---

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

                          E U R O P E

          Friday, December 8, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 246

                           Headlines



F I N L A N D

[*] FINLAND: Number of Business Bankruptcies Hit Record High


F R A N C E

IDEMIA GROUP: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'B' LongTerm IDR to Stable


H U N G A R Y

NITROGENMUVEK ZRT: Fitch Cuts LT IDR to 'CCC+', On Watch Neg.


I R E L A N D

ARES EUROPEAN XVII: Fitch Puts 'B-sf' Final Rating to Class F Notes
NEUBERGER BERMAN 5: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F-R Notes
PALMER SQUARE: Fitch Assigns 'BBsf' Final Rating to Class E Notes


K A Z A K H S T A N

KCELL JSC: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable


R O M A N I A

BANCA TRANSILVANIA: Fitch Affirms BB+ LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable
[*] ROMANIA: Number of Insolvent Cos. Down 0.2% in Jan-Oct 2023


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

BRYMOR GROUP: Seeks to Enter Company Voluntary Arrangement
COUNTYROUTE (A130): S&P Raises Sr. Sec. Debt Rating to 'B+'
INEOS ENTERPRISES: Moody's Alters Outlook on 'Ba3' CFR to Negative
SQUIBB GROUP: HMRC Criticizes Insolvency Practitioners
STRATTON 2024-1: S&P Assigns Prelim 'B- (sf)' Rating to F Notes

YPG INVESTAR: Mellior Group Completes Fabric Village Acquisition


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Management Guide to Troubled Companies

                           - - - - -


=============
F I N L A N D
=============

[*] FINLAND: Number of Business Bankruptcies Hit Record High
------------------------------------------------------------
Helsinki Times reports that Finland has experienced an
unprecedented number of business bankruptcies in the 48th week of
2023, with 85 companies being declared insolvent.  This figure is
the highest weekly total since Finland's Asiakastieto Oy began its
weekly bankruptcy tracking in 2019, Helsinki Times states.

According to Jaakko Nors, a product owner at Asiakastieto who
specializes in bankruptcy data, by the end of this year, over 2,700
companies are projected to have filed for bankruptcy, Helsinki
Times discloses.

Mr. Nors noted that surpassing 2,000 bankruptcies in a single year
has been a rare occurrence this millennium, making 2023 an
exceptionally challenging year for Finnish businesses, Helsinki
Times relates.

The construction sector is prominently featured on the list of the
year's largest bankruptcies, Helsinki Times notes.  Mr. Nors also
highlighted a worrying trend of larger firms facing financial
collapse, Helsinki Times recounts.  By the end of November, 270
companies with a minimum turnover of one million euros had declared
bankruptcy, which is 100 more than in the previous year, Helsinki
Times relays.

This alarming surge in bankruptcies raises concerns about the
stability of even large-scale businesses in Finland, underscoring
that high revenue does not necessarily equate to immunity from
financial distress, according to Helsinki Times.




===========
F R A N C E
===========

IDEMIA GROUP: Fitch Alters Outlook on 'B' LongTerm IDR to Stable
----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has revised IDEMIA Group S.A.S.'s Outlook to Stable
from Positive, while affirming its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating
(IDR) at 'B'.

The revision in Outlook to Stable follows IDEMIA's recently
launched EUR250 million increase in its existing term loan B (TLB),
which together with EUR100 million of available cash, will be used
to fund a preferred equity repayment to its shareholders. The
additional debt delays deleveraging, with debt service and cash
flow metrics now adequately positioned at the 'B' rating through to
2025. The rating gives the company flexibility to execute its
growth strategy and/or accommodate additional shareholder
distributions, which Fitch would view as event risk.

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

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Debt-Funded Dividend: Pro-forma for the recently launched EUR250
million TLB add-on, Fitch forecasts EBITDA leverage at around 4.7x
in 2024 before it reduces mildly towards 4.6x in 2025. The
extension of IDEMIA's TLBs and revolving credit facility (RCF) this
summer into 2028 is credit-positive for prudent liabilities
management. However, higher interest rates and gross debt,
including the EUR250 million TLB add-on, weighs on FCF and coverage
metrics. Following the expiry of existing interest-rate hedges,
Fitch forecasts EBITDA interest cover at around 2.5x-3.0x in
2024-2025.

Strong 9M23 Performance: Revenues for 9M23 were up 11.4% yoy at
constant currency, with its enterprise and government businesses up
9.9% and 7%, respectively. However, normalisation of volumes in
enterprise and, in particular, payment services caused enterprise
revenue to fall 4% yoy in 3Q23 at constant currency, which was
counterbalanced by a high value product mix (personalisation, eSIM,
etc). Solid growth in the company's government business raised
revenues in 3Q23 by 11.3% yoy, with strong momentum in border
control, civil ID and transportation (TSA enrollment).

Enterprise to Slow: Fitch expects some normalisation of revenues
and profitability in its enterprise business by end-2023 and into
2024. As supply shortages and customer inventory build-up ease,
Fitch expects increased competition may affect volumes and prices
and forecast a 2% revenue decline in 2024, with a company-defined
EBITDA margin of around 24%, down from 25% in 2023.

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

Upside in Government Business: Government margins have remained
rather stable but Fitch expects some price increases to feed into
both revenues and margins in 2023-2024 as contracts come up for
renewal. Fitch expects around a 7% revenue growth in the government
business in 2023, mainly derived from public security solutions,
such as biometric travel, law enforcement and road safety.

Positive but Slim FCF: Absolute FCF levels are fairly low, with
forecast FCF margins at around 2%-3% in 2024-2025. This is due to
high capex including R&D spend and higher interest payments
following the expiry of existing interest-rate hedges. In addition,
a new government contract (automated boarder control system) in
Singapore supports sales growth, but also exacerbates
working-capital outflows for 2023 via inventory build-up, which
Fitch expects to ease into 2024.

Deleveraging Subject to Sustained Profitability: Fitch still sees
some uncertainty around the extent of positive momentum and
structural improvement in profitability, which are key to IDEMIA's
deleveraging. Fitch sees some risk of price pressure within the
more commoditised enterprise division as competition increases and
technology matures, where the latter may be more of a medium-term
risk.

Earnings Quality: Fitch forecasts restructuring and transformation
costs of around EUR30 million in 2024 (EUR25 million in 2023).
Fitch treats most restructuring and transformation expenses as
recurring and include them in EBITDA and funds from operation (FFO)
as they are attributable to cost-cutting projects and are likely to
persist. Fitch sees them as part of IDEMIA's continuing efforts to
improve operational efficiency with a view to standardisation,
simplification and digitalisation of business processes.

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

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

DERIVATION SUMMARY

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

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

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

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

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

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

- Revenue growth of 8% in 2023, followed by low-to-mid single-digit
growth in 2024-2025

- Fitch-defined EBITDA margin at around 19.5% in 2023 and around
18.5%-19.0% in 2024

- Capex at around EUR165 million-EUR170 million per year in
2023-2025

- All restructuring charges are reflected in EBITDA and FFO

- A EUR350 million dividend by end-2023, followed by no M&A or
dividends to 2025

RECOVERY ANALYSIS

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

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

Its analysis assumes post-restructuring going-concern EBITDA of
around EUR300 million (increased with larger scale). This reflects
stress assumptions of a loss of major contracts following
reputational damage, for example as a result of compromised
technology (leading to sustained high leverage and negative cash
flow) or a major shift in technology usage making IDEMIA's products
obsolete.

