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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

          Tuesday, December 26, 2023, Vol. 24, No. 258

                           Headlines



A Z E R B A I J A N

AZER-TURK BANK: S&P 'B+/B' Issuer Credit Ratings, Outlook Stable


B E L G I U M

TELENET GROUP: S&P Affirms 'BB-' ICR on Takeover by Liberty Global


C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C

LIBERTY OSTRAVA: Czech Declares Overall Moratorium on Debts


G E R M A N Y

ENVALIOR: S&P Downgrades ICR to 'B-' on Elevated Leverage
INSTAFREIGHT: Files for Insolvency in Berlin-Charlottenburg Court


G R E E C E

PIRAEUS BANK: DBRS Hikes LongTerm Issuer Rating to BB


H U N G A R Y

ARTEMIS MIDCO: Moody's Alters Outlook on 'B3' CFR to Positive


I R E L A N D

AB CARVAL I-C: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F Notes
CONTEGO CLO XII: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F Notes
PENTA CLO 15: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F Notes
SONA FIOS I: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F Notes


I T A L Y

PIAGGIO AERO: January 30, 2024 Deadline Set for Final Offers


N E T H E R L A N D S

MAGOI B.V.: DBRS Hikes Class F Notes Rating to B(high)


P O R T U G A L

ARES LUSITANI: DBRS Hikes Class D Notes Rating to BB


S P A I N

AUTONORIA SPAIN 2019: DBRS Confirms C Rating on Class G Notes
LSF11 BOSON: DBRS Puts 'BB(sf)' Cl. C Notes Rating Under Review


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

CARDIFF AUTO 2022-1: S&P Raises Class E Notes Rating to 'BB+ (sf)'
CONSORT HEALTHCARE: S&P Cuts Senior Secured Debt Rating to 'BB-'
DOWSON PLC 2022-1: Moody's Cuts Rating on GBP12.9MM E Notes to B1
FARFETCH LTD: Independent Directors Step Down from Board
FARFETCH LTD: Secures $500MM Loan to Boost Liquidity

GENESIS MORTGAGE 2022-1: DBRS Confirms BB(high) Rating on E Notes
HARBOUR NO 1: DBRS Confirms BB(low) Rating on Class G Notes
MAISON BIDCO: S&P Affirms 'B+' Sr. Sec. Bond Rating, Outlook Neg
MINERVA PARENT: S&P Withdraws 'B' Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating
W H BARLEY: Goes Into Administration

WARWICK FINANCE: DBRS Confirms BB(high) Rating on Class E Notes
WJ CAPPER: Enters Administration Weeks Following CVA Deal
[*] UK: Construction Insolvencies Up 36% in October 2023
[*] UK: Corporate Insolvencies Rise to 2,466 in November 2023

                           - - - - -


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A Z E R B A I J A N
===================

AZER-TURK BANK: S&P 'B+/B' Issuer Credit Ratings, Outlook Stable
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings took various rating actions on financial
institutions in Azerbaijan:

-- S&P affirmed its 'B+/B' long- and short-term issuer credit
ratings (ICRs) on Azer-Turk Bank OJSC. The outlook is stable.

-- S&P revised the outlook to positive from stable and affirmed
its 'BB-/B' long- and short-term ICRs on Entrepreneurship
Development Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

-- S&P affirmed its 'BB-/B' long- and short-term ICRs on Kapital
Bank OJSC. The outlook is positive.

-- S&P revised its long-term ICR on PASHA Bank to 'BB-' from 'B+'
and affirmed the 'B' short-term ICR on the bank. The outlook is
stable.

S&P said, "In our view, the funding profile of Azerbaijan's banking
system has strengthened over the past few years.

"Retail deposits in the system have expanded 70% since year-end
2016. We are not aware of any instances of banks defaulting due to
runs on deposits over the past five years, also following the
revocation of Muganbank's license in October 2023. This is despite
some flight to quality for retail deposits following the reduction
in the retail deposit guarantee to a maximum of Azerbaijani new
manat (AZN) 100,000 (about $58,800) per individual from April 2021.
Previously the guarantee fully covered retail deposits. The share
of nonresident deposits, which we view as more volatile than
resident deposits, increased to 5% (AZN2.5 billion) at year-end
2022 from 1.4% in 2021, mostly due to an influx of Russian money.
However, it is considerably lower than in Georgia (18%) and Armenia
(20%).

"Deposit dollarization has progressively reduced. Deposits in
foreign currency reduced to 41% of total customer deposits as of
Oct. 31, 2023, from 79% at year-end 2015. The share is also lower
than in Georgia (51%) and Armenia (50%). Although we acknowledge
the mismatch between loans and deposits in foreign currency, banks
hedge their open currency positions.

"Deposits from GREs make up over half of corporate deposits.
Corporate deposits, predominantly from GREs, have historically
accounted for about two-thirds of deposits, and retail deposits for
about one-third. We believe these factors add additional stability
to Azerbaijani banks' funding profiles. We forecast domestic
systemwide loans to core customer deposits (defined as 100% of
household deposits and 50% of corporate deposits) will slightly
increase but remain below 110% in 2024-2025.

"The banking sector is a net external creditor. We view the
sector's net reliance on external debt favorably compared to the
combined average of its global peers. This means less funding
diversification for domestic banks, leaving them reliant on the
domestic savings formation and the nascent domestic debt markets.
Banks have a limited need to borrow in foreign debt markets given
modest economic prospects and the sufficiency of their deposit
bases. We estimate gross banking system external debt in Azerbaijan
was close to $1 billion as of mid-year 2023. This is mostly from
international financial institutions--including the International
Finance Corp. and the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development--and banks' loans from foreign minority shareholders.

"We therefore improved our view of industry risk to '8', from '9'
and reclassified Azerbaijan in Banking Industry Country Risk
Assessment (BICRA) group '8' from '9'.Following this, the anchor
for banks operating predominantly in Azerbaijan is now 'bb-' versus
'b+' previously. We view the economic and industry risk trends for
the country's banks as stable, which reflects broadly balanced
risks over the next 12-18 months."

Azer-Turk Bank

The 'B+/B' long- and short-term ratings balance Azer-Turk Bank's
overall small domestic market position and rapid growth in consumer
and mortgage lending, which is consuming its capital, with majority
ownership by the government, which is positive for its reputational
and business development. They also account for the planned changes
in the bank's strategy over the next few years.

Outlook

The stable outlook over the next 12 months reflects S&P's
expectations that the bank's business and financial profiles will
remain stable under its new growth strategy.

Upside scenario: S&P said, "In our view, a positive rating is
unlikely over the next 12 months. Beyond then, we could raise the
ratings if the bank achieves substantial domestic market share,
which will require significant time, while preserving its capital
and asset quality metrics."

Downside scenario: S&P could lower the ratings over the next 12
months if the bank's new strategy puts material pressure on its
capitalization and asset quality.

Entrepreneurship Development Fund Of The Republic Of Azerbaijan
(EDF)

The ratings on EDF are based on our view of its important role of
channeling government financing at subsidized rates to
entrepreneurs through commercial banks; absence of any debt; and
robust capitalization. They also reflect its business concentration
on the Azerbaijani banking sector, as well as the high share of
legacy problem loans.

Outlook

S&P said, "The positive outlook reflects our expectations that
EDF's creditworthiness could improve if it significantly reduces
its legacy loan portfolio, and we see no signs of material asset
quality deterioration in the outstanding portfolio over the next 12
months."

Upside scenario: S&P could upgrade the fund over the next 12 months
once it cleans up its loan portfolio from legacy problem loans and
the asset quality of loans disbursed over the past few years
remains comparable to that of peers with an adequate risk
position.

Downside scenario: S&P could revise the outlook to stable or lower
the ratings over the next 12 months if EDF's creditworthiness
weakens following the merger with Azerbaijan Investment Co.

Kapital Bank

The 'BB-/B' long- and short-term ratings on Kapital Bank reflect
its sound market share in the domestic banking sector, especially
in retail lending, a liquid balance sheet, and stable diversified
depositor base. This is offset by its relatively modest franchise
in a global context with increasing concentration on consumer
loans.

Outlook

The positive outlook on Kapital Bank reflects S&P's expectation
that it could continue to outperform most domestic and
international peers in terms of profitability, capitalization, and
asset quality in the next 12 months.

Upside scenario: S&P could raise the ratings over the next 12
months if Kapital Bank continues to demonstrate sound performance
with stable asset quality, high capital buffers, adequate
liquidity, and sustainable risk-adjusted returns in line with those
of higher-rated peers.

Downside scenario: S&P could revise the outlook to stable over the
next 12 months if the bank's rapid growth puts material pressure on
its capitalization and asset quality, and/or its profit generation
significantly lags asset growth.

PASHA Bank

S&P said, "We raised our long-term ratings on PASHA Bank. This
reflects our view of its strengthened stand-alone credit profile
(SACP), benefiting from an increase in funding stability due to a
constant share of GRE funding and retail deposits over the past few
years. We also note that the partial disposal of ownership in its
Turkish subsidiary--expected in late 2023 or early 2024--and
moderate loan growth and increased profitability in 2023, are
supportive of its risk-adjusted capital ratio. In addition, the
bank's asset quality has improved with stage 3 loans at 5.4% of
total loans versus our estimate for system average stage 3 loans of
6%-7% as of Sept. 30, 2023. Under our base-case scenario, we expect
some incremental asset quality deterioration over the next 24
months as loans season in a low growth macroeconomic environment.
However, we think it should be manageable for the bank."

Outlook

The stable outlook on PASHA Bank is based on S&P's expectation that
its solid corporate business franchise in Azerbaijan, large
liquidity buffers, and stable customer deposits will support its
credit profile over the next 12 months.

Downside scenario: S&P could lower the rating in the next 12 months
if the bank's asset quality deteriorates, such that it has
significantly more problem assets than its peers in Azerbaijan.

Upside scenario: A positive rating action is highly unlikely in the
next 12 months because it would require the bank to demonstrate
profitability, capitalization, and asset quality metrics stronger
than its domestic and international peers, which is not S&P's
base-case expectation.

  BICRA Score Snapshot*

  Azerbaijan
                                      TO           FROM

  BICRA group                          8             9

  Economic risk                        8             8

  Economic resilience         Very High risk     Very High risk

  Economic imbalances           High risk           High risk

  Credit risk in the economy  Very high risk     Very high risk

  Trend                            Stable             Stable

  Industry risk                        8             9

  Institutional framework Extremely High risk  Extremely High risk

  Competitive dynamics              High risk        High risk

  Systemwide funding                High risk     Very high risk

  Trend                              Stable            Stable

Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) economic risk and
industry risk scores are on a scale from 1 (lowest risk) to 10
(highest risk).

  Ratings List

  AZER-TURK BANK OJSC

  RATINGS AFFIRMED  

  AZER-TURK BANK OJSC

  Issuer Credit Rating        B+/Stable/B


  ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT FUND OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN

  RATINGS AFFIRMED; OUTLOOK ACTION  
                                               TO     FROM

  ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT FUND OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN

  Issuer Credit Rating             BB-/Positive/B     BB-/Stable/B


  KAPITAL BANK OJSC

  RATINGS AFFIRMED  

  KAPITAL BANK OJSC

  Issuer Credit Rating           BB-/Positive/B


  PASHA BANK
  
  UPGRADED; RATINGS AFFIRMED  
                                               TO     FROM

  PASHA BANK

  Issuer Credit Rating              BB-/Stable/B      B+/Stable/B




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B E L G I U M
=============

TELENET GROUP: S&P Affirms 'BB-' ICR on Takeover by Liberty Global
------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BB-' long-term issuer credit and
issue ratings on Telenet Group Holding N.V. and its debt.

S&P's rating on Telenet is linked to the rating on its parent,
Liberty Global (BB-/Stable/--). The stable outlook on Telenet
mirrors the outlook on the parent.

Multinational telecommunications company Liberty Global PLC has
acquired all the remaining publicly traded shares of Telenet Group
Holding N.V., which leads us to revise Telenet's status within the
group to core from strategically important.

