/A

  RC2 Certs   NR              N/A

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


SQUIBB GROUP: Set to Go Into Administration
-------------------------------------------
William Telford at PlymouthLive reports that a company working on
the revamp of Plymouth's Civic Centre is on the verge of collapsing
into administration.

Accordng to PlymouthLive, demolition expert Squibb Group is
understood to have pulled all its equipment off site after hitting
the financial rocks.

An insider told PlymouthLive that Squibb had left the Civic Centre
site. Another told PlymouthLive that equipment was removed from the
tower.

Squibb has been involved in the soft strip of internal fittings and
demolition work at the 60-year-old listed building.  But on Nov. 22
it applied to enter administration after 75 years of trading. The
family owned business employs 180 staff, PlymouthLive relates.

Earlier this month the Essex-headquartered company sought to do a
deal with creditors, PlymouthLive recounts.  Company Voluntary
Arrangement (CVA) proposals showed GBP23.3 million was owed to more
than 300 creditors with unsecured creditors claiming GBP13.8
million of that sum, PlymouthLive discloses.

It was hoped that the business could continue trading but that is
now looking perilous, PlymouthLive notes.

Last year, Squibb tried to strike a deal with HM Revenue and
Customs to gain extra time to pay a tax bill of GBP4.4 million, but
the tax authorities rejected this and this month issued a winding
up petition that was due to be heard Nov. 22 at the High Court in
London, PlymouthLive relates.


SSB LAW: Set to Go Into Administration Due to Financial Woes
------------------------------------------------------------
David Walsh at The Star reports that a Sheffield law firm announced
plans to appoint an administrator due to "ongoing financial
challenges" putting scores of jobs at risk.

SSB Law Ltd, based at Navigation House, South Quay Drive, Victoria
Quays, has filed a notice at court giving it 10 days' protection
from action by creditors, The Star relates.

A spokesman for the likely administrators, FRP Advisory, said the
firm is being marketed for sale, and bosses are engaging with the
Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Star notes.

He added: "All clients will be contacted in due course and are not
required to take any further action."

SSB Group, of which SSB Law is part, employs about 160 staff, The
Star relays, citing the latest financial filings.


WELCOME TO YORKSHIRE: Wakefield Council to Probe Cost of Collapse
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tony Gardner at The Yorkshire Post reports that Wakefield Council
has been asked to investigate the financial costs to the local
authority over the collapse of Welcome to Yorkshire.

The county's tourism agency went into administration in March 2022
after council leaders decided to withdraw public funding for the
private organisation following years of financial and reputational
problems, The Yorkshire Post relates.

Earlier this month, liquidators revealed Welcome to Yorkshire owed
more than GBP3 million to creditors at the time of its collapse --
75% more than originally estimated, The Yorkshire Post notes.

Tony Homewood, independent councillor for Ossett, has called for
answers over any financial impact on Wakefield Council, The
Yorkshire Post discloses.

According to The Yorkshire Post, a written question to Les Shaw,
the council's cabinet member for resources and property, states:
"The collapse of Welcome to Yorkshire left sizeable debts.
Unsecured creditors are now known to be owed GBP3,170,469, as
opposed to the original GBP1,803,212, acknowledged by the company
in its statement of affairs."

Coun Shaw is expected to give a response to the question at a full
council meeting on Nov. 29, The Yorkshire Post states.

A report by liquidators Armstrong Watson revealed that Welcome to
Yorkshire was in a worse financial situation than had been believed
at the time of going into administration, The Yorkshire Post
relays.  According to The Yorkshire Post, the report said there
will be "sufficient funds" to repay some money towards creditors
but it is not yet clear how much.  It did not list who is owed
money.

Claims totalling GBP9,750 from former members of staff listed as
preferential creditors have been repaid in full, The Yorkshire Post
notes.

A "Statement of Affairs" document published on Companies House in
April 2022 revealed at that stage that Welcome to Yorkshire had
GBP2.1 million of identified debts to 67 different creditors, The
Yorkshire Post discloses.

The company had just over GBP1 million in estimated assets at the
time of its collapse, The Yorkshire Post states.  The debt figures
included an unpaid tax bill of GBP296,000, according to The
Yorkshire Post.



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S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Troubled Company Reporter-Europe is a daily newsletter co-
published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless Hills,
Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C., USA.
Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Joy A. Agravante,
Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A. Chapman,
Editors.

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

This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or
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