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

Fitch deducts administrative claims, EUR85 million of factoring,
and EUR65 million of senior debt at operating subsidiaries as
prior-ranking claims ahead of the RCF and TLB in the liability
waterfall. Based on current metrics and assumptions, the waterfall
analysis generates a ranked recovery at 54% and hence in the 'RR3'
band, indicating a 'B+' instrument rating for the senior secured
TLBs.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

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

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

- EBITDA interest coverage above 3.0x

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

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

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

- Sustained neutral to negative FCF

- EBITDA interest coverage below 2.5x

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Satisfactory Liquidity: IDEMIA had a reported cash position of
around EUR350 million as of September 2023, and hence around EUR250
million of available cash pro-forma for the anticipated dividend
payment. Fitch forecasts positive FCF in 2023 and 2024, further
supported by an undrawn EUR300 million RCF, yielding satisfactory
liquidity.

Manageable Refinancing Risk: Fitch accesses refinancing risk as
manageable owing to some forecast deleveraging, and interest cover
metrics sustained within the 'b' level through to 2025. The RCF and
TLB maturities have been extended into 2028. Fitch expects
increased interest costs post-expiry of interest hedging by
end-2023 and reduced, but still positive, FCF in 2024 and 2025.

ISSUER PROFILE

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

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

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

   Entity/Debt              Rating         Recovery   Prior
   -----------              ------         --------   -----
IDEMIA Group S.A.S.   LT IDR B   Affirmed             B

   senior secured     LT     B+  Affirmed    RR3      B+

IDEMIA America Corp.

   senior secured     LT     B+  Affirmed    RR3      B+

IDEMIA France S.A.S.

   senior secured     LT     B+  Affirmed    RR3      B+



=============
H U N G A R Y
=============

NITROGENMUVEK ZRT: Fitch Cuts LT IDR to 'CCC+', On Watch Neg.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Nitrogenmuvek Zrt's (Nitrogenmuvek)
Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and its senior unsecured
rating to 'CCC+' from 'B-' and placed all ratings on Rating Watch
Negative (RWN). The Recovery Rating is 'RR4'.

The downgrade reflects operational disruptions and material
deterioration in financial performance in 2023 versus prior
expectations due to a fertiliser market downturn and gas prices
rising above long-term averages. All this has heightened the
refinancing risk of its EUR200 million eurobond maturing in May
2025.

In addition, the introduction of a tax on CO2 emissions applied
retrospectively has led to production halt by the company, which
will materially affect its profitability and competitiveness. While
the company is challenging this tax, Fitch believes it is unlikely
to be resolved before the bonds' maturity.

As a result the RWN reflects the fact that Nitrogenmuvek will face
a very high refinancing risk of May 2025 Eurobonds and a
substantially increased possibility of default, in the absence of a
significant improvement in fertiliser prices next year or an
unanticipated equity cure. The RWN will be resolved once Fitch has
more certainty on the bonds refinancing, which may take place
subsequent to six months in the future.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Cash Flows Under Pressure: In 2023 falling fertiliser prices and
high gas costs have hit the company's margins and cash flow
generation. This, along with the introduction of CO2 emissions tax,
would lead to a HUF6 billion loss by end-2023 and negative free
cash flow (FCF) of around HUF1 billion. Fitch forecasts thin EBITDA
margins until end-2025, leading to normalised EBITDA gross leverage
of 4.7x only in 2026.

CO2 Tax Squeezed Margins: Nitrogenmuvek faces around HUF10 billion
of payments per year, due to the newly introduced tax on CO2
emissions of about EUR36 per tonne and a 15% transaction fee on a
CO2 emission quota sale. The company halted production as a result
but plans to restart from the beginning of 2024. It is contesting
the tax legality but Fitch believes court rulings may take several
years. Payment of CO2 emissions tax, along with its assumptions for
fertiliser and gas prices, would lead to negative EBITDA in 2023
and EBITDA under pressure until 2026, jeopardising business
sustainability.

Very High Refinancing Risk: Fitch believes it would be challenging
to refinance its 2025 eurobond given Nitrogenmuvek's weak financial
performance and fertiliser market trends, which are amplified by
the introduction of CO2 tax and adverse financial market
conditions. With forecast negative EBITDA in 2023 and positive but
weak EBITDA in 2024-2025 the company will not be able to repay the
bonds from internally generated liquidity sources.

Minimal 2024 Liquidity Headroom: Fitch expects Nitrogenmuvek to
have sufficient liquidity at end-2023 to cover its short-term
obligations in 2024. By end-2023 the company expects its
unrestricted cash reserves to amount to HUF21 billion (around EUR58
million) and a high level of inventory, which can be liquidated at
discounted prices. This compares against HUF19 billion (around
EUR50 million) annual fixed costs and HUF10 billion (around EUR25
million) in loan repayments. The company will need alternative
liquidity sources to address partial repayment and/or refinancing
of the eurobond in 2025.

Single Asset Risk: Production depends on Nitrogenmuvek's sole
ammonia plant, which exposes the company to operational risk. Fitch
sees this single asset structure as a significant constraint on the
stability of cash flow, even though it has been more stable since
the completion of a capex programme in 2018, after a period of
recurring unplanned outages. This also exposes Nitrogenmuvek to a
single region that can be affected by local weather or regional
fertiliser affordability.

Price and Gas Cost Volatility: Nitrogenmuvek lacks the product and
geographical diversification of its international peers, and is at
the upper end of the global ammonia cost curve, which leaves it
more exposed to nitrogen price volatility than lower-cost
producers. It is also exposed to volatility in natural gas prices.

Weak Corporate Governance: Nitrogenmuvek's rating factors in
ownership concentration. In April 2022, the Office of Economic
Competition imposed a fine of about HUF8.5 billion (about EUR23
million) on Nitrogenmuvek for having allegedly infringed the
provision of the Law of Competition. An appeal process is ongoing
and payment of the remaining HUF7.1 billion (about EUR20 million)
is currently suspended, but could be paid in the coming years.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Nitrogenmuvek has a significantly smaller scale and weaker
diversification than most Fitch-rated EMEA fertiliser producers.
This is slightly mitigated by its status as the sole domestic
producer of fertilisers and its dominant share in landlocked
Hungary, with high transportation costs for competing importers.
However, its business model remains highly exposed to high natural
gas costs.

Among its wider peer group, Roehm Holding GmbH (B-/Stable), a
European producer of methyl methacrylate, is a much larger and
diversified company with a robust cost position in Europe but is
also exposed to raw-material volatility and has higher leverage
since its acquisition by a private equity sponsor.

Root Bidco Sarl (B/Stable) has higher leverage among peers and
limited diversification but it operates on a larger scale.

Lune Holdings S.a.r.l. (B/Stable) has similar asset concentration
and has yet to establish a record of stable production at a higher
operating rate. However, it has reduced its supplier dependency
with the construction of an ethylene terminal, and has direct
access to the Mediterranean Sea to reach export markets outside of
Europe.