S&P said, "We revised our view of Telenet's status within the group
to core after Liberty Global increased its stake to 100%. Telenet
is a strategic asset for Liberty Global and makes a substantial
contribution to the group's total revenue (21%) and EBITDA (26% of
adjusted EBITDA). Telenet's strategy is in line with Liberty
Global's long-term goal to build leading fixed and mobile converged
national telecoms players. Liberty Global invested a substantial
amount to take over Telenet, which demonstrates the subsidiary's
core strategic importance. We believe Liberty Global will provide
extraordinary financial support to Telenet, if required. We align
our long-term issuer credit rating on Telenet with our 'BB-'
long-term issuer credit rating on Liberty Global.

"We expect Liberty Global's ownership will be moderately negative
to Telenet's financial policy. Telenet's financial policy around
debt leverage could become more aggressive following the takeover.
We believe Liberty Global will gradually align Telenet's financial
policy with its own debt leverage target of net debt to EBITDAal
(after leases) of around 4x-5x, and that Telenet's leverage ratio
could gradually increase to the higher end of the target. This is
more aggressive than Telenet's former financial policy of net debt
to EBITDAal (after leases) of around 3.5x-4.5x. For example,
Liberty Global could push down the debt it used to fund the buyout
(just under EUR1 billion) to Telenet, which would likely result in
S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA of about 5x (from around
4x at year-end 2023). That said, Telenet faces significant
investment requirements from 2024, with capital expenditure (capex)
to sales increasing to about 35% of revenues for its fiber upgrade,
resulting in cash burn over the peak investment period. As a
result, we think Liberty Global may choose to maintain Telenet's
leverage at a more conservative level over the medium term compared
with other group credit pools.

"The entrance of a fourth telecom operator in Belgium could disrupt
Telenet's operating performance in the medium term. Telecoms
providers Digi and Citymesh plan to enter the Belgian telecoms
market to jointly provide mobile, fixed broadband, and TV services
in the next 12 months. The effect of a fourth player entering the
market is not clear at this stage, but we think the near-term
impact will be fairly limited. We note the risk that potential
disruption in Telenet's operating performance from the fourth
player at the time of heavy capital investment could deteriorate
Telenet's key credit measures. However, its strong cash balance,
following the partnership with Fluvius, led to credit measures that
have sizable headroom to absorb underperformance. We expect
adjusted debt to EBITDA of just under 4x at year-end 2023. Liberty
Global's financial policy for Telenet could be more aggressive than
in the past. That said, we believe Liberty Global will be cognizant
of the operating conditions in Belgium and will adjust its
financial policy targets in case Telenet's operating performance is
weaker than expected.

"S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt is net of cash as we have more
certainty that Telenet's substantial cash reserve will stay on its
balance sheet and will not be upstreamed to Liberty Global,
especially due to Telenet's heavy capex requirement.

"The stable outlook indicates that we expect Telenet to remain a
core group entity of Liberty Global. We forecast broadly stable
adjusted EBITDA as growth in the mobile segment will be offset by a
decline in fixed services. That said, we expect adjusted debt to
EBITDA to remain between 4x-5x over the next few years."

Downside scenario

S&P could lower the rating following a downgrade of Liberty
Global.

S&P could lower its stand-alone rating on Telenet if it adopted a
more aggressive financial policy, leading to adjusted debt to
EBITDA of about 5x or more on a sustained basis. This could also
stem from more fierce competition, causing higher churn, or price
pressure with unchanged shareholder remuneration.

Upside scenario

S&P said, "The rating on Telenet is capped at the level of the
rating on its parent, Liberty Global PLC. We could upgrade Telenet
if we raise the rating on Liberty Global. Although unlikely, we
could raise the stand alone rating on Telenet if its management
tightened its financial policy such that it that targets adjusted
debt to EBITDA of below 4x and FOCF to debt--excluding vendor
financing--at more than 10% sustainably.

"ESG factors are an overall neutral consideration in our credit
rating analysis of Telenet Group. Telenet aims to reach net-zero
carbon emissions and increase its use of green electricity to 100%
by 2030."




===========================
C Z E C H   R E P U B L I C
===========================

LIBERTY OSTRAVA: Czech Declares Overall Moratorium on Debts
-----------------------------------------------------------
Jan Lopatka at Reuters reports that a Czech court declared an
overall moratorium on the debts of Liberty Ostrava on Dec. 21, a
court document showed, as the country's main steelmaker idled
production and prepared a recovery plan after its energy supplier
cut it off.

According to Reuters, Liberty's on-site supplier of energy
including heat, pressurised air and electricity, Tameh, was
expected to finish cutting off deliveries on Dec. 21 after falling
into insolvency itself when the steelmaker missed payments.

Most of Liberty's 6,000 employees are to be sent home until
January, the company has said, Reuters notes.

A regional court in Ostrava declared a three-month moratorium on
all debt repayments and appointed a restructuring trustee, the
court's decision posted online said, Reuters relates.

The decision was based on preventative restructuring and a petition
by the company itself, it added.

It already had a moratorium on its debt to Tameh, as it battles a
decline in the European steel market, Reuters states.

The Czech industry minister on Dec. 20 called for the firm's parent
group to return cash loaned to related companies to the firm,
Reuters recounts.

The minister, as cited by Reuters, said the government was among
Liberty's creditors and would also consider filing an insolvency
proposal.

The company says it has a recovery plan that would restart its
furnace, coking plant and other units early next year, while all
employees would be guaranteed salaries for January, Reuters
discloses.

The court document said Liberty was proposing full repayment of its
due debts in 12 monthly instalments starting in April, according to
Reuters.

It said Liberty delivered an expert opinion declaring it was not
insolvent with due debt of CZK3.02 billion versus available means
of CZK2.74 billion, a gap smaller than the 10% threshold for
insolvency, Reuters notes.




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G E R M A N Y
=============

ENVALIOR: S&P Downgrades ICR to 'B-' on Elevated Leverage
---------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered to 'B-' from 'B' its long-term issuer
credit rating on engineering materials producer Envalior's holding
company Envalior Finance GmbH (formerly SCUR-Alpha 1503 GmbH). At
the same time, S&P lowered to 'B' from 'B+' its issue rating on the
senior secured loans.

S&P said, "The stable outlook indicates that we expect moderate
volume growth and a swift recovery in EBITDA over the next 12
months. As a result, adjusted debt to EBITDA should improve to
10.5x-11.5x (10x-11x excluding preferred equity certificates
[PECs]) in 2024. We also expect free operating cash flow (FOCF) to
remain positive, with a comfortable liquidity buffer."

Because of a sharp drop in Envalior's EBITDA, its leverage for 2023
is exceptionally high. Earnings were eroded by the fall in demand,
destocking, and high energy prices, combined with temporary
arbitrage imports from Asia. In the first nine months of 2023,
Envalior's EBITDA (as adjusted by management and excluding pro
forma synergies) declined by about 57% to EUR194 million from
EUR448 million in the same period of 2022. S&P said, "We do not
include the adjustments made by management to reported EBITDA. Our
estimate for S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA in 2023 is EUR145
million-EUR155 million, far below the 2022 figure of EUR510
million. As a result, we anticipate that leverage will be
exceptionally high at over 20x in 2023."

S&P said, "In our view, the severe decline in earnings for 2023 is
exceptional. Envalior saw a 13% decline in volumes, overall, in the
first nine months of the year, in line with industry peers. We
attribute the decline to weak market demand and customers
destocking in response to the global economic slowdown, elevated
inflation, and high interest rates. Margins for specialty materials
and performance materials were relatively resilient compared with
the commoditized intermediates segment, which suffered a slump in
volumes, prices, and margins. In addition to weak demand, energy
prices spiked in Europe, creating a temporary arbitrage window.
Imports of low-cost PA6 base polymers from Asia into Europe were
higher than usual, which kept prices low and squeezed both
Envalior's margins and volumes for intermediates. Moreover,
Envalior has a long-term supplier agreement for the key raw
material. Due to unforeseen circumstances at the supplier site,
combined with record high energy costs in Europe, prices for
caprolactam sourced under this agreement were well above market
prices.

"We expect our adjusted EBITDA to recover to EUR350 million-EUR400
million in 2024 as energy prices and market conditions normalize.
We assume that market demand will gradually improve and that
Envalior will be able to swiftly realize synergies after its
merger. We understand that the normalization of energy prices in
Europe closed the arbitrage window, causing imports of PA6 base
polymers from Asia to return to the historical level in the third
quarter of 2023. In addition, the company has partly hedged its
energy purchase price and reduced the caprolactam offtake volumes
from its main supplier. This will lead to an increase in the
utilization rate of its own caprolactam assets, which have a
relatively competitive cost position in Europe. For engineering
materials, we expect the automotive end market to show moderate
growth, in line with auto production growth and stabilizing volumes
in electrical and electronics (E&E). About 19% of sales are
generated in China so Envalior should also benefit from the
country's gradual economic recovery."

The integration of DSM Engineering Materials with Lanxess AG's
high-performance materials business is progressing well. Envalior
has upsized the synergy potential by about EUR50 million to a total
of more than EUR200 million and included about EUR165 million of
net synergies in its business plan, which runs to 2027. Of these,
the company expects to implement more than 70% in 2024-2025.

S&P said, "Despite a swift recovery in EBITDA, we expect leverage
to remain elevated in 2024-2025. Macroeconomic and market
conditions for European chemical companies are likely to remain
difficult in 2024, with significant uncertainties. We do not expect
EBITDA to return to the historical level of above EUR500 million
until at least 2025. In addition, we expect adjusted debt to
increase because there is EUR130 million-EUR150 million in
nonrecourse factoring and accrued interest for the EUR676 million
in payment-in-kind (PIK) notes and EUR200 million of PECs from
Lanxess--we view all these as debt. As a result, while we forecast
a sharp drop in leverage, adjusted gross debt to EBITDA is expected
to remain elevated at 10.5x-11.5x in 2024. Even in 2025, we predict
that leverage could exceed 8x, the maximum we view as commensurate
with a 'B' rating. We do not net cash, which amounted to EUR345
million as of Sept. 30, 2023, when we calculate leverage for
financial sponsor-owned companies.

"Nevertheless, we expect the company to maintain positive
unadjusted FOCF and a comfortable liquidity buffer. By utilizing
the nonrecourse factoring program, Envalior has been able to reduce
working capital by about EUR120 million in the third quarter, so
that its unadjusted FOCF is forecast to be above EUR20 million in
2023, despite the low earnings. We expect FOCF to increase to above
EUR30 million in 2024 as EBITDA strengthens and the company
maintains its focus on cost efficiency and working capital
management. This is expected to be accompanied by a reduction in
capital expenditure (capex) to about EUR80 million in 2024, from
about EUR90 million in 2023. We view as positive that the liquidity
buffer is comfortable, comprising a cash balance of about EUR345
million and EUR301 million undrawn from the revolving credit
facility (RCF) as of Sept. 30, 2023. The company indicated that it
does not expect its liquidity level to change during the fourth
quarter of 2023.

"We still expect the company's business to benefit from favorable
growth prospects driven by wider secular trends, including electric
vehicle (EV) penetration. Envalior has a strong presence in
applications linked to e-mobility and light-weighting in auto,
proliferation, and miniaturization of connected devices in E&E. It
has potential to grow faster than GDP because of wider secular
trends. For example, EVs use more polymers per vehicle, so we
expect an increase in demand for the polymers used for EVs and the
infrastructure surrounding EVs, such as charging points. Similarly,
E&E growth could be spurred by 5G networks and digitalization, as
well as by increased use of plastics instead of metals because of
demand for light weighting and products that have a lower carbon
dioxide footprint."

The underperformance in 2023 highlighted that the company is
vulnerable to low demand and high energy prices in Europe through
its commoditized intermediates business. Demand remains relatively
slow and energy prices are still relatively high in Europe, which
could make Envalior's intermediates business vulnerable to
competition from imports from low-cost regions. In addition, the
long-term agreement with a main caprolactam supplier will continue
to drag on margins, compared with own production. That said, the
effect will be smaller than it was in 2023, during the energy price
spike. Volatility in earnings and margins will remain, and could
increase from time to time, given the commodity nature of the
intermediates business. That said, the majority of intermediates
serve a captive use and are backward integrated.