Italmatch Chemicals S.p.A. (B/Stable) has comparable EBITDA to
Nitrogenmuvek, but benefits from the earnings stability of a
specialty product portfolio across a wider range of end-markets. It
also has operations in multiple regions compared with
Nitrogenmuvek's single-asset operation. Italmatch's rating is
constrained by its high leverage.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

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

- Fitch's global fertiliser price assumptions to 2027

- Fertiliser sales volumes on average at 1.0 million tonnes (mt) in
2023-2027

- Capex on average at 3% of sales in 2023-2027

- Halt of production from November 2023 to end-2023 and resumption
from January 2024

RECOVERY ANALYSIS

- The recovery analysis assumes that Nitrogenmuvek would be
liquidated rather than treated as going-concern (GC) in bankruptcy,
as the estimated value derived from the sale of the company's
assets is higher than its estimated GC enterprise value
post-restructuring

- The liquidation estimate reflects Fitch's view of the value of
inventory and other assets that can be realised in a reorganisation
and distributed to creditors

- Property, plant and equipment is discounted by 65%, the value of
accounts receivables by 25% and the value of inventory by 50%, in
line with peers' and industry trends and taking into account the
company's high operational risk

- Its EUR200 million eurobond ranks equally with its bank debt and
with a HUF7.1 billion fine liability. Its EUR15 million revolving
credit facility (RCF) is senior to other debt. After a deduction of
10% for administrative claims, its waterfall analysis results in a
waterfall-generated recovery computation (WGRC) in the 'RR4' band,
indicating a 'CCC+' instrument rating. The WGRC output percentage
on current metrics and its assumptions was 49%.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

- The ratings are on RWN, and Fitch therefore does not expect a
positive rating action at least in the short term. However, a
clearly defined plan of successful refinancing of the bond without
entering bankruptcy or conducting a distressed debt exchange (DDE);
sustained profitable production; and evidence of sufficient
liquidity headroom could lead to a removal of RWN and a rating
affirmation

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

- Failure to refinance the 2025 eurobond, a debt restructuring or
an DDE

- A material deterioration in Nitrogenmuvek's liquidity and credit
profile due to, among other things, continuous plant shutdown for a
protracted period or unprofitable operations

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

High Refinancing Risk: About 85% of Nitrogenmuvek's debt will
mature in May 2025 when its EUR200 million bond is due. Fitch
expects the company to have sufficient funds to cover its
obligations in 2024.

ISSUER PROFILE

Nitrogenmuvek is Hungary's sole domestic producer of nitrogen
fertilisers, operating a single plant with an annual production
capacity of 1.4mt.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

Nitrogenmuvek has an ESG Relevance Score for Governance Structure
of '4', reflecting its concentrated ownership and ongoing
litigations over alleged infringement of the provision of the Law
of Competition, which has a negative impact on the credit profile,
and is relevant to the ratings in conjunction with other factors.

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

   Entity/Debt                Rating          Recovery   Prior
   -----------                ------          --------   -----
Nitrogenmuvek Zrt      LT IDR CCC+  Downgrade            B-

   senior unsecured    LT     CCC+  Downgrade   RR4      B-



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

ARES EUROPEAN XVII: Fitch Puts 'B-sf' Final Rating to Class F Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Ares European CLO XVII DAC final
ratings, as detailed below.

   Entity/Debt              Rating           
   -----------              ------           
Ares European
CLO XVII DAC

   Class A notes
   XS2698581928         LT AAAsf  New Rating

   Class B notes
   XS2698582066         LT AAsf   New Rating

   Class C notes
   XS2698582736         LT Asf    New Rating

   Class D notes
   XS2698582579         LT BBB-sf New Rating

   Class E notes
   XS2698582900         LT BB-sf  New Rating

   Class F notes
   XS2698583387         LT B-sf   New Rating

   Subordinated Notes
   XS2698583114         LT NRsf   New Rating

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Ares European CLO XVII DAC is a securitisation of mainly senior
secured obligations (at least 90%) with a component of senior
unsecured, mezzanine, second-lien loans and high-yield bonds. Note
proceeds have been used to fund a portfolio with a target par of
EUR400 million. The portfolio is actively managed by Ares
Management Limited.

The collateralised loan obligation (CLO) has a 5.1-year
reinvestment period and an 8.1-year weighted average life (WAL)
test at closing, which can be extended by one year, at any time,
from one year after closing.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Average Portfolio Credit Quality (Neutral): Fitch places the
average credit quality of obligors at 'B'/'B-'. The Fitch weighted
average rating factor (WARF) of the identified portfolio is 26.1.

High Recovery Expectations (Positive): At least 90% of the
portfolio comprises senior secured obligations. Fitch views the
recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable than for
second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch weighted
average recovery rate (WARR) of the identified portfolio is 61.8%.

Diversified Asset Portfolio (Positive): The transaction has a
concentration limit for the 10 largest obligors of 20%. The
transaction also includes various concentration limits, including
the maximum exposure to the three-largest Fitch-defined industries
in the portfolio at 40%. These covenants ensure the asset portfolio
will not be exposed to excessive concentration.

WAL Step-Up Feature (Neutral): The transaction can extend the WAL
by one year, to 9.1 years, on the step-up date, which can be one
year after closing at the earliest. The WAL extension is at the
option of the manager but subject to conditions including the
collateral quality tests and the reinvestment target par, with
defaulted assets at their collateral value.

Portfolio Management (Neutral): The transaction has a 5.1 year
reinvestment period, which is governed by reinvestment criteria
that are similar to those of other European transactions. Fitch's
analysis is based on a stressed-case portfolio with the aim of
testing the robustness of the transaction structure against its
covenants and portfolio guidelines.

Cash Flow Modelling (Positive): The WAL used for the Fitch-stressed
portfolio analysis was reduced by 12 months. This reduction to the
risk horizon accounts for the strict reinvestment conditions
envisaged after the reinvestment period. These include passing the
coverage tests and the Fitch 'CCC' maximum limit after reinvestment
and a WAL covenant that progressively steps down over time after
the end of the reinvestment period. In the agency's opinion, these
conditions would reduce the effective risk horizon of the portfolio
during the stress period.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DATA ADEQUACY

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

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

NEUBERGER BERMAN 5: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F-R Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings today assigned its credit ratings to Neuberger
Berman Loan Advisers Euro CLO 5 DAC's class A-R, B-1-R, B-2-R, C-R,
D-R, E-R, and F-R notes. The issuer will also issue unrated
subordinated notes.

At closing, the issuance proceeds of the refinancing notes were
used to redeem the refinanced notes and pay fees and expenses
incurred in connection with the reset.

This is a European cash flow CLO transaction, securitizing a pool
of primarily syndicated senior secured loans or bonds. The
portfolio's reinvestment period ends approximately 4.62 years after
closing, and the portfolio's maximum average maturity date is seven
years after closing.

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

S&P considers that 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.

  Portfolio benchmarks
                                                          CURRENT

  S&P Global Ratings weighted-average rating factor       2689.43

  Default rate dispersion                                  574.75

  Actual Weighted-average life (years)                       4.25

  Obligor diversity measure                                127.10

  Industry diversity measure                                22.14

  Regional diversity measure                                 1.30


  Transaction key metrics
                                                          CURRENT

  Total par amount (mil. EUR)                                300

  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)                                  0

  Number of performing obligors                              161

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

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                           0.92

  Actual 'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)               36.90

  Actual Weighted-average spread net of floors (%)          4.00

S&P said, "In our cash flow analysis, we modeled the EUR300 million
target par amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread of 3.90%,
the covenanted weighted-average coupon of 4.25%, and the covenanted
weighted-average recovery rates for all rated notes. 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.

"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 ratings, as the exposure to individual
sovereigns does not exceed the diversification thresholds outlined
in our criteria.

"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 is bankruptcy remote, in line
with our legal criteria.

"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-R, B-1-R, B-2-R, C-R, D-R, E-R, and F-R notes. Our credit and
cash flow analysis indicates that the available credit enhancement
for the class B-1-R to E-R notes is commensurate with higher
ratings than those assigned. However, as the CLO will have a
reinvestment period, during which the transaction's credit risk
profile could deteriorate, we have capped our assigned ratings on
these notes.

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

  Ratings

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

  A-R      AAA (sf)    183.00   39.00   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                        plus 1.74%

  B-1-R    AA (sf)      24.50   27.50   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                        plus 2.45%

  B-2-R    AA (sf)      10.00   27.50   6.50%

  C-R      A (sf)       17.30   21.73   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                        plus 3.35%

  D-R      BBB- (sf)    20.20   15.00   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                        plus 5.35%

  E-R      BB- (sf)     12.00   11.00   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                        plus 7.67%

  F-R      B- (sf)      10.50    7.50   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                        plus 9.18%

  Sub      NR           25.00     N/A   N/A

*The ratings assigned to the class A-R, B-1-R, and B-2-R notes
address timely interest and ultimate principal payments. The
ratings assigned to the class C-R, D-R, E-R, and F-R notes address
ultimate interest and principal payments.


PALMER SQUARE: Fitch Assigns 'BBsf' Final Rating to Class E Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has assigned Palmer Square European Loan Funding
2023-3 DAC notes final ratings, as detailed below.

   Entity/Debt                  Rating           
   -----------                  ------           
Palmer Square European
Loan Funding 2023-3

   A XS2712136626           LT AAAsf New Rating
   B XS2712137350           LT AAsf  New Rating
   C XS2712137517           LT Asf   New Rating
   D XS2712138168           LT BBBsf New Rating
   E XS2712138085           LT BBsf  New Rating
   Sub Notes XS2712147078   LT NRsf  New Rating

TRANSACTION SUMMARY

Palmer Square European Loan Funding 2023-3 DAC is an arbitrage cash
flow collateralised loan obligation (CLO) that is being serviced by
Palmer Square Europe Capital Management LLC (Palmer Square). Net
proceeds from the issue of the notes have been used to purchase a
static pool of primarily secured senior loans and bonds, with a
target par of EUR400 million.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

'B' Portfolio Credit Quality (Neutral): Fitch places the average
credit quality of obligors in the 'B' category. The Fitch weighted
average rating factor (WARF) of the identified portfolio is 23.3

High Recovery Expectations (Positive): Senior secured obligations
and first-lien loans make up around 98% of the portfolio. Fitch
views the recovery prospects for these assets as more favourable
than for second-lien, unsecured and mezzanine assets. The Fitch
weighted average recovery rate (WARR) of the identified portfolio
is 65.2%.

Diversified Portfolio (Positive): The largest three industries
comprise about 35% of the portfolio balance, the top 10 obligors at
10.3% and the largest obligor at 1.2%.

Static Portfolio (Positive): The transaction does not have a
reinvestment period and discretionary sales are not permitted.
Fitch's analysis is based on the identified portfolio, which it
stressed by notching down once for all obligors on a Negative
Outlook (floored at CCC-), which is 7.7% of the identified
portfolio. Post the adjustment on Negative Outlook, the WARF of the
identified portfolio would be 23.8.

Deviation from Model-Implied Ratings (MIR): The class B, C, D and E
notes are rated one notch below their model-implied ratings (MIR),
reflecting insufficient break-even default rate cushion for the
Fitch-stressed portfolio at their MIRs, due to currently uncertain
macro-economic conditions.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

A 25% increase of the mean default rate (RDR) across all ratings
and a 25% decrease of the recovery rate (RRR) across all ratings of
the identified portfolio would lead to a downgrade of up to three
notches for the rated notes.

Downgrades, which is based on the identified portfolio, may occur
if the loss expectation is larger than initially assumed, due to
unexpectedly high levels of default and portfolio deterioration.
Due to the better WARF of the identified portfolio than the
Fitch-stressed portfolio and their MIR deviation, the class B, C, D
and E notes display a rating cushion of one notch.

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

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

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

Upgrades may occur on stable portfolio credit quality and
deleveraging, leading to higher credit enhancement and excess
spread available to cover losses in the remaining portfolio.

DATA ADEQUACY

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

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



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

KCELL JSC: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable
-----------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Kcell JSC's Long-Term Issuer Default
Rating (IDR) at 'BB+' with a Stable Outlook.

Kcell's ratings benefit from its moderate to strong linkage to its
parent, Kazakhtelecom JSC (Kaztel, BBB-/Stable). Kcell has a
Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) of 'bb'. The one-notch rating
differential between Kcell and Kaztel reflects Kcell's standalone
status as a public company with a large minority shareholding, the
parent's commitment to running Kcell as a separate entity and
minimal parental guarantees.

Fitch expects the company's credit metrics to deteriorate on the
back of high capital requirements, increased interest and dividend
payments, which will lead Fitch-defined EBITDA net leverage to
increase to 2.4x-2.9x in 2024-2026. This is still below the
negative sensitivity of 3.1x. but with minimal headroom. Fitch also
expects EBITDA interest cover (subject to future funding costs) to
weaken to below 3.5x from 2024.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Increasing Leverage: Fitch projects Kcell's EBITDA net leverage to
rise to 1.3x in 2023 from -0.04x in 2022 due to substantial capex
and 5G spectrum acquisition payments this year, increased debt as
well as reinstated dividend payments. Fitch expects leverage to
rise further to 2.4x-2.9x in 2024-2026 as the company continues the
development of 4G infrastructure alongside the rollout of its 5G
network. Net leverage remains below the negative sensitivity of
3.1x, albeit with limited headroom.

Substantially Higher Capex: Following the purchase of 5G spectrum
and the associated capex requirements coupled with 4G
infrastructure upgrade needs, Fitch forecasts capex to rise to 75%
of revenue in 2023 from 17% in 2022 and to remain high at 25%-35%
in 2024-2025.

Kcell and its sister company Mobile Telecom Service LLP (MTS)
acquired frequencies in 3,600-3,700 MHz (100 MHz) and 3,700-3,800
MHz (100 MHz) radio frequency bands for KZT156 billion, for which
they paid equally in 1H23. Following the acquisition of the
spectrum the companies will have to install more than 7,000 5G base
stations throughout the country by 2027.

FCF Constrained: High capex needs, together with increased interest
payments and reinstated dividend payments, will lead to a negative
free cash flow (FCF) generation in its base case. Fitch expects
interest payments to increase as a result of higher debt to fund
enlarged capex requirements and higher interest rates. As of 9M23,
most of the company's debt had a fixed rate above 18% versus
11%-13% as of end-2022.

Strong Market Position, Some Attrition: Kcell remains the
second-largest mobile operator in Kazakhstan with a subscriber
market share of around 30% at end-2Q23. However, its market share
has been gradually declining for at least the past six years,
mainly driven by the company's underinvestment in 4G. As of
end-2Q23, its 4G/LTE coverage was 72% of Kazakhstan's population,
compared with 88% for VEON (mobile market leader in Kazakhstan).
Significant investments in the network upgrade as well as 5G
roll-out after receiving the corresponding spectrum in 2022 should
support its market positions.

EBITDA Margin Pressures: Fitch-defined EBITDA margin declined to
35.9% in 9M23 from 37.6% in 2022 and was lower than Fitch expected,
due to increased fees for spectrum following the award of 5G
spectrum at end-2022. Fitch expects EBITDA margin will further
decline to 30% in 2024 as a result of the full-year impact of
increased fees for spectrum and higher personnel costs. However,
the cash impact from increased spectrum fees is much lower as the
company receives state subsidy covering 90% of the fee amount. The
subsidy expires in 2025, but Fitch assumes it will be extended for
another five to 10 years.