S&P said, "The stable outlook indicates that we expect moderate
volume growth and a swift recovery in EBITDA over the next 12
months. Our adjusted debt to EBITDA is set to improve to
10.5x-11.5x (10x-11x without PECs) in 2024, boosted by a rise in
EBITDA. We also expect FOCF to remain positive, with a comfortable
liquidity buffer."

S&P could lower the rating if:

-- FOCF turns negative without any prospects for a swift recovery,
and this leads to a considerable weakening in liquidity; or

-- Funds from operations (FFO) interest coverage fails to improve
to above 1.2x in the next 12 months.

S&P could raise the rating if:

-- Leverage improves rapidly so that adjusted debt to EBITDA is
below 8x (below 7.5x excluding PECs);

-- FFO interest coverage strengthens to above 2x; and

-- The company maintains positive FOCF.


INSTAFREIGHT: Files for Insolvency in Berlin-Charlottenburg Court
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Wojciech Zylm at BNN Breaking reports that Digital freight
forwarding platform, Instafreight, has filed for insolvency in
mid-December at the Berlin-Charlottenburg district court.

The startup, founded in 2016 by Philipp Ortwein and Gion-Otto
Presser-Velder, had successfully raised over EUR70 million in
capital over its operational years, BNN Breaking recounts.  Still,
the company ran into a financial cul-de-sac due to
over-indebtedness, an ironic situation considering it did not face
any liquidity issues, BNN Breaking notes.

According to BNN Breaking, the insolvency proceedings were
reportedly triggered by the unforeseen collapse of a planned
financing round, which came to a standstill when a critical
financial backer withdrew.  This unexpected turn of events led to
the appointment of lawyer Philipp Hacklaender as the insolvency
administrator, BNN Breaking discloses.



===========
G R E E C E
===========

PIRAEUS BANK: DBRS Hikes LongTerm Issuer Rating to BB
-----------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH upgraded the long-term credit ratings of Piraeus
Bank S.A. (the Bank), including the Long-Term Issuer Rating to BB
from B (high). Concurrently, DBRS Morningstar upgraded the Bank's
Long-Term Deposit Rating to BB (high), which is one notch above the
Intrinsic Assessment (IA), reflecting the legal framework in place
in Greece which has full depositor preference in bank insolvency
and resolution proceedings. The trend on all ratings is Stable. The
Bank's IA has been upgraded to BB from B (high) and its Support
Assessment remains SA3.

KEY CREDIT RATING CONSIDERATIONS

Piraeus Bank S.A. is the main operating entity of the Piraeus
Financial Holdings Group (Piraeus or the Group), which is one of
the four systemic banking groups in Greece. Following the corporate
transformation completed in 2020, the Bank is a 100% subsidiary of
Piraeus Financial Holdings S.A..

The upgrade reflects the sustained improvement in the Group's risk
profile, stemming from a further reduction in the stock of legacy
non-performing exposures (NPEs) and a contained new NPE formation.
However, the Group's asset quality metrics still remain relatively
weak by international standards. DBRS Morningstar expects new NPE
inflows to increase in the coming quarters due to higher interest
rates, higher cost of living, and slowdown in economic activity.
Nevertheless, Piraeus's risk profile should remain stronger than in
the past thanks to further de-risking, more robust NPE coverage,
and support to loan expansion from projects connected with the
European Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) funds.

The upgrade also takes into account the Group's strengthened
capital buffers on the back of sustained internal capital
generation as well as a lower burden from NPEs. Piraeus has
demonstrated an improved track record in generating recurring
earnings in recent times, and DBRS Morningstar expects this trend
to remain broadly in place. However, some margin compression,
possibly higher operating expenses in the foreseeable future due to
high inflation and digital investments, as well as an increase in
credit costs due to potential new asset quality risks might curb
the momentum.

The credit ratings continue to take into account the Group's robust
domestic franchise in retail and corporate banking, and its stable
funding and liquidity position. Nonetheless, the credit ratings
also incorporate the moderate diversification of Piraeus' business
model and revenue streams, as well as the high level of deferred
tax credits (DTC) included in the Group's capital structure which
we view as a weaker form of capital.

CREDIT RATING DRIVERS

An upgrade of the credit ratings would require further
strengthening in Piraeus's risk profile and capitalization while
maintaining the improved underlying profitability levels on a
sustained basis.

A downgrade of the credit ratings would result from a material
worsening in Piraeus's capital levels or asset quality. A
significant deterioration in Piraeus's profitability might also
contribute to a downgrade.

CREDIT RATING RATIONALE

Franchise Combined Building Block (BB) Assessment: Moderate

Piraeus is one of the four systemic banking groups in Greece with
total assets of around EUR 79 billion at end-September 2023 and a
leading domestic market position. The Hellenic Financial Stability
Fund (HFSF) remains the Group's main shareholder, holding 27% of
its share capital, however HFSF aims to dispose of all its shares
in the Greek systemic banks before 31 December 2025. After a deep
restructuring process, Piraeus is aiming to enhance and diversify
its revenue sources as well as to improve its operational
efficiency and asset quality further, increase lending volumes, and
maintain adequate capital buffers. Nonetheless, DBRS Morningstar
views the Group's franchise strength as constrained by a moderate
business diversification.

Earnings Combined Building Block (BB) Assessment: Weak/Very Weak

Piraeus's underlying profitability has improved in recent times,
mostly driven by higher interest rates as well as cost savings, and
reduced loan loss provisions (LLPs). In DBRS Morningstar's view,
some of the Group's improved core earnings power is likely to be
offset by spread compression due to higher competition for loan
volumes and higher funding costs, as well as higher operating
expense, and increasing LLPs in the foreseeable future. At the same
time, our expectation is that initiatives to diversify revenue
sources and achieve further cost optimization, remain important
strategic levers to support the Group's profitability. Piraeus
reported a net profit of EUR 575 million in 9M 2023, down 26%
Year-On-Year (YOY), or more than double YOY when excluding one-off
items in both periods. Total revenues were down 6% YOY in 9M 2023,
however this was mainly due to sizeable non-recurring trading gains
and other non-interest income posted in 9M 2022. A significant
pass-through of higher interest rates to the Group's loan book
coupled with limited increase in deposit funding costs, has
contributed to boost net interest income (NII) by 59% YOY in 9M
2023. Net fees, including rental income and other income from
non-banking activity, were up 14% YOY in 9M 2023, despite the
volatility in the financial markets. Piraeus's cost-to-income ratio
was strong at 32% in 9M 2023 on an underlying basis, down from 48%
in 9M 2022. The Group's annualized cost of risk remained sizeable
at around 160 bps in 9M 2023, down from around 190 bps in 9M 2022,
however it was around 90 bps in 9M 2023 excluding provisions for
de-risking, up from around 80 bps in 9M 2022, reflecting higher
concerns around future asset quality trends.

Risk Combined Building Block (BB) Assessment: Weak/Very Weak

Piraeus's asset quality metrics have improved further; however they
remain relatively weak by international standards. As of
end-September 2023, gross NPEs were EUR 2 billion, down 39% YOY,
and the gross NPE ratio was 5.5% (or around 3% net of provisions),
down from 8.8% one year earlier (5.3%). The Group's NPE cash
coverage has increased to 57.3% from 48.9% in the same period,
based on total loan loss reserves. Stage 2 loans (loans where
credit risk has increased since origination) represented 9% of
gross loans at end-September 2023, down from 10% at end-2022. New
loan generation was down 1.5% YOY in 9M 2023, mainly due to higher
interest rates and high repayments by corporates. Nonetheless, net
credit expansion in the performing loan book was around EUR 0.8
billion in 9M 2023, mainly driven by corporate activity, including
projects connected with the RRF funds where Piraeus reported a 40%
market share of new disbursements. The renewal of the Hercules
Asset Protection Scheme (HAPS) for one year until December 2024
might contribute to further de-risking, although to a lesser extent
in DBRS Morningstar's view given its less favorable conditions
compared to the previous versions.

The Group's securities portfolio totaled around EUR 13.6 billion at
end-September 2023, or 17% of its balance sheet. It almost entirely
consisted of debt securities, mainly Greek sovereign bonds which
represented 11% of Piraeus's total assets and 2.2 times its Common
Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital. Due to the classification of around
79% of total securities at Amortized Cost (AC) and the rapid
increase in interest rates, the fixed income portfolio at AC has
generated sizeable unrealized losses which, however, are unlikely
to materialize given Piraeus's solid liquidity position.

Funding and Liquidity Combined Building Block (BB) Assessment:
Good/Moderate

DBRS Morningstar notes that Piraeus's funding and liquidity profile
has stabilized on sound levels, however the level of
diversification in the Group's funding mix remains moderate with
customer deposits accounting for 84% of its total funding at
end-September 2023, followed by ECB sources (8%), interbank market
(5%), and debt securities issued (3%). Deposits are primarily
granular, raised from retail clients, and 76% of total domestic
deposits were savings and sight deposits at end-September 2023,
down from 83% one year earlier as customers are increasingly
seeking for deposit solutions with higher remuneration. ECB funding
was EUR 5.5 billion at end-September 2023, down 62% YOY, following
TLTRO III early repayments and maturities, and compares with EUR
12.7 billion of cash and balances with central banks. The Group's
Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) and its Net Stable Funding Ratio
(NSFR) were 242% and 139% respectively at end-September 2023, and
no bond maturities are envisaged in 2024, however Piraeus has the
option to early redeem a EUR 400 million Tier 2 bond in June 2024.

Capitalization Combined Building Block (BB) Assessment: Weak/Very
Weak

Piraeus's capitalization has strengthened over the last twelve
months, driven by sustained internal capital generation as well as
a lower burden from NPEs. Nonetheless, the quality of the Group's
capital remains relatively weak due to the sizeable level of DTCs
accounted for in its capital structure. As of end-September 2023,
Piraeus's fully loaded CET1 and Total Capital ratios were 12.8% and
17.4% respectively (or 12.9% and 17.6% pro-forma for the RWA relief
from the NPE sales to be completed in the forthcoming period and
including an accrual for a 10% dividend pay-out subject to
regulatory approvals), up from 10.4% and 15.1% one year earlier. As
a result, the capital buffers were 306 bps for the CET1 ratio and
288 bps for the Total Capital ratio above regulatory minimum
requirements at end-September 2023, or 315 bps and 302 bps on a
pro-forma basis. The EBA 2023 Stress Test implied improved results
for Piraeus compared to the exercises carried out in 2018 and 2021
in terms of maximum depletion as well as level of the CET1 ratio in
the final year of the adverse scenario (9.1% at end-2025). DTCs
represented a high 84% of CET1 capital at end-September 2023.

Notes: All figures are in EUR unless otherwise noted.



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

ARTEMIS MIDCO: Moody's Alters Outlook on 'B3' CFR to Positive
-------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the B3 long term corporate
family rating and the B3-PD probability of default rating of
Artemis Midco (UK) Limited, the parent company of Partner in Pet
Food (PPF or the company), a Hungary-based manufacturer of pet
food. Concurrently, Moody's has affirmed the B3 ratings of the
EUR480 million backed senior secured term loan B and the EUR62
million backed senior secured revolving credit facility (RCF)
borrowed by Artemis Acquisitions (UK) Limited. The outlook on both
entities has been changed to positive from stable.

"The outlook revision to positive from stable reflects the
company's strong improvement in operating performance and its rapid
deleveraging over the last year, on the back of pricing actions to
offset higher input costs and greater focus on more profitable
products", says Valentino Balletta, a Moody's Analyst and lead
analyst for PPF.

"Success in demonstrating continued earnings growth, sustained
improvement in credit metrics, and in addressing its refinancing
requirements in due course could result in a rating upgrade", adds
Mr Balletta.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The ratings affirmation and positive outlook reflect PPF's
improving profitability and deleveraging progress over the last
year with PPF's debt/EBITDA (on a Moody's adjusted basis) declining
to 5x in the last twelve months as of September 2023, from 7.6x at
the end of 2022. Strong performance was on the back of pricing
actions implemented by the company in 2022 to offset higher input
costs, by optimisation of Stock-Keeping Units (SKUs) and a shift in
product mix towards margin-accretive segments, namely wet pet food,
pouches, and snacks over dry pet food.

As a result, while volumes declined by 2.4% in the first nine
months of 2023 compared to the same period a year before, mainly
due to the company's strategy of focusing on smaller-size
higher-margin products, but yet started turning moderately positive
in the third quarter, sales increased by 18.5%. Consequently, PPF's
EBITDA margin has increased sequentially and reached 15.7% in the
third quarter, also supported by some moderation in commodity
costs, driving a 80% EBITDA increase year on year in the first nine
months of 2023 to EUR91.6 million. This is much stronger than
Moody's previous expectations.

Moody's expects this positive trend to persist in Q4 2023 and in
2024, supporting the improvement in profitability and resulting in
positive free cash flow generation over the next 12-18 months.
Thus, Moody's projects the company's debt/EBITDA to decline to 4.8x
in 2023, and to approach 4.5x by the end of 2024, supported by the
company's continuous focus on premium and higher-margin products as
well as on specific accretive sales channels (that is, pet
specialists and e-commerce) and countries that are becoming
increasingly important in driving the strategic margin-accretive
business model.

Moody's expectations is despite the current challenging
macroeconomic environment and the general contraction in consumer
spending which somewhat reduce visibility on the company's
operating performance in the next 12 months. Consumer demand of pet
food remains robust with high volume resilience despite sharp
increase in pricing as pet-humanization, desire for natural
ingredients, convenience, and sustainability requirements are
driving premiumization across European markets, a trend that
continues to accelerate also in high inflationary times. In
addition, PPF's product portfolio is well suited for economic
downturns because it is predominantly based on private-label, which
typically perform well when consumers become more price conscious.

The B3 CFR affirmation takes into account that the company will
proactively address its refinancing requirements at a manageable
cash interest cost. While refinancing needs remain, Moody's derives
comfort from the fact that improvements in cash flow generation,
bolstered by robust earnings, offers a buffer to allow for
refinancing at higher interest rates facilitating the refinancing
of upcoming debt maturities.

The rating is currently constrained by a degree of uncertainty
surrounding the financial policy and the risk that the sponsor may
opt to use the financial flexibility gained from robust earnings to
re-leverage the restricted group and pay a dividend. This concern
is particularly relevant given the existence of a substantial
shareholder loan within the capital structure of EUR474 million.

LIQUIDITY

Moody's expects PPF to maintain adequate liquidity in the near
term, supported by EUR56.4 million in cash as of September 2023 and
EUR42.4 million available under the EUR62 million revolving credit
facility (RCF), which is expected to be fully available towards the
year-end 2023. The rating agency expects the company's to maintain
ample headroom under the springing covenant of net leverage not
exceeding 9.0x, tested when the facility is more than 50% drawn.

Furthermore, Moody's expects PPF's Moody's-adjusted funds from
operations to comfortably cover capital spending needs of around
EUR40 million- EUR47 million including lease payments and moderate
working capital absorption on the back of sales growth.

However, the approaching maturity of its EUR62 RCF in June 2024 and
its EUR480 million term loan B in June 2025, will strain the
liquidity profile and the ratings if it is not extended before the
term loan facility becomes current.

STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

The B3 ratings on the EUR480 million backed senior secured term
loan B and the EUR62 million backed senior secured RCF are in line
with the CFR, reflecting the fact that these two instruments rank
pari passu and represent most of the company's financial debt. The
term loan and the RCF are secured against shares of the obligors,
bank accounts and intragroup receivables, and are guaranteed by the
group's operating subsidiaries representing at least 80% of the
consolidated EBITDA. Moody's consider the security package to be
weak, in line with Moody's approach for share-only pledges. In
addition, the capital structure includes a EUR45 million
second-lien facility, the size of which is currently limited
relative to the group's first-lien debt.

The group's capital structure also includes a EUR474 million
shareholder loan (including accrued interest) borrowed by the
parent company of the restricted group, Artemis Midco (UK) Limited,
and due in 40 years, to which Moody's have assigned 100% equity
credit.

The B3-PD probability of default rating of PPF reflects Moody's
assumption of a 50% family recovery rate, given the weak security
package and the covenant-lite debt structure.

RATIONALE FOR POSITIVE OUTLOOK

The positive outlook reflects Moody's view that PPF will continue
to demonstrate organic sales growth and improvement in
profitability in the next 12-18 months, such that its
Moody's-adjusted gross debt/EBITDA remains consistently below 6.0x.
The positive outlook also factors in Moodys expectation that PPF
will generate positive, although limited, free cash flow (FCF) in
FY 2023 and that it will proactively address its debt maturities
while maintaining broadly stable credit metrics.

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

PPF's ratings could be upgraded if it (1) maintains and continued
to demonstrates a track record of organic revenue growth and
sustainably improves its profit margin; (2) reduces its
Moody's-adjusted gross debt/EBITDA below 6.0x on a sustainable
basis and maintains a financial policy consistent with the current
credit metrics; and (3) maintains an adequate liquidity, supported
by positive cash flow generation. Before an upgrade, the company
will need to address its refinancing needs and demonstrate success
in maintaining a Moody's-adjusted EBITA interest cover above 1.5x.

The ratings could be downgraded if (1) the company's leverage
increases well above 7.0x; or (2) it engages in further significant
debt-financed acquisitions. Ratings would come under pressure if
the company's Moody's-adjusted EBITA interest coverage ratio falls
below 1.0x, liquidity deteriorates more than anticipated, and the
company fails to manage its debt maturities in due course.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Consumer
Packaged Goods published in June 2022.

COMPANY PROFILE

Headquartered in Hungary, Partner in Pet Food (PPF) manufactures a
full range of products in the pet food categories, with leading
market positions in a number of countries in Central Europe. The
company primarily manufactures private-label products, complemented
with a growing portfolio of own brands. PPF sells its products
across multiple distribution channels, including traditional
retailers, discounters, specialty pet retailers and online. In the
last twelve months ended in September 2023, PPF reported revenue of
EUR779 million and EBITDA of EUR118 million. PPF is majority owned
by funds managed by the private equity firm Cinven.



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

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

The class F notes is a delayed draw tranche, which has a maximum
notional amount of EUR10.50 million, and a spread of
three/six-month Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR) plus 10%.
They can only be issued during the reinvestment period. The issuer
will use the full proceeds received from the sale of the class F
notes to redeem the subordinated notes. Upon issuance, the class F
notes' spread could be subject to a variation and, if higher, is
subject to rating agency confirmation.

The ratings assigned 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 Global Ratings' weighted-average rating factor      2,692.52

  Default rate dispersion                                   602.37

  Weighted-average life including reinvestment (years)        4.60

  Obligor diversity measure                                 129.13

  Industry diversity measure                                 21.54

  Regional diversity measure                                  1.31


  Transaction Key Metrics
                                                           CURRENT

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

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                               0

  Covenanted 'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)            37.74

  Covenanted weighted-average spread (%)                     4.08

  Covenanted weighted-average coupon (%)                     4.50


Asset priming obligations and uptier priming debt

Under the transaction documents, the issuer can purchase asset
priming (drop down) 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 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 4.6years 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 EUR330 million
target par amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread (4.08%),
the covenanted weighted-average coupon (4.50%), and the actual
portfolio's 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 rating."

Until the end of the reinvestment period on July 25, 2028, the
collateral manager may substitute assets in the portfolio for so
long as S&P's 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.

The transaction's legal structure and framework is bankruptcy
remote, in line with S&P's 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 Loan, and class A to F notes. 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
CLO will be in its reinvestment phase starting from closing, during
which the transaction's credit risk profile could deteriorate, we
have capped our ratings assigned to the notes.

"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 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."

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

  A         AAA (sf)    142.60     Three/six-month EURIBOR   38.00
                                   + 1.79%                  

  A Loan    AAA (sf)     62.00     Three/six-month EURIBOR   38.00
                                   + 1.79%

  B         AA (sf)      35.50     Three/six-month EURIBOR   27.24
                                   + 3.20%

  C         A (sf)       18.80     Three/six-month EURIBOR   21.55
                                   + 4.05%

  D         BBB- (sf)    21.50     Three/six-month EURIBOR   15.03
                                   + 6.00%

  E         BB- (sf)     13.70     Three/six-month EURIBOR   15.03
                                   + 8.30%

  F†        B- (sf)      10.50     Three/six-month EURIBOR   
7.70
                                   + 10.00%

  Subordinated  NR       35.98     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 to F notes address ultimate
interest and principal payments.
§The payment frequency switches to semiannual and the index
switches to six-month EURIBOR when a frequency switch event occurs.

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


CONTEGO CLO XII: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F Notes
------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Contego CLO XII
DAC's class B, C, D, E, and F notes. The issuer also issued unrated
class A notes and unrated subordinated notes.

The class F notes is a delayed draw tranche, which has a maximum
notional amount of EUR18.20 million and a spread of three/six-month
Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR) plus 10.00%. The class F
notes can only be issued once and only during the reinvestment
period with an issuance amount totaling EUR18.20 million. The
issuer will use the full proceeds received from the sale of the
class F notes to redeem the subordinated notes. Upon issuance, the
class F notes' spread could be subject to a variation and, if
higher, is subject to rating agency confirmation.

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 five 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 said, "We consider that the portfolio on the effective date
will be well-diversified, primarily comprising broadly syndicated
speculative-grade senior secured term loans and senior secured
bonds. Therefore, we have conducted our credit and cash flow
analysis by applying our criteria for corporate cash flow
collateralized debt obligations."

  Portfolio benchmarks
                                                          CURRENT

  S&P Global Ratings' weighted-average rating factor     2,927.38

  Default rate dispersion                                  419.35

  Weighted-average life (years)                              4.64

  Weighted-average life (years) extended
  to cover the length of the reinvestment period             5.10

  Obligor diversity measure                                126.57

  Industry diversity measure                                19.85

  Regional diversity measure                                 1.40


  Transaction key metrics
                                                          CURRENT

  Total par amount (mil. EUR)                              400.00

  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)                                0.00

  Number of performing obligors                               141

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

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                            1.69

  'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)                       35.92

  'AA' weighted-average recovery (%)                        45.56

  Weighted-average spread net of floors (%)                  4.30

  Weighted-average coupon (%)                                5.38


S&P said, "In our cash flow analysis, we modeled the EUR400 million
target par amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread of 4.26%,
the covenanted weighted-average coupon of 5.36%, and the actual
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 that the transaction's exposure to country
risk is sufficiently mitigated 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.

"We consider the transaction's legal structure to be bankruptcy
remote, in line with our legal criteria.

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

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

S&P's analysis further reflects several factors, including:

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

-- S&P's model-generated portfolio default risk, which is at the
'B-' rating level at 24.44% (for a portfolio with a
weighted-average life of 5.10 years) versus 15.81% if it was to
consider a long-term sustainable default rate of 3.1% for 5.10
years.

-- Whether the tranche is vulnerable to non-payment in the near
future.

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

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

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

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

"In addition to our standard analysis, we have also included the
sensitivity of the ratings on the class B 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."

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

  A         NR        248.00     38.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 1.73%

  B         AA (sf)    38.00     28.50    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 2.45%

  C         A (sf)     23.20     22.70    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 3.30%

  D         BBB- (sf)  27.20     15.90    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 5.60%

  E         BB- (sf)   18.40     11.30    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 8.12%

  F†        B- (sf)    18.20      6.75    Three/six-month EURIBOR
  
                                          plus 10.00%

  Sub       NR         41.70       N/A    N/A

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

†The class F notes is a delayed drawdown tranche, which will not
be issued at closing.
EURIBOR--Euro Interbank Offered Rate.
NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.


PENTA CLO 15: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F Notes
---------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Penta CLO 15
DAC's class A loan and class A, B, C, D, E, and F notes. The issuer
also issued unrated subordinated notes.