Evolving Regulatory Environment: Changes in the regulatory
environment in Kazakhstan may have an impact on Kcell by increasing
competition. These include the entry of a fourth mobile operator
Freedom Mobile (potentially limited impact in the short term given
uncertainties on network deployment and viability of business case;
this company currently does not have any spectrum) and a potential
decrease of the company's ownership by the parent Kaztel
(increasing risks of higher lease payments for Kaztel's backbone).
Fitch treats the latter as an event risk given no visibility on the
transaction at this stage.

Another 5G Auction Raises Uncertainty: Another round of 5G spectrum
auction is anticipated in Kazakhstan by end-2023 or in 2024. Should
the company bid in the auction and win, its capex will escalate to
accommodate additional spectrum expenses and associated 5G network
rollout requirements. This might strain Kcell's ratings by pushing
leverage above its downgrade sensitivity.

PSL-Driven Rating: Under Fitch's Parent-Subsidiary Linkage (PSL)
Ratings Criteria Fitch rates Kcell using a top-down approach, with
one notch below Kaztel's consolidated credit profile. Fitch
assesses the overall parent-subsidiary linkage between Kcell and
Kaztel as 'Moderate' to 'Strong', with the parent as the stronger
entity, given Kcell's 'bb' SCP.

'High' Strategic Incentive: Fitch views the strategic incentive (as
defined by its PSL Criteria) for Kaztel to support Kcell as 'High'.
Kcell contributes roughly 35% of Kaztel's consolidated revenues and
control over Kcell allows Kaztel to have leading market positions
in the Kazakh mobile market. Fitch expects the mobile segment to be
one of Kaztel's major growth drivers.

'Medium' Operational, 'Low' Legal Incentives: Fitch assesses the
operational incentive for support from Kaztel as 'Medium'. This is
underpinned by considerable cost savings at the group level,
counterbalanced by the absence of common management and
brand-sharing. Fitch views legal incentives as 'Low', given the
lack of parental guarantees on a significant amount of Kcell's
debt. Any intercompany loans to the parent would need approval from
Kcell's independent directors, which limits the parent's ability to
tap the cash flows of its subsidiary.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

Kcell's peer group includes Turkish mobile-focused operator
Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. (Tcell; B/Stable) and German
mobile operator Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG (TEF DE;
BBB/Stable).

Kcell's ratings benefit from a single-notch uplift to its 'bb' SCP
for its moderate to strong parent-subsidiary linkage to Kaztel.
Like Tcell and TEF DE, Kcell has a sound mobile market position,
low leverage and good cash flow generation outside the peak of its
investment cycle. However, Kcell is significantly smaller than its
peers, lacks a proprietary backbone network infrastructure and has
limited access to international capital markets.

Unlike Tcell, whose ratings are constrained by Turkiye's Country
Ceiling, Kcell operates in a more stable operating environment and
is not exposed to foreign-exchange risks. However, Tcell also
offers fixed-line services in Turkiye and owns its fixed-line
infrastructure.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

- Low single-digit revenue growth in 2023, recovering to
high-to-medium single digits in 2024-2026

- Fitch-defined EBITDA margin at 35.5% in 2023, declining further
to 30%-30.6% in 2024-2026

- Working-capital cash outflows of KZT6 billion per year in
2023-2026

- Cash capex at 75% of revenues in 2023 (including spectrum
payments), 35% in 2024 and 25% in 2025

- No M&A to 2026

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

An upgrade of Kaztel, provided parent-subsidiary linkage is
unchanged

Stronger linkage to Kaztel, including through shareholder funding
or guarantees provided by Kaztel on a significant amount of Kcell's
debt

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

A downgrade of Kaztel, provided parent-subsidiary linkage is
unchanged

Weaker linkage to Kaztel, including due to a decline in Kaztel's
ownership in Kcell or from higher EBITDA net leverage sustained
above 3.1x without a clear path for deleveraging and no commitment
by the parent to provide financial support

Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative
Rating Action for the SCP but Not Necessarily Kcell's IDR:

Weakening operating profile with slower revenue growth and
profitability due, for example, to intensifying competitive
pressures following the entry of the fourth mobile operator

EBITDA interest cover below 3.5x on a sustained basis, and negative
pre-dividend FCF generation outside the peak of the investment
cycle

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Weakened Liquidity: Kcell had KZT4 billion of cash and cash
equivalents at end-September 2023 and a KZT55.5 billion undrawn
revolving credit facilities with maturities in April 2024 and
February 2025, compared with only KZT2.5 billion of debt maturing
in 2024. However, the company would need to raise additional debt
to finance its negative FCF, expected by Fitch at around KZT200
billion in 2023-2025 due to high capex and dividend payments.

Kcell's refinancing risk is mitigated by its strong relationships
with local banks, fairly low leverage and some capex flexibility.

ISSUER PROFILE

Kcell is the second-largest mobile-only operator in Kazakhstan. At
end-2018, 75% of the company's share capital was acquired by
state-owned fixed-line incumbent operator Kaztel from Telia. Kaztel
sold 24% of Kcell in September 2021 on the Kazakh Stock Exchange,
retaining a controlling 51% stake in the company.

PUBLIC RATINGS WITH CREDIT LINKAGE TO OTHER RATINGS

Kcell's ratings are linked to Kaztel's.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

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

   Entity/Debt               Rating             Prior
   -----------               ------             -----
Kcell JSC             LT IDR  BB+    Affirmed   BB+
                      Natl LT AA(kaz)Affirmed   AA(kaz)

   senior unsecured   LT      BB+    Affirmed   BB+

   senior unsecured   Natl LT AA(kaz)Affirmed   AA(kaz)



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

BANCA TRANSILVANIA: Fitch Affirms BB+ LongTerm IDR, Outlook Stable
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Banca Transilvania S.A.'s (Transilvania)
Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB+' with a Stable
Outlook, and its Viability Rating (VR) at 'bb+'.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Standalone Strength Drives Ratings: Transilvania's ratings reflect
its strong and well-established domestic franchise, healthy capital
buffers supported by strong internal capital generation, and a
stable funding profile. They also reflect the bank's reasonable
asset quality, underpinned by conservative underwriting.

Moderate Business Prospects: The strength of the Romanian economic
environment is converging toward central and eastern European
levels, improving Romanian banks' moderate opportunities for
profitable business. The sector's reasonable financial metrics and
growth prospects are balanced against potential volatility in
Romania's macroeconomic variables. Banks' high exposure to the
Romanian sovereign (BBB-/Stable), meaningful sector fragmentation,
low financial inclusion levels in the economy and
higher-than-peers' euroisation of the economy are key structural
weaknesses.

Leading Domestic Franchise: Transilvania is the largest Romanian
bank, with a market share of close to 20% in total sector assets.
Its business model focuses on serving SMEs, entrepreneurs and
retail clients, with whom it has strong relationships. A granular
loan book and limited exposure to volatile industries support its
record of strong performance through the cycle.

Granular Lending; Sovereign Risk: Transilvania's moderate risk
profile reflects its conservative risk framework and granular loan
book focused on retail, SME and medium-sized corporate borrowers.
However, the bank's exposure to the Romanian sovereign via debt
securities is high and a source of market risk.

Asset-Quality Risks: Fitch expects a modest weakening in
Transilvania's impaired loans ratio (end-9M23: 3.2%) to just above
3.5% over the next two years given high inflation, increased
borrowing costs and macroeconomic challenges. Loan-quality metrics
have benefitted from high growth and limited new impaired loans.
Solid provisions coverage should allow the bank to absorb the
expected pressure on asset quality.

Strong Profitability to Moderate: The bank's profitability was
strong in 9M23 with an operating profit/risk-weighted assets of
about 6%, underpinned by a higher net interest margin (NIM),
non-interest income growth, good cost efficiency and low impairment
charges. Fitch expects Transilvania's profitability to soften due
to pressure on NIM and higher operational expenses given wage
increases and the upcoming turnover tax.

Strong Capital Ratios: Transilvania's ratings capture its high
capital metrics with a common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 17.1%
at end-September 2023, low capital encumbrance by unprovisioned
impaired loans and robust profitability. Fitch expects the CET1
ratio to increase moderately on strong internal capital generation.
The bank's sizeable exposure to the sovereign remains a risk,
increasing vulnerability of capital to shocks related to the
sovereign.

Healthy Funding, Reasonable Liquidity: The bank's funding profile
is solid with a gross loans/customer deposits ratio of about 60% at
end-September 2023, underpinned by its robust deposit franchise
with a stable and granular deposit base. Liquidity remains
reasonable, comfortably covering modest refinancing needs with
sizeable holdings of liquid assets.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

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

The bank's ratings could be downgraded if a sustained asset-quality
deterioration drives a structural weakening of profitability. This
could result from a sustained rise in its impaired loans ratio
above 5% and a fall in its operating profit/RWAs to below 2.5%.

The ratings could also be downgraded on a material and sustained
weakening of Transilvania's capitalisation, for example if the
bank's CET1 ratio falls below 15% on a sustained basis.

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

An upgrade of Transilvania's ratings would require an upward
revision of the Romanian operating-environment score (bb+), while
the bank maintains strong financial metrics. This could happen if
risks posed by the Romanian sovereign to the banks' operating
environment diminish.

An upgrade of the GSR would be contingent on a positive change in
the sovereign's propensity to support the bank. However, this is
highly unlikely, given existing resolution legislation.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: KEY RATING DRIVERS

The long-term rating on Transilvania's issued and proposed senior
non-preferred (SNP) notes is rated one notch below the bank's
Long-Term IDR. This is in line with the baseline notching as per
Fitch's Bank Rating Criteria and reflects: i) no full depositor
preference in Romania; ii) its expectation that the bank's
resolution buffer may include senior preferred (SP) debt along SNP
and more junior instruments; and iii) its view that that SNP and
more junior instruments will not exceed 10% of Transilvania's
resolution group RWAs on a sustained basis. The SNP debt rating is
one notch below the bank's Long-Term IDR to reflect the risk of
below-average recoveries in a resolution.

Fitch estimates that the bank's SNP and more junior debt accounted
for about 13% of RWAs at end-3Q23, pro-forma for its recent bond
issue. However, Fitch does not expect the bank's SNP and more
junior debt buffer to exceed 10% of RWAs on a sustained basis. This
reflects its expectations of RWA growth, resolution buffers being
built with a small number of concentrated issuances, and the bank's
allowance to meet the resolution requirement with SP debt.

Transilvania's Government Support Rating (GSR) of 'no support'
reflects Fitch's view that due to the implementation of the EU's
Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive, senior creditors of
Transilvania cannot rely on full extraordinary support from the
sovereign if the bank becomes non-viable.

OTHER DEBT AND ISSUER RATINGS: RATING SENSITIVITIES

The SNP debt rating would be downgraded/upgraded if Transilvania's
Long-Term IDR is downgraded/upgraded.

The SNP debt could be upgraded by one notch to be equalised with
Transilvania's Long-Term IDR if it becomes clear that SNP and more
junior debt would exceed 10% of the resolution group's RWAs on a
sustained basis.

An upgrade of the GSR would be contingent on a positive change in
the sovereign's propensity to support the bank. However, this is
highly unlikely, given existing resolution legislation.

VR ADJUSTMENTS

The operating-environment score of 'bb+' is below the implied
category score of 'bbb', due to the following adjustment:
macroeconomic stability (negative).

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

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

   Entity/Debt                       Rating             Prior
   -----------                       ------             -----
Banca
Transilvania S.A.  LT IDR             BB+    Affirmed   BB+
                   ST IDR             B      Affirmed   B
                   Viability          bb+    Affirmed   bb+
                   Government Support ns     Affirmed   ns

   Senior
   non-preferred   LT                 BB(EXP)Affirmed   BB(EXP)

   Senior
   non-preferred   LT                 BB     Affirmed   BB

[*] ROMANIA: Number of Insolvent Cos. Down 0.2% in Jan-Oct 2023
---------------------------------------------------------------
Bogdan Todasca at SeeNews reports that the number of insolvent
Romanian companies inched down by an annual 0.2% to 5,378 in the
first ten months of 2023, the country's trade registry, ONRC,
said.

According to SeeNews, data published on the ONRC website on Dec. 6
showed the highest number of insolvent companies and legal entities
was registered in the capital Bucharest, jumping by 17.8% on the
year to 1,084.

During the January-October, the highest number of insolvent
companies was registered in the wholesale, retail and motor
vehicles servicing sector -- 1,450, down by an annual 1.4%,
followed by construction with 1,075, up by an annual 3.3%, and
manufacturing with 645, down by an annual 6.5%, SeeNews discloses.





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

BRYMOR GROUP: Seeks to Enter Company Voluntary Arrangement
----------------------------------------------------------
Aaron Morby at Construction Enquirer reports that Hampshire-based
contractor Brymor Group Southern is seeking to enter a Company
Voluntary Arrangement with its creditors.

Last month, the directors laid off around 30 staff as the company
restructured amid a fall off in new work, Construction Enquirer
recounts.

According to Companies House, long-serving managing director Mark
Dwyer and HR director Carmen Morton exited the business last month,
Construction Enquirer notes.

The firm was formerly known as Brymor Construction, which went into
administration in 2022 when it was acquired by investment company
Portchester Equity, Construction Enquirer discloses.

The company said under new ownership, the business had been
targeting revenue of GBP50 million and before the redundancies
employed around 70 staff, Construction Enquirer relates.

COUNTYROUTE (A130): S&P Raises Sr. Sec. Debt Rating to 'B+'
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its rating on CountyRoute (A130) PLC's
(CountyRoute) senior secured debt to 'B+' from 'B'.

S&P said, "The positive outlook reflects our expectation that the
reserve accounts will further protect the senior debt service over
time alongside stable traffic and operational performance. The
recovery rating on the senior debt remains '1' (with a higher
expected recovery of 95%).

"We continue to consider the junior debt as contingent on favorable
business, financial, and economic conditions for the project.

"We therefore affirmed our 'CCC+' rating on CountyRoute's junior
debt. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the Project
will service the junior debt with the cash available after the
senior debt repayment at maturity, including liquidity released
from the senior debt reserve account. stable. The recovery rating
remains '6' (0%) on the junior debt."

Special-purpose vehicle CountyRoute used the proceeds of the senior
and junior debt it issued in 2004 to refinance debt taken to
design, build, finance, and operate the 15-kilometer A130 bypass
that runs from Chelmsford to Basildon in southeast England under a
30-year concession agreement with Essex County Council (the
Council). Construction completed in 2003. The operations and
maintenance (O&M) services are carried out by Ringway
Infrastructure Services (Ringway) under a back-to-back O&M services
agreement. CountyRoute's revenue is shadow toll-based, with about
55% derived from traffic volume-linked payments, and the remaining
45% from availability payments.

-- Limited market risk exposure due to the partially
availability-based payment structure.