Under the transaction documents, the rated debt pays 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 is not funded on the closing date
but will be (up to a maximum amount of EUR78 million) if the
initial class A lender elects to convert all of the class A notes
they hold 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, the holders of such debt will receive par plus any accrued
interest up to the redemption date, and 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, our 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 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 debt 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 Global Ratings weighted-average rating factor       2,873.31

  Default rate dispersion                                   566.47

  Weighted-average life (years)                               4.57

  Obligor diversity measure                                 111.71

  Industry diversity measure                                 21.50

  Regional diversity measure                                  1.25


  Transaction key metrics
                                                           CURRENT

  Total par amount (mil. EUR)                               350.00

  Identified assets (%)*                                       100

  Ramp-up at closing (%)*                                      100

  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)                                    0

  Number of performing obligors                                126

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

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                             1.86

  'AAA' weighted-average recovery
  covenanted(%)*/actual(%)§                            
5.44/36.44

  Weighted-average spread covenanted(%)*/actual(%)§†    
4.00/4.15

  Weighted-average coupon covenanted(%)*/actual(%)§     
4.60/7.09

  *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 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.

"The transaction's documented counterparty replacement and remedy
mechanisms 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 ratings, as the exposure to individual
sovereigns does not exceed the diversification thresholds outlined
in our criteria.

"The transaction's legal structure is considered 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 '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
rates.

-- 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 25.57% (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 S&P's cash flow analysis.

S&P said, "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 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 debt,
based on four hypothetical scenarios.

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

  Ratings

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

†The class A loan has an initial notional balance of zero but on
any business day the initial class A lender may elect to convert
all of the class A notes they hold into a class A loan of up to
EUR78 million.
NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.


SONA FIOS I: S&P Assigns B- (sf) Rating to Class F Notes
--------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned its credit ratings to Sona Fios CLO I
DAC's class A-1 loan and class A-1, A-2, B-1, B-2, C, D, E, and F
notes. At closing, the issuer issued unrated 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 debt 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 Global Ratings weighted-average rating factor         804.89

  Default rate dispersion                                   488.51

  Weighted-average life (years)                               4.58

  Obligor diversity measure                                 107.10

  Industry diversity measure                                 22.49

  Regional diversity measure                                  1.16


  Transaction key metrics
                                                           CURRENT

  Total par amount (mil. EUR)                               425.00

  Defaulted assets (mil. EUR)                                    0

  Number of performing obligors                                120

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

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                             0.71

  Targeted 'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)               37.85

  Targeted weighted-average spread net of floors (%)          4.51

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 4.6 years after
closing, and the portfolio's non-call period is 1.5 years after
closing. Under the transaction documents, the rated debt pays
quarterly interest unless there is a frequency switch event.
Following this, the debt will switch to semiannual payment.

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 modeled the EUR425 million
target par amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread of 4.30%,
and the covenanted 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.

"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 mitigate its exposure to counterparty risk under our
current counterparty criteria.

The transaction's legal structure 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-1, B-2, C, D, and E
notes is commensurate with higher ratings than those we have
assigned. However, as the CLO will have a reinvestment period,
during which the transaction's credit risk profile could
deteriorate, we have capped 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 '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
rates.

-- 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 25.74% (for a portfolio with a weighted-average
life of 4.58 years), versus if it was to consider a long-term
sustainable default rate of 3.1% for 4.58 years, which would result
in a target default rate of 14.20%.

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

S&P said, "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
each class of 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-1 loan and class A-1 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."

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

  A-1 notes  AAA (sf)   196.50    42.00   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 1.85%

  A-1 loan   AAA (sf)    50.00    42.00   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 1.85%

  A-2        AAA (sf)    21.20    37.01   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 2.25%

  B-1        AA (sf)     32.50    27.01   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 2.70%

  B-2        AA (sf)     10.00    27.01   6.40%

  C          A (sf)      23.20    21.55   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 4.00%

  D          BBB- (sf)   27.80    15.01   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 5.90%

  E          BB- (sf)    18.10    10.75   Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 8.19%

  F†         B- (sf)     15.90     7.01   Three/six-month EURIBOR

                                          plus 9.60%

  Sub        NR          44.60      N/A   N/A

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

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




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

PIAGGIO AERO: January 30, 2024 Deadline Set for Final Offers
------------------------------------------------------------
Carmelo Cosentino, Vincenzo Nicastro, Gianpaolo Davide Rossetti,
the Extraordinary Commissioners (Commissari Straordinari) of
Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. in extraordinary receivership
proceedings ("Piaggio Aero") and of Piaggio Aviation S.p.A. in
extraordinary receivership proceedings ("Piaggio Aviation")
rescheduled the deadline for all the entities (incorporated as
limited companies) (costituite in forma di societa di capitali)
interested in submitting, or integrating, their final and binding
offers for the purchase of all the business complexes conducted by
Piaggio Aero and Piaggio Aviation.

Such offers must be submitted in a closed envelope to the office of
Notary Annalisa Boschetti ("Studio Notarile Annalisa Boschetti",
Via Passione 1, 20122 Milano) not  later than 6:00 p.m. CET of
January 30, 2024, and must be drawn up in accordance with (and
contain the documents/information required by) the "Specifications
of the sale procedure for Business Complexes conducted by Piaggio
Aero Industries S.p.A. in a.s. and Piaggio Aviation S.p.A. in
a.s.", as will be better detailed by the Extraordinary
Commissioners to those who have expressed/confirmed their interest
and have been formally admitted to the sale procedure within the
terms set forth in the tender rules.




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

MAGOI B.V.: DBRS Hikes Class F Notes Rating to B(high)
------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH upgraded and confirmed its credit ratings on the
bonds issued by Magoi B.V. (the Issuer) as follows:

-- Class A Notes confirmed at AAA (sf)
-- Class B Notes confirmed at AA (sf)
-- Class C Notes confirmed at A (high) (sf)
-- Class D Notes confirmed at A (low) (sf)
-- Class E Notes confirmed at BBB (sf)
-- Class F Notes upgraded to B (high) (sf) from B (sf)

The credit rating on the Class A Notes addresses the timely payment
of interest and the ultimate repayment of principal on or before
the legal final maturity date in July 2039. The credit ratings on
the Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E, and Class F Notes address
the ultimate payment of scheduled interest while the class is
subordinate and the timely payment of scheduled interest as the
most senior class as well as the ultimate repayment of principal by
the legal final maturity date.

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

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults, and
losses, as of the November 2023 payment date;

-- Probability of default (PD), loss given default (LGD), and
expected loss assumptions on the remaining receivables; and

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

The transaction is an asset-backed security (ABS) transaction
comprising a portfolio of fixed-rate unsecured amortizing personal
loans granted to individuals domiciled in the Netherlands for
general consumption. The loan portfolio is serviced by InterBank
N.V., which is owned by Credit Agricole Consumer Finance Nederland
B.V. (CACF NL). The transaction included an eight-month revolving
period, which ended with the August 2020 payment date.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

As of November 2023, loans two to three months in arrears
represented 0.3% of the outstanding portfolio balance, up from 0.2%
in October 2022. The 90+-days delinquency ratio decreased to 0.04%
from 0.1% during this period, and the cumulative default ratio was
0.7%.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar has maintained its base-case PD and LGD
assumptions at 4.0% and 77.0%, respectively.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

The credit enhancement to the rated notes is provided by the
subordination of the junior notes. As of the November 2023 payment
date, credit enhancement to the Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D,
Class E, and Class F Notes was 21.9%, 15.3%, 11.3%, 8.9%, 6.6%, and
4.2%, respectively, unchanged since closing because of the pro rata
amortization of the notes.

The transaction includes a liquidity reserve fund of EUR 0.8
million available to the Issuer during the amortization period in
restricted scenarios where the interest and principal collections
are not sufficient to cover the shortfalls in senior expenses, swap
payments, and interest on the Class A and Class B Notes. During the
accelerated redemption period, the liquidity reserve amount is not
available to the Issuer and is instead returned directly to the
liquidity provider.

The transaction also includes a commingling reserve fund of EUR 3.3
million, which may be used each month as part of the available
funds up to the collection amounts not received by the Issuer.

Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CA-CIB) acts as the
account bank for the transaction. Based on DBRS Morningstar's
private credit rating on CA-CIB, the downgrade provisions outlined
in the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors inherent
in the transaction structure, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk
arising from the exposure to the account bank to be consistent with
the credit rating assigned to the Class A Notes, as described in
DBRS Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance
Transactions" methodology.

CACF NL acts as the swap counterparty for the transaction and
CA-CIB acts as the standby swap counterparty. DBRS Morningstar's
private credit rating on CA-CIB is consistent with the First Rating
Threshold as described in DBRS Morningstar's "Derivative Criteria
for European Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the rated notes address the
credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents.

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

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

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.




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

ARES LUSITANI: DBRS Hikes Class D Notes Rating to BB
----------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH upgraded its credit ratings on the notes issued
by Ares Lusitani - STC, S.A. (Pelican Finance No. 2) (the Issuer)
as follows:

-- Class A Notes to AA (high) (sf) from AA (sf)
-- Class B Notes to A (high) (sf) from A (sf)
-- Class C Notes to BBB (high) (sf) from BBB (sf)
-- Class D Notes to BB (sf) from B (high) (sf)

The credit rating on the Class A Notes addresses the timely payment
of scheduled interest and the ultimate repayment of principal by
the legal final maturity date in January 2035. The credit ratings
on the Class B, Class C, and Class D Notes (together with the Class
A Notes, the Rated Notes) address the ultimate payment of interest
while junior to other outstanding classes of notes but the timely
payment of scheduled interest when they are the senior-most
tranche, as well as the ultimate repayment of principal by the
legal final maturity date.

The upgrades follow an annual review of the transaction and are
based on the following analytical considerations:

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults, and
losses, as of the November 2023 payment date;

-- Probability of default (PD), loss given default (LGD), and
expected loss assumptions on the remaining receivables; and

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

The transaction is a static securitization of Portuguese consumer
and auto loan receivables originated and serviced by Caixa
Economica Montepio Geral and Montepio Credito - Instituicao
Financeira de Credito, S.A. The transaction closed in December 2021
with an initial portfolio balance of EUR 356.8 million and has been
repaying principal on the Rated Notes on a pro rata basis since.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

As of the November 2023 payment date, loans that were 0 to 30, 30
to 60, and 60 to 90 days delinquent represented 2.4%, 0.6%, and
0.2% of the outstanding collateral balance, respectively. Gross
cumulative defaults, defined as loans more than 90 days in arrears,
amounted to 1.4% of the original collateral balance, of which 24.1%
has been recovered to date.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar conducted a loan-by-loan analysis of the remaining
pool of receivables and maintained its base case PD and LGD
assumptions at 5.6% and 42.2%, respectively.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

Credit enhancement to the Rated Notes is provided by subordination
of the respective junior obligations and, partially, the cash
reserve, as amortized amounts are released as principal available
funds to amortize the notes. As of the November 2023 payment date,
credit enhancement to the Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D
Notes was 20.5%, 14.8%, 9.9% and 4.5%, respectively, unchanged from
the time of the last annual review 12 months ago due to the pro
rata amortization of the notes.

The transaction benefits from an amortizing cash reserve, funded at
closing to EUR 3.43 million, and has a target balance equal to 1.0%
of the outstanding balance of the Rated Notes, subject to a floor
of EUR 1.78 million. The reserve provides liquidity support to the
transaction as it is available to cover senior expenses and
interest payments on the Class A Notes. As of the November 2023
payment date, the reserve was equal to its floor level of EUR 1.78
million.

Citibank N.A., London Branch (Citibank London) acts as the account
bank for the transaction. Based on DBRS Morningstar's private
credit rating on Citibank London, the downgrade provisions outlined
in the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors inherent
in the transaction structure, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk
arising from the exposure to the account bank to be consistent with
the credit ratings assigned to the Rated Notes, as described in
DBRS Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance
Transactions" methodology.

Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB) acts as the
cap counterparty for the transaction. DBRS Morningstar's private
credit rating on CACIB is consistent with the first rating
threshold as described in DBRS Morningstar's "Derivative Criteria
for European Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the Rated Notes address the
credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents.

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

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

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.