-- Relatively simple O&M requirements.

-- Robust liquidity reserve built up with trapped cash, while the
expected lock-up until maturity ensures it will not be
distributed.

-- Four years of tail from maturity in March 2026 to the end of
concession in 2030, supporting our recovery expectations.

-- Weak annual debt service coverage ratios (ADSCRs) falling below
1.0x in most periods, with the project relying on cash-funded
reserve accounts to meet senior debt payments.

-- Event of default persists under senior debt documentation.

CountyRoute has ample liquidity available to service its senior
debt obligations. The Project has accumulated exceptionally robust
liquidity comprising contractually required debt service reserve
account (DSRA; GBP 7.4 million as of Sept. 30, 2023) and
maintenance reserve account (MRA; GBP6.9 million as of Sept. 30,
2023), and cash trapped in the mandatory prepayment reserve account
(MPRA; around GBP12 million as of Sept. 30, 2023), reserved for
senior debt repayment. S&P expects liquidity reserves to be drawn
on in several periods, because CountyRoute's availability-based
fees and toll tariffs are contractually set to decline as the
project approaches maturity in March 2026, which results in weaker
cash flow available for debt service.

CountyRoute remains in a position of default under its senior debt
documentation. The Project made disallowed payments of
GBP933,346.12 in 2016 in respect of junior debt facilities, and
senior lenders reserved their rights in relation to this position.
No other default is outstanding as of September 2023. The Project's
resulting lock-up means there will be no cash distributions to
maturity, thus ensuring a sizeable cash cushion stays available for
senior debt servicing.

S&P expects CountyRoute's revenues to be supported by sustainable
traffic volumes and a good operational performance. Traffic volumes
have been growing steadily in 2022-2023. Heavy vehicle (HGV)
traffic in 2022-2023 increased by 21% from 2020-2021 levels. Light
vehicles (LV) traffic grew by 41% in the same period, exceeding its
forecasts from last year thanks to the resumption of commuting and
personal travel. HGV traffic's somewhat lower growth is due to the
continuing depressed macroeconomic environment. The operational
performance remains good. Lane availability has been maintained
above the 99% target in most of the Project's life since 2004. Any
nonavailability deductions for ordinary maintenance are passed down
to the operator.

Repayment of junior debt remains dependent on operational
performance and operational cash flow generation at the expected
levels. Junior debt service is deferred until the scheduled
maturity of both senior and junior debt in March 2026. Cash
released from contractual reserve funds upon repayment of senior
debt is sufficient to repay junior debt obligations under our
base-case scenario, but not under the stressed scenario. Therefore,
S&P remains of the opinion that junior debt repayment is dependent
on favorable business, financial, and economic conditions.

S&P said, "The positive outlook indicates our expectation of
reserve accounts further protecting the senior debt service over
time. This is because, as debt is repaid towards maturity, the
reserve accounts will cover a higher proportion of the senior debt
outstanding. In addition, a positive rating action would depend on
cash flows being supported by sustainable traffic volumes and good
operational performance, with the Project remaining under lock-up
until maturity.

"We could revise the outlook to stable if the Project's liquidity,
comprising funds held in contractual reserve accounts, falls below
GBP13.5 million. This could occur, for example, if the Project's
operational cash flow generation decreases in multiple periods,
leading to a depletion of contractual cash reserves. We could also
take a negative rating action if the project distributes cash
currently held in MPRA.

"The stable outlook on the rating on the junior debt reflects our
expectation that the Project will be able to service the junior
debt with the cash available in the project after the senior debt
repayment at maturity, including liquidity released from the senior
debt reserve account."

The repayment of junior debt is thus contingent on favorable
business, financial, and economic conditions for the project.

S&P said, "We could take a negative rating action on the junior
debt if we consider the liquidity available in the project under
our base-case scenario insufficient to repay the junior debt at
maturity.

"We could consider raising the rating if the Project's operational
performance improved so that the liquidity sources available to
junior debt cover its repayment under both our base-case and
downside-case scenarios."


INEOS ENTERPRISES: Moody's Alters Outlook on 'Ba3' CFR to Negative
------------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed INEOS Enterprises Holdings
Limited's (INEOS Enterprises) Ba3 corporate family rating, its
Ba3-PD probability of default rating, along with Ba3 ratings of its
senior secured term loans issued by INEOS ENTERPRISES HOLDINGS II
LIMITED and INEOS ENTERPRISES HOLDINGS US FINCO LLC. The rating
outlook has been revised to negative from stable for all entities.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The rating action reflects INEOS Enterprises' weak performance in
the first nine months of 2023, as well as the expectation of slow
recovery throughout 2024 and into 2025. Three of INEOS Enterprises'
key business segments, pigments, solvents and chemical
intermediates, are underperforming due to unfavourable market
conditions.  At the same time the hygienics business is continuing
to generate negative EBITDA as the company establishes its first
retail presence. The composites business, which generated EUR45
million of EBITDA in the third quarter of 2023, was the only part
of INEOS Enterprises' portfolio that sustained mid-cycle
performance.

The pigments business suffered from reduced construction demand
particularly in North America while KOH business performed better
due to strong demand for chlorine.  Solvents were negatively
impacted by cost-advantaged imports from APAC, particularly with
respect to BDO.  Intermediates' results were supported by stability
in the Calabrian business but offset by weakness in Joliet which
was affected by soft demand in North America and APAC imports;
compounds have also seen weaker demand in Europe. Strong
performance of composites was underpinned by good demand in North
America especially in the transportation and infrastructure
segments.  Composites volumes were pressured in Europe and APAC,
but successfully offset by pricing.  

As a result of the weakness in most of its business lines, INEOS
Enterprises' credit profile has been pressured with Moody's
adjusted leverage at 5.6x for the last twelve months ending
September 2023 and expected to be at 6.4x for the full year 2023
and 4.7x in 2024.  The company's leverage is anticipated to reduce
closer to 4.0x, the level commensurate with its Ba3 rating, in
2025.  As well, interest coverage will likely be weak in 2023 and
2024.  Further, the rating agency expects INEOS Enterprises'
Moody's adjusted free cash flow (after working capital, capex and
dividends) to be negative when accounting for shareholder loan
repayments as dividends.

The Ba3 corporate family rating of INEOS Enterprises Holdings
Limited reflects the company's robust business profile, which
benefits from its leading positions in many of its markets and high
degree of diversification, as well as the growing scale of its
overall revenue base. INEOS Enterprises' assets and sales are
evenly balanced between EMEA and the Americas, although with a
limited presence in Asia-Pacific.

Counterbalancing these strengths are the parent company's history
of shareholder-friendly policies and the intrinsic cyclicality of
INEOS Enterprises' business. The group also demonstrates modest
operating profitability relative to other chemical producers of
similar scale, although Moody's expect it to continue to increase
its efficiency over time.

LIQUIDITY

INEOS Enterprises' liquidity is good with approximately EUR370
million of cash at September 30, 2023 and undrawn working capital
facilities of EUR250 million with EUR132 million availability. The
company's nearest debt maturity is in 2030 (except for a factoring
facility maturing in 2024).

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The senior secured term loan B of INEOS Enterprises (issued through
subsidiaries) is rated Ba3, at the same level as its CFR of Ba3.
Following the refinancing of the term loan A, INEOS Enterprises has
only term loan B outstanding.

RATING OUTLOOK

Negative rating outlook reflects Moody's expectation that INEOS
Enterprises' earnings will continue to be pressured by reduced
demand globally through the end of 2023 and into 2024, thereby
delaying the company's return to a credit profile commensurate with
the current rating. The agency also expects no additional dividend
payments in the near term; any further dividends paid before market
conditions have improved resulting in a recovery of the company's
EBITDA generation would further pressure the rating.

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

Although unlikely in the near term, positive rating momentum may
arise over time should INEOS Enterprises demonstrate consistent
profitability by maintaining or growing its Moody's-adjusted EBITDA
margin in the teens; sustained positive free cash flow (FCF)
generation after capital spending and dividends; Moody's-adjusted
total and net debt/EBITDA below 3.0x and 2.5x, respectively,
through the cycle; and a conservative financial policy in line with
its stated net leverage target of below 3.0x through the cycle.

Conversely, the rating could come under downward pressure if INEOS
Enterprises' operating results fall short of Moody's expectations
and FCF generation (after shareholder loan distributions) continues
to be negative, resulting in some deterioration in liquidity and
leverage reflected in Moody's-adjusted total and net debt/EBITDA
rising above 4x and 3.5x, respectively, for an extended period.

PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Chemicals
published in October 2023.

COMPANY PROFILE

Headquartered in the UK, INEOS Enterprises Holdings Limited is a
leading producer of intermediary chemicals with 28 manufacturing
sites globally, with concentration in Europe and North America.
INEOS Enterprises operates five business lines including pigments,
components, solvents, intermediates and hygienics.  In the first
nine months of 2023, the company generated EUR2.7 billion in
revenues and EUR324million in EBITDA.

SQUIBB GROUP: HMRC Criticizes Insolvency Practitioners
------------------------------------------------------
Colin Marrs at Construction News reports that HMRC has criticised
the behaviour of two insolvency practitioners who oversaw an
aborted attempt to save Squibb Group in the run-up to its demise.

Louise Baxter and Dominik Thiel-Czerwinke, from insolvency
specialist Begbies Traynor, had been nominated to implement a
proposed company voluntary arrangement (CVA) that would have
created a repayment plan for creditors, Construction News relates.

However, the plan was ultimately unsuccessful and on Monday, Dec.
4, a High Court judge issued a winding-up order against Squibb, but
declined to appoint the pair as liquidators after HMRC raised
concerns about their conduct during the CVA process, Construction
News discloses.  Instead the judge appointed the official receiver
to oversee the appointment of liquidators, Construction News
notes.

According to Construction News, court documents show that HMRC
claims it is owed more than GBP18 million by Squibb after its fraud
unit found the firm's directors had used company cash for private
expenses including a family holiday.

In documents submitted to the court, HMRC said that Squibb's CVA
proposals had wrongly stated these debts "were contingent debts and
indicated that these would be valued at GBP1 for voting purposes",
Construction News recounts.

It said that the CVA nominees had indicated that this treatment by
the company appeared to be reasonable "despite such treatment being
wrong in law".

The tax body's court submission said that it repeatedly contacted
the CVA nominees making clear that it considered that it was
entitled to vote on the basis of the full GBP18 million and asking
them to confirm HMRC's voting entitlement, according to
Construction News.

However, it said that the nominees "failed to respond
substantively".

Shortly before a meeting of creditors due to be held on Nov. 21,
the CVA process was cancelled.

HMRC, as cited by Construction News, said in its submission: "The
CVA proposals were never viable because HMRC did not support the
CVA proposals and had a blocking vote -- something which had been
made abundantly clear to the company and the CVA nominees."

It added: "This whole episode was a waste of time and money,
something which the CVA nominees would have appreciated if they had
properly valued HMRC's debt for voting purposes and sought HMRC's
views on the CVA proposal."


STRATTON 2024-1: S&P Assigns Prelim 'B- (sf)' Rating to F Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned preliminary credit ratings to Stratton
Mortgage Funding 2024-1 PLC's class A loan note and class A to
F-Dfrd notes. At closing the issuer will also issue unrated class
Z, X1, and X2 notes, and unrated RC1 and RC2 certificates.

The transaction is a refinancing of Stratton Mortgage Funding
2021-2 PLC, which closed in Feb 2021. It is a static RMBS
transaction that securitizes a portfolio of a randomly selected
subpool of GBP1.03 billion owner-occupied and buy-to-let mortgage
loans secured on properties in the U.K.

At closing the seller (Ertow Holdings XI DAC) will purchase the
beneficial interest in the portfolio from Stratton, who in turn
acquired the portfolio from the original sellers, NRAM Ltd. and
Bradford and Bingley PLC. The issuer will use the issuance proceeds
to purchase the full beneficial interest in the mortgage loans from
the seller. The issuer will grant security over all of its assets
in favor of the security trustee.

The pool is well seasoned. The loans are first-lien U.K.
owner-occupied and BTL residential mortgage loans, however the pool
includes a small percentage of lifetime mortgage loans. The
borrowers in this pool may have previously been subject to a county
court judgement, an individual voluntary arrangement, a bankruptcy
order, may be self-employed, have self-certified their incomes, or
were otherwise considered by banks and building societies to be
nonprime borrowers. The loans are secured on properties in England,
Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland and were mostly originated
between 2003 and 2009.

Of the preliminary pool, there is high exposure to interest-only
loans in the pool at 93.7%. 19.2% of the mortgage loans are
currently in arrears greater than (or equal to) one month.

A general reserve fund provides liquidity and credit enhancement,
and principal can be used to pay senior fees and interest on the
rated notes subject to various conditions. A further liquidity
reserve fund will be funded to provide liquidity support to the
class A debt and B-Dfrd notes.

Topaz Finance Ltd. is the servicer in this transaction.

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

S&P said, "Our credit and cash flow analysis and related
assumptions consider the transaction's higher defaults and longer
recovery timing. Considering these factors, we believe that the
available credit enhancement is commensurate with the preliminary
ratings assigned. The issuer is an English special-purpose entity,
which we consider to be bankruptcy remote in our analysis."

  Preliminary ratings

   CLASS       PRELIM. RATING    CLASS SIZE (%)

   A loan note     AAA (sf)         38.475

   A               AAA (sf)         42.525

   B-Dfrd          AA (sf)            7.25

   C-Dfrd          A (sf)             3.75

   D-Dfrd          BBB (sf)           2.50

   E-Dfrd          BB+ (sf)           1.50

   F-Dfrd          B- (sf)            1.50

   Z                NR                2.50

   X1               NR                0.25

   X2               NR                0.25

   RC1 certs        NR                 N/A

   RC2 certs        NR                 N/A

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


YPG INVESTAR: Mellior Group Completes Fabric Village Acquisition
----------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Whelan at Place North West reports that Mellior Group has
completed the acquisition of the stalled 413-apartment scheme in
the city's Islington district, the firm's second purchase in recent
months.

Previously being developed by YPG, the two-phase Fabric Village has
been stalled since 2021 after two vehicles attached to the Gildart
Street project -- YPG Investar Islington House and YPG Fabric
Residence -- collapsed into administration, Place North West
relates.

The deal was first reported by Place North West in October, at
which point Mellior had been under offer on the site, Place North
West notes.

JLL and Landwood Group acted on behalf of administrator FRP
Advisory to sell the site, Place North West discloses.

According to Place North West, Mellior Group, a venture from former
Crossfield director David Cain, has also recently acquired a plot
off Ford Lane in Salford with planning permission for 119 homes.
Crossfield was liquidated in 2022 after what Cain described as a
"two years of hell", Place North West recounts.




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

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

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

Review by Susan Pannell

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



                           *********


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

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

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

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

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

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


                * * * End of Transmission * * *