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

AUTONORIA SPAIN 2019: DBRS Confirms C Rating on Class G Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH took the following credit rating actions on the
bonds (together, the rated notes) issued by Autonoria Spain 2019,
FT (the Issuer):

-- Class A Notes confirmed at AAA (sf)
-- Class B Notes upgraded to AA (high) (sf) from AA (sf)
-- Class C Notes upgraded to AA (low) (sf) from A (sf)
-- Class D Notes confirmed at BBB (sf)
-- Class E Notes upgraded to BB (high) (sf) from BB (sf)
-- Class F Notes upgraded to B (high) (sf) from B (sf)
-- Class G Notes confirmed at C (sf)

The credit rating on the Class A Notes addresses the timely payment
of scheduled interest and the ultimate repayment of principal by
the legal final maturity date. The credit ratings on the Class B,
Class C, Class D, Class E, Class F, and Class G Notes address the
ultimate payment (then timely as most-senior class) of interest and
the ultimate repayment of principal by the legal final maturity
date in December 2035.

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

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults, and
losses, as of the October 2023 payment date;

-- Probability of default (PD), loss given default (LGD), and
expected loss assumptions on the remaining receivables; and

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

The transaction is a securitization backed by retail auto loan
receivables associated with a portfolio of new and used vehicle
loans originated by Banco Cetelem S.A.U. (Banco Cetelem) to Spanish
borrowers. The transaction included an initial one-year revolving
period, which ended on the December 2020 payment date.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

As of the October 2023 payment date, loans that were one to two
months delinquent represented 0.2% of the portfolio balance while
loans that were two to three months and loans more than three
months delinquent both represented 0.1% of the portfolio balance.
Gross cumulative defaults in terms of the initial portfolio
balance, including additional purchases that occurred during the
revolving period, amounted to 1.0%, of which 50.9% has been
recovered so far.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar conducted a loan-by-loan review of the remaining
pool of receivables and maintained its base case PD and LGD
assumptions at 4.4% and 85.3%, respectively.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

The subordination of the respective junior class of notes provides
credit enhancement to the rated notes. As of the October 2023
payment date, credit enhancements to the Class A, Class B, Class C,
Class D, Class E, Class F, and Class G Notes have remained
unchanged since closing at 21.0%, 18.0%, 12.5%, 7.0%, 5.0%, 2.5%,
and 0%, respectively, because of the pro rata amortization of the
notes. If a sequential redemption event is triggered, the principal
repayment of the notes will become sequential and nonreversible.

While credit enhancement levels have remain unchanged, DBRS
Morningstar views the lower note factor of 0.25 as a positive
development. Such decrease, together with the good performance
observed so far, has led to the upgrade of the Class B, Class C,
Class E, and Class F Notes.

The structure benefits from a liquidity reserve that was funded at
closing and is available to cover interest deficiencies on the
rated notes if principal collections are not sufficient to cover
shortfalls. The liquidity reserve is currently at its target of EUR
4.65 million. The target amount may be maintained through the
transaction's priority of payments during the normal redemption
period, up to the earlier of the full repayment of the Class D
Notes or the commencement of the accelerated amortization period.
Once the Class D Notes have been redeemed, the target amount will
be set at zero.

BNP Paribas S.A. Sucursal en España acts as the account bank for
the transaction. Based on DBRS Morningstar's private credit rating
on BNP Paribas S.A. Sucursal en España, the downgrade provisions
outlined in the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors
inherent in the transaction structure, DBRS Morningstar considers
the risk arising from the exposure to the account bank to be
consistent with the credit ratings assigned to the rated notes, as
described in DBRS Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for European
Structured Finance Transactions" methodology.

Banco Cetelem acts as the swap counterparty for the transaction,
which in turn is guaranteed by BNP Paribas Personal Finance. DBRS
Morningstar's private credit rating on BNP Paribas Personal Finance
is consistent with the first credit rating threshold as described
in DBRS Morningstar's "Derivative Criteria for European Structured
Finance Transactions" methodology.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the rated notes address the
credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents.

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

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

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.

LSF11 BOSON: DBRS Puts 'BB(sf)' Cl. C Notes Rating Under Review
---------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings GmbH placed its A (low) (sf), BBB (high) (sf), BB
(high) (sf), and BB (sf) credit ratings on the Class A1, Class A2,
Class B, and Class C notes, respectively, issued by LSF11 Boson
Investments S.a.r.l. (Compartment 2) (the Issuer) Under Review with
Negative Implications (UR-Neg.).

The credit ratings on the Class A1 and Class A2 notes (together,
the Class A notes) address the timely payment of interest and the
ultimate repayment of principal by the legal final maturity date.
The credit ratings on the Class B and Class C notes address the
ultimate payment of interest and principal. DBRS Morningstar's
credit ratings do not address payments of Additional Note Payments
(as defined in the transaction documents). DBRS Morningstar does
not rate the Class D or Class P notes (together with the rated
notes, the notes) also issued in this transaction.

The notes are collateralized by a pool of secured Spanish
nonperforming loans (NPLs) and real estate owned assets (REOs)
originated by Banco de Sabadell S.A (Sabadell) and acquired by Lone
Star from Sabadell via one of its subsidiaries, LSF11 Boson
Investments S.a.r.l. (Compartment 1) (formerly LSF113 S.a.r.l.; the
transferor) in December 2020 (the original purchase date). In July
2021, Sabadell and the transferor also entered into a
subparticipation agreement in respect of certain nonaccelerated
loans included in the portfolio. The transferor allocated all its
contractual positions to the Issuer in 2021. As of the July 2021
cut-off date, the gross book value of the loan pool was
approximately EUR 626.8 million and the total outstanding balance
of the subparticipated loans was EUR 21.7 million. The total real
estate value (REV) backing the portfolio amounted to EUR 564.9
million and mostly consisted of residential properties situated in
Spain (93.8% by REV). About 5.4% of the real estate assets by value
were already repossessed as of the cut-off date.

Servihabitat Servicios Inmobiliarios, S.L.U. services the secured
loans and REOs. Hudson Advisors Spain, S.L.U. is the asset manager
and backup administrator facilitator and, as such, acts in an
oversight and monitoring capacity, providing input on asset
resolution strategies.

RATING RATIONALE

The UR-Neg. status follows a review of the transaction and is based
on the following analytical considerations:

-- Transaction performance: Assessment of the portfolio recoveries
as of October 31, 2023, with a focus on: (1) a comparison of actual
gross collections against the servicer's initial business plan
forecast; (2) the collection performance observed over the past
months; and (3) a comparison of current performance and DBRS
Morningstar's expectations.

-- Portfolio characteristics: Loan pool composition as of 31
October 2023 and the evolution of its core features since
issuance.

-- Transaction liquidating structure: The order of priority
entails a fully sequential amortization of the notes (i.e., the
Class A2 notes will begin to amortize following the full repayment
of the Class A1 notes unless an enforcement notice has been
delivered, the Class B notes will begin to amortize following the
full repayment of the Class A2 notes, and the Class C notes will
begin to amortize following the full repayment of the Class B
notes).

-- Liquidity support: The Class A, Class B, and Class C reserve
funds provide liquidity support to the respective classes of notes
and currently stand at EUR 8.2 million, EUR 0.3 million, and EUR
0.5 million, respectively (amounts at closing of EUR 11.0 million,
EUR 1.0 million, and EUR 1.8 million, respectively, and target
amounts equivalent to 5.0%, 8.25%, and 11.0% of the outstanding
balances, respectively).

-- The exposure to the transaction account bank and the downgrade
provisions outlined in the transaction documents.

Additionally, the Issuer operating expenses account, the Issuer
general account, and the REO company (ReoCo) general account are
aimed at providing support to both the Issuer and the ReoCo in
respect of operating expenses, corporate costs, servicing fees and
expenses, and subparticipation fees since inception. The accounts
were funded at closing with proceeds from the issuance of the notes
at EUR 1.0 million, EUR 2.0 million, and EUR 3.0 million,
respectively, and they are replenished on each interest payment
date (IPD) for an amount equal to the estimated budget for the
following two IPDs. The total balance of the three accounts as of
the November IPD was EUR 4.1 million.

According to the latest investor report dated November 27, 2023,
the principal amount outstanding on the Class A1, Class A2, Class
B, Class C, Class P, and Class D notes was EUR 139.6 million, EUR
20.0 million, EUR 12.0 million, EUR 16.0 million, EUR 2.0 million,
and EUR 376.8 million, respectively. The balance of the Class A1
notes has amortized by approximately 30.2% since issuance. The
current aggregated transaction balance is EUR 566.4 million.

As of October 2023, the transaction was performing significantly
below the servicer's initial expectations. The actual cumulative
net collections (before servicing fees and corporate costs) was EUR
60.4 million, whereas the servicer's initial business plan
estimated cumulative net collections (before servicing fees and
corporate costs) of EUR 100.8 million for the same period.
Therefore, as of October 2023, the transaction was underperforming
by EUR 40.3 million (-40.0%) compared with initial expectations.

At issuance, DBRS Morningstar estimated cumulative net collections
(before servicing fees and corporate costs) for the same period of
EUR 40.1 million, EUR 41.4 million, EUR 43.2 million, and EUR 43.7
million at the A (low) (sf), BBB (high) (sf), BB (high) (sf), and
BB (sf) stressed scenarios, respectively. Therefore, as of November
2023, the transaction was above DBRS Morningstar's initial stressed
scenarios.

Pursuant to the requirements set out in the servicing agreement,
the updated business plan for the transaction is expected to be
released in January 2024. The servicer has been underperforming its
executed business plan over the past 12 months.

The UR-Neg. status is based on (1) the current underperformance of
the transaction compared with the executed business plan and (2) a
material mismatch between the timing assumptions made at issuance
and the actual performance of the portfolio. During the Under
Review period, DBRS Morningstar will assess the expected updated
business plan due in January 2024 and the changes from previous
expectations in detail, which may result in changes to its stressed
assumptions.

The final maturity date of the transaction is November 30, 2060.

DBRS Morningstar's credit rating on the rated notes address the
credit risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents. The associated
financial obligations are the related Interest Payment Amounts and
the related Class Balance.

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

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

Notes: All figures are in euros unless otherwise noted.



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

CARDIFF AUTO 2022-1: S&P Raises Class E Notes Rating to 'BB+ (sf)'
------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings raised its credit rating on Cardiff Auto
Receivables Securitisation 2022-1 PLC's class B notes to 'AAA (sf)'
from 'AA (sf)', class C notes to 'AA+ (sf)' from 'A- (sf)', class D
notes to 'A (sf)' from 'BB+ (sf)', and class E notes to 'BB+ (sf)'
from 'B+ (sf)'. At the same time, S&P affirmed its 'AAA (sf)'
rating on the class A notes.

The ratings actions follow its review of the transaction's
performance and the application of S&P's relevant criteria, and
reflects the transaction's current structural features.

The transaction closed in February 2022. The pool balance had
declined to GBP214.57 million as of the October 2023 interest
payment date, from GBP610.0 million at closing, bringing the
current pool factor (the outstanding collateral balance as a
proportion of the original collateral balance) to approximately
35.2%.

The transaction is static and amortized from day one. Collections
are distributed monthly according to separate interest and
principal waterfalls, paying strictly sequentially.

A combination of subordination and excess spread (if available)
provides credit enhancement to the rated notes. The transaction
also has a liquidity reserve, which was fully funded at closing
through the subordinated loan. There are five nonamortizing
liquidity reserve funds, one for each of the rated classes of
notes, with a target amount of 0.75% of the relevant associated
note balances at closing.

The fully sequential repayment of principal has reduced the class A
notes' balance to GBP20.8 million from GBP414.8 million at
closing.

Since closing, the class A, B, C, D, and E notes have benefited
from credit enhancement build-up. As of the October 2023 investor
report, credit enhancement increased to 90.4% from 32.0% at closing
for the class A notes, to 60.0% from 21.3% for the class B notes,
to 45.2% from 16.0% for the class C notes, to 31.1% from 11.0% for
the class D notes, and to 21.2% from 7.5% for the class E notes.

S&P said, "We maintained our 2.00% base-case hostile termination
(HT) rate assumptions, and updated our base-case voluntary
termination (VT) assumptions from 4.35% at closing to 3.00%.

"Under our updated global ABS criteria, we have updated our
stressed recovery assumptions to 38.40% from 38.45% at closing, and
updated our residual value loss assumptions to 39.6% from 40.50% at
closing, at the 'AAA' rating scenario. We have considered the
originator residual value setting and the current pool composition,
including the increase in residual value share from closing.

"Given the observed stable performance and loans' short weighted
average remaining term of 11 months, we reduced our 'AAA' rating
level HT multiple to 4.00x from 4.70x, and the VT multiple to 2.00x
from 2.50x."


Credit assumptions

  PARAMETER        AAA      AA       A     BBB      BB       B

  HT base case (%)    2.00    2.00    2.00    2.00    2.00    2.00

  HT multiple
(at rating level)    4.00    3.00    2.00    1.50    1.25    1.00

  VT base case (%)    3.00    3.00    3.00    3.00    3.00    3.00

  VT multiple
(at rating level)    2.00    1.75    1.5     1.25    1.10    1.00

  Recoveries
  base case (%)      60.00   60.00   60.00   60.00   60.00   60.00

  Recoveries haircut
(at rating level) (%)36.00  25.00   20.00   15.00   12.50    7.50

  Stressed recovery rate
(at rating level) (%)38.40  45.00   48.00   51.00   52.50   55.50

  Residual value loss
(at rating level) (%)38.10  28.00   21.60   15.90    8.90    3.80

  HT--Hostile terminations.
  VT--Voluntary terminations.


As of the October 2023 investor report, the total level of arrears
is 0.3%. Overall, delinquencies have remained low and stable, and
we have not observed a material worsening of portfolio
performance.

S&P said, "We have performed our cash flow analysis to test the
effect of the amended credit assumptions. Our analysis indicates
that the class B, C, D, and E notes can withstand higher stresses
than the ratings previously assigned. We therefore raised our
ratings on the class B, C, D, and E notes. Our analysis also
indicates that the class A notes continue to be able to withstand
stresses commensurate with the currently assigned rating. We
therefore affirmed our 'AAA (sf)' rating on the class A notes.

"We consider the transaction's resilience in case of additional
stresses to some key variables, in particular defaults, recoveries,
and residual value (RV) losses to determine our forward-looking
view.

"In our view, the ability of the borrowers to repay their auto
loans will be highly correlated to macroeconomic conditions,
particularly the unemployment rate and, to a lesser extent,
consumer price inflation and interest rates. Our forecast on
unemployment rates for the U.K. is 4.6% in 2024, increasing from
4.2% in 2023.

"Furthermore, a decline in second-hand car values typically impacts
the level of realized recoveries and increases the transaction's RV
risk exposure. Such risk arises if the liquidation proceeds from
the sale of the vehicles are lower than the securitized values.
While used car prices may decline moderately in the U.K. in 2024,
we do not expect them to fall significantly."

Sensitivity Analysis

S&P said, "As part of our analysis we also conducted additional
sensitivity analysis to assess the effect of, all else being equal,
an increased gross default base case for HT and VT, RV loss, and a
haircut to the recovery rate base case. For this purpose, we ran
eight sensitivity runs by either increasing stressed defaults
and/or reducing expected recoveries along with higher RV losses, as
below."


  Scenario stresses

                            RECOVERY RATE, BASE CASE, AND
                               RESIDUAL VALUE LOSS (%)

  GROSS HT AND            RECOVERY RATE:       RECOVERY RATE:
  VT DEFAULT RATE         -10.0; MARKET VALUE  -30.0; MARKET VALUE
  BASE CASE (%)      0    DECLINE +5.0         DECLINE: +15.0

  0             Base case    Scenario 3          Scenario 4

  10            Scenario 1   Scenario 5          Scenario 7

  30            Scenario 2   Scenario 6          Scenario 8

  HT—Hostile termination.
  VT--Voluntary termination.


  Scenarios

             BASE
             CASE     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8

  Class A     AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA

  Class B     AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA   AAA

  Class C     AA+   AA+   AA    AA+   AA    AA    AA    AA    AA-

  Class D     A     A-    BBB   A-    BBB+  BBB+  BBB   BBB   BBB-

  Class E     BB+   BB    BB    BB    BB    BB    BB-   BB-   B+


The application of its structured finance sovereign risk criteria,
our counterparty risk criteria, and S&P's operational risk criteria
does not cap its ratings in this transaction.

Cardiff Auto Receivables Securitisation 2022-1 PLC is an ABS
transaction of U.K. auto loans originated by Black Horse Ltd.,
which closed in February 2022.


CONSORT HEALTHCARE: S&P Cuts Senior Secured Debt Rating to 'BB-'
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings lowered its S&P Underlying Rating (SPUR) and its
issue rating on the project's senior secured debt to 'BB-' from
'BB' on Consort Healthcare (Birmingham) Ltd. (ProjectCo).

Remediation of passive fire protection (PFP) defects has been slow,
the settlement agreement relating to the University Hospitals
Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (the Acute Trust) has not yet been
signed, and the standstill agreement with the Acute Trust that
expired on Dec. 1, 2022, has not been renewed, exposing the company
to potentially sizable costs.

The stable outlook indicates S&P's expectation that ProjectCo and
its contractors will successfully collaborate to control SFPs and
to finalize and launch the PFP defects remediation program, while
the project's liquidity cushion remains sufficient to cover the
cost of remediation.

In 2006, U.K.-based limited-purpose vehicle Consort Healthcare
(Birmingham) Funding PLC issued debt and lent the proceeds to
ProjectCo to finance the construction and refurbishment of a mental
health facility and an acute inpatient facility at the existing
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Balfour Beatty Construction
Ltd. and Haden Young Ltd. (BB), both part of the Balfour Beatty
group, completed construction of the two facilities in 2008 and
2012, respectively.

Elevated SFPs and an unsigned OWO settlement agreement with the
Acute Trust expose the project to the risk of early termination.
ProjectCo's subcontractor Equans has accumulated SFPs on estate
services that have breached the service termination thresholds in
2023. According to the agreements, the Acute Trust issues warning
notices to Equans for each month in which the 2,000 SFP threshold
is breached, although we understand the Trust has no intention of
terminating the project. A remedial plan has been put in place
following the trigger event, and S&P understands Equans and
ProjectCo are working together to reduce and contain the SFPs. The
OWO settlement agreement with the Mental Health Trust (responsible
for 10% of the total unitary charge received by ProjectCo) was
signed on Oct. 9, 2023. However, the OWO settlement agreement with
the Acute Trust (responsible for the remaining 90%) remains
unsigned, and previously unaccounted for works are being added to
the perimeter of the settlement agreement.

Slow remediation of PFP defects and the lack of a signed settlement
agreement expose Consort to potentially sizable costs of the defect
remediation. The Acute Trust's standstill agreement expired on Dec.
1, 2022, and has not been reinstated so far. ProjectCo has not yet
signed a settlement agreement on the PFP defects, and the budget
and time frame for fixing the defects remain undefined. S&P said,
"That said, we understand BB will start remediation works from
January 2024, with decant facilities to transfer patients now
identified. We anticipate the remediation will take several years,
due to the extensive site area, the intrusive nature of the works,
and the need for patients to be transferred." As per the heads of
terms agreement signed with BB in November 2021, ProjectCo will
contribute GBP8 million to the PFP remediation program. It is not
clear whether this amount could increase once the parties agree
upon the program.

The distribution of currently trapped cash could affect ProjectCo's
liquidity. ProjectCo currently holds significant cash reserves
trapped in the project on top of covenanted reserves, owing to a
distribution lockup that has been in place since 2017. This cash
reserve fully mitigates the potential exposure to the cost of the
PFP defects remediation program. However, subject to the
controlling creditors' approval, the cash could be distributed upon
signing of the PFP settlement agreement. Distribution of the full
amount of trapped cash before the PFP defects are completely
remediated may affect the project's liquidity and credit metrics.

S&P said, "The stable outlook indicates our expectation that
ProjectCo and Equans will succeed in their efforts to reduce and
contain the SFPs within contractual levels, and that remediation of
PFP defects will pick up from January 2024 when works are scheduled
to begin. The stable outlook is supported by the collaborative
relationship between ProjectCo, its contractors, and the trusts, as
well as the strong cash-funded reserves that ProjectCo could draw
upon to cover PFP-related costs if needed."

S&P could lower its issue ratings on the project's debt by at least
one notch if:

-- There is no progress in signing the PFP defects settlement
agreement and remediation works are delayed further;

-- SFPs remain above the contractual thresholds and continue to
pose a risk of early termination of the FM or project agreements;

-- ProjectCo distributes the bulk of trapped cash upon signing of
the settlement agreement, instead of a staged release of cash
against PFP completion of the remediation works; or

-- ProjectCo's operational performance deteriorates so that credit
metrics fall substantially below 1.0x under S&P's base-case
scenario.

S&P could raise its issue ratings on the project's debt if:

-- ProjectCo's good operational performance translates into
improved credit metrics;

-- ProjectCo and Equans make good progress in reducing SFPs and
keep them well below the contractual thresholds;

-- Upon signing the settlement agreement, ProjectCo and BB make
good progress in fixing the PFP defects, with ProjectCo maintaining
adequate liquidity to cover the costs if needed.


DOWSON PLC 2022-1: Moody's Cuts Rating on GBP12.9MM E Notes to B1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded the ratings of three Notes
in Dowson 2021-2 Plc and downgraded the ratings of two Notes in
Dowson 2022-1 plc. The rating action reflects the increased levels
of credit enhancement for the affected Notes in Dowson 2021-2 Plc
and worse than expected collateral performance in Dowson 2022-1
plc.

Moody's affirmed the ratings of the Notes that had sufficient
credit enhancement to maintain their current ratings.

Issuer: Dowson 2021-2 Plc

GBP41.4M Class B Notes, Upgraded to Aaa (sf); previously on May
23, 2023 Affirmed Aa1 (sf)

GBP33.1M Class C Notes, Affirmed Aa1 (sf); previously on May 23,
2023 Upgraded to Aa1 (sf)

GBP22.7M Class D Notes, Upgraded to Aa2 (sf); previously on May
23, 2023 Upgraded to A2 (sf)

GBP18.6M Class E Notes, Upgraded to Baa3 (sf); previously on May
23, 2023 Upgraded to Ba2 (sf)

GBP16.5M Class F Notes, Affirmed Caa1 (sf); previously on May 23,
2023 Affirmed Caa1 (sf)

Issuer: Dowson 2022-1 plc

GBP186M Class A Notes, Affirmed Aaa (sf); previously on Apr 7,
2022 Definitive Rating Assigned Aaa (sf)

GBP31.5M Class B Notes, Affirmed Aa1 (sf); previously on Apr 7,
2022 Definitive Rating Assigned Aa1 (sf)

GBP28.6M Class C Notes, Affirmed A1 (sf); previously on Apr 7,
2022 Definitive Rating Assigned A1 (sf)

GBP15.7M Class D Notes, Affirmed Baa3 (sf); previously on Apr 7,
2022 Definitive Rating Assigned Baa3 (sf)

GBP12.9M Class E Notes, Downgraded to B1 (sf); previously on Apr
7, 2022 Definitive Rating Assigned Ba2 (sf)

GBP11.5M Class F Notes, Downgraded to Caa3 (sf); previously on Apr
7, 2022 Definitive Rating Assigned B3 (sf)

Both transactions are static cash securitisations of agreements
entered into for the purpose of financing vehicles to obligors in
the United Kingdom by Oodle Financial Services Limited ("Oodle")
(NR). The originator also acts as the servicer of the portfolio
during the life of the transaction. The backup servicer is Equiniti
Gateway Ltd (NR).

The portfolio of receivables backing the Notes consist of hire
purchase agreements granted to individuals resident in the United
Kingdom without the option to hand the car back at maturity.
Therefore, there is no explicit residual value risk in the
transactions.

RATINGS RATIONALE

For Dowson 2021-2 Plc, the rating action is prompted by an increase
in credit enhancement for the affected tranches.

For Dowson 2022-1 plc, the rating action is prompted by increased
key collateral assumptions, namely the default probability (DP),
and the portfolio credit enhancement (PCE).

Revision of Key Collateral Assumptions

As part of the rating action, Moody's reassessed its default
probability and recovery rate assumptions for the portfolio
reflecting the collateral performance to date.

The performance of the transactions has continued to deteriorate
since last year.

For Dowson 2021-2 Plc, total delinquencies have increased in the
past year, with 90 days plus arrears currently standing at 2.29% of
current pool balance. Cumulative defaults currently stand at 9.36%
of original pool balance up from 4.77% a year earlier.

For Dowson 2021-2 Plc, Moody's increased the default probability
assumption on original balance to 13.35%, which corresponds to the
default probability assumption on current balance of 14.5%. The
assumption for the fixed recovery rate remained at 30% and the
portfolio credit enhancement remained at 37.5%.

For Dowson 2022-1 plc, total delinquencies have increased in the
past year, with 90 days plus arrears currently standing at 2.08% of
current pool balance. Cumulative defaults currently stand at 10.46%
of original pool balance up from 2.73% a year earlier.

For Dowson 2022-1 plc, Moody's increased the default probability
assumption on original balance to 20.7% from 17.4%, which
corresponds to the default probability assumption on current
balance of 21%, and increased the portfolio credit enhancement to
40% from 37.5%. The assumption for the fixed recovery rate remained
at 30%.

Increase in Available Credit Enhancement

Sequential amortization led to the increase in the credit
enhancement available in these transactions.

In Dowson 2021-2 Plc, the credit enhancement for Classes B, D and E
Notes increased to 80.12%, 31.03% and 14.66% from 54.13%, 8.54% and
4.04%, respectively, since the last rating action.

In Dowson 2022-1 plc, although the credit enhancement for Classes
B, C, D and E Notes increased since closing, in particular, for
Class E Notes increased to 8.34% from 4.06% at closing, the main
driver for this rating action is the increased key collateral
assumptions.

Counterparty Exposure

The rating actions took into consideration the Notes' exposure to
relevant counterparties, such as servicer.

Moody's considered how the liquidity available in the transactions
and other mitigants support continuity of Notes payments, in case
of servicer default, using the CR assessment as a reference point
for servicers. Both transactions have reserves for the Classes B,
C, D, E and F Notes, which will be available to cover shortfalls
related to the corresponding Notes. Moody's also considered in its
analysis that there is no principal to pay interest in case of
shortfall. The rating of Class C Notes in Dowson 2021-2 Plc and the
rating of Class B Notes in Dowson 2022-1 plc are constrained by
operational risk due to insufficient liquidity.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's Global
Approach to Rating Auto Loan- and Lease-Backed ABS" published in
November 2023.

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

Factors or circumstances that could lead to an upgrade of the
ratings include: (1) performance of the underlying collateral that
is better than Moody's expected, (2) an increase in available
credit enhancement, and (3) improvements in the credit quality of
the transaction counterparties.

Factors or circumstances that could lead to a downgrade of the
ratings include: (1) an increase in sovereign risk, (2) performance
of the underlying collateral that is worse than Moody's expected,
(3) deterioration in the Notes' available credit enhancement, and
(4) deterioration in the credit quality of the transaction
counterparties.

FARFETCH LTD: Independent Directors Step Down from Board
--------------------------------------------------------
Farfetch Limited disclosed in a Form 6-K Report filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission that on December 18, 2023, the
Company announced the resignation of its independent members of the
Board of Directors and all committees thereof: Dana Evan, David
Rosenblatt, Diane Irvine, Gillian Tans, Stephanie Horton and Victor
Luis effective immediately. The resignation of the Independent
Directors is not the result of any disagreement with Farfetch
Limited or with its operations, policies or practices. "They leave
with the sincere thanks of Farfetch Limited for all they have
contributed to the Board and Farfetch Limited, along with Farfetch
Limited's best wishes for the future. The Independent Directors
wish Coupang, Greenoaks and the Farfetch business every success,"
the Company said. Following these resignations, the Board consists
of Jose Neves.

                       About Farfetch Ltd

London, UK-based Farfetch Limited is a global platform for the
luxury fashion industry, operating the Farfetch Marketplace which
connects consumers around the world with over 1,400 brands,
boutiques and department stores. The company's additional
businesses include Browns and Stadium Goods, which offer luxury
products to consumers, New Guards Group, a platform for the
development of global fashion brands, and Farfetch Platform
Solutions, which services enterprise clients with e-commerce and
technology capabilities.

As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter on December 6, 2023,
S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on
online luxury fashion platform Farfetch Ltd. and its issue rating
on the group's senior secured term loan B (TLB) to 'CCC+' from
'B-', and placed the ratings on CreditWatch with negative
implications. S&P also revised its liquidity assessment to weak
from adequate and governance factors to negative from moderately
negative on the lack of transparency and reporting.

S&P said, "The CreditWatch placement reflects a possibility of a
downgrade by one or more notches on what we see as the escalating
risk of a liquidity crisis or an insolvency event, including debt
restructuring, or if we are unable to obtain information indicating
a level of liquidity and earnings generation sufficient to
alleviate our concerns about current and short-term
creditworthiness."

The group's withdrawal of guidance and nonpublication of the
third-quarter results increases uncertainty regarding its operating
performance and liquidity position. Farfetch did not release its
third-quarter results for fiscal 2023 on Nov. 29 as planned. In its
announcement, the group also withdrew any previous guidance and
forecasts shared with the market. S&P said, "We think this
indicates a high risk of the group falling short of its previous
expectations on earnings performance, ability to unwind working
capital, raise additional sources of liquidity, or profitably
implement projects the company shared with the market earlier this
year. We also think there are risks regarding potential
implications to its commercial relationships, including the deal
with Richemont for the acquisition of Yoox Net-A-Porter."

S&P said, "Positive developments we included in our previous
base-case scenario might no longer hold, resulting in what we see
as an escalating risk of a near-term liquidity shortfall. Given
challenging trading conditions affecting the luxury industry
globally, stiff competition from the brands' directly operated
online platforms, and lower growth expectations for digital apparel
sales post-pandemic normalization, we think there are reasonable
concerns that the company will not achieve to top-line growth,
profitability, and working capital management, on which our
assumptions relied upon. We expect the group's operating
performance to have been weaker than anticipated in second-half
2023 owing to lower demand for luxury products than predicted,
given the slower recovery in China and softer U.S. market. In
addition, we expect efforts to monetize the group's working capital
position (by selling down inventory, monetizing tax receivables, or
securing additional sources of liquidity) will not materialize. We
consider that any delay in unwinding the working capital position
will likely further suppress cash generation for the remainder of
2023 and, if structural, beyond. Consequently, we expect liquidity
headroom to be lower than we had estimated, leading to our
liquidity assessment revision to weak.

"We now view the company's capital structure as unsustainable in
the long term absent unforeseen positive developments in trading
conditions or additional sources of support. The current capital
structure includes a $600 million TLB maturing in 2027 and two
convertible notes -- $400 million 3.75% notes due 2027 and $600
million 0.00% notes due 2030 -- on which the group makes quarterly
interest payments. We believe the group's ability to meet its
financial commitments is highly dependent on favorable business,
economic, and financial conditions. Moreover, the indenture of the
convertible notes include a "fundamental change" clause that we
believe may trigger a full early redemption at par of the
convertible notes, although we lack information on that clause's
specifics.

"The CreditWatch placement reflects the possibility that we could
downgrade Farfetch by one or more notches if we saw an escalating
risk of a liquidity crisis or of an insolvency event, including
debt restructuring, or if we were unable to obtain information
indicating a level of liquidity and earnings sufficient to
alleviate our concerns about the group's current and short-term
creditworthiness.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and updates from the
company, and plan to resolve the CreditWatch placement once we
obtain the necessary information to assess the group's liquidity
position and forecast its earnings, cash flows, and capital
structure sustainability."

On December 11, 2023, TCR reported that Fitch Ratings has placed
Farfetch Limited's Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'B-' and senior
secured term loan rating of 'BB-' on Rating Watch Negative (RWN).
As reported on December 15,  Moody's Investors Service has
downgraded to Caa2 from B3 the long term Corporate Family Rating of
Farfetch Limited (Farfetch or the company), the leading global
platform for the luxury fashion industry. Moody's also downgraded
the company's probability of default rating to Caa2-PD from B3-PD
and downgraded to B3 from B1 the rating of the $600 million senior
secured first lien term loan borrowed by the company's subsidiary,
Farfetch US Holdings, Inc. At the same time Moody's placed the
ratings on review for downgrade. Previously, the outlook on both
entities was stable.


FARFETCH LTD: Secures $500MM Loan to Boost Liquidity
----------------------------------------------------
Farfetch Limited disclosed in a Form 6-K Report filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission that on December 18, 2023,
Farfetch Holdings plc, a public limited company organized under the
laws of England and Wales and a wholly owned direct subsidiary of
Farfetch Limited, informed the board of directors of the Company
that it had entered into:

     (i) a committed first lien delayed draw term loan facility in
an aggregate principal amount of $500 million with certain direct
and/or indirect subsidiaries of FF PLC, as borrowers and/or
guarantors and Athena Topco LP, a Delaware limited partnership, an
entity owned by Coupang, Inc., and funds managed and/or advised by
Greenoaks Capital Partners LLC, as lender; and

    (ii) a transaction support agreement with, among other parties,
Farfetch Limited, Athena Topco and an ad hoc group of lenders
holding in excess of 80% of the outstanding term loans under the
existing credit agreement of FF PLC and certain of its direct
and/or indirect subsidiaries, dated October 20, 2022, as amended on
April 7, 2023, and as further amended on August 11, 2023.

Farfetch Limited and its financial advisors have conducted a
thorough and extensive process to secure additional liquidity for
Farfetch Limited and its subsidiaries. Without such liquidity,
Farfetch Limited and its subsidiaries would have been unable to
continue as a going concern.

"The Board is disappointed that the process has not resulted in a
solution that ensures that Farfetch Limited, the listed entity,
remains a going concern. However, the Board is pleased to see that
FF PLC has successfully secured a solution that ensures the
continued operations of its business and that it will continue to
serve the network of brands, boutiques and consumers depending on
the FARFETCH Marketplace every day," the Company said.

Under the terms of the Bridge Loan Facility, Athena Topco will
commit to fund the Bridge Loans (subject to customary drawdown
conditions) on an as needed basis to fund FF PLC's and its direct
and indirect subsidiaries' ordinary course working capital,
operations and/or expenses in accordance with an agreed financial
plan. The Bridge Loans will include customary covenants for an
instrument of this type. Interest on the Bridge Loans shall accrue
at a rate of 12.5% per annum, compounding monthly in
payment-in-kind interest ("PIK"). The Bridge Loans will be secured
on a pari passu basis with the Term Loans by the same collateral
package as the Term Loans. Except if the Sale is consummated, the
Bridge Loans will become immediately due and payable: (i) at the
end of the Exclusivity Period, (ii) in the event that a competing
transaction is signed in relation to FF PLC's assets being
consummated pursuant to the marketing process (a "Competing
Transaction"), (iii) upon an event of default and acceleration
under the Bridge Loan Facility documents as a result of, among
other customary events, a breach by FF PLC (or its applicable
subsidiaries) of a covenant, failure by FF PLC (or its applicable
subsidiaries) to satisfy any obligations thereunder, or a
cross-default of the Bridge Loan Facility as a result of the
default by FF PLC (or its applicable subsidiaries) of other
applicable instruments, or (iv) in the event of a termination of
the Support Agreement as a result of certain events related to a
material breach thereof by Farfetch Limited (or its applicable
subsidiaries) or the AHG, in each case at a price equal to 1.95x of
the full committed $500 million plus accrued and unpaid interest
(including PIK); provided, that, in the event of a liquidation of
FF PLC and certain of its subsidiaries, Athena Topco shall receive
the sum of (x) the then-outstanding principal amount of Bridge
Loans on a pari passu basis with the Term Loans plus (y) the
product of (A) 0.95 multiplied by (B) the then-outstanding
principal amount of Bridge Loans, with such additional amount
ranking on a junior basis to the Term Loans.

Under the terms of the Support Agreement, FF PLC, Athena Topco and
the AHG agree to support and implement the following:

     * The Credit Agreement has been amended by the third amendment
thereto, to, among other things, permit the transactions
contemplated by the Support Agreement (including the Sale),
establish the Bridge Loan Facility as a tranche of delayed draw
term loans on a pari passu basis with the Term Loans and implement
certain other changes to the terms set forth therein.

     * A marketing process of all of the assets of FF PLC (the
"Farfetch Business") will be undertaken by JP Morgan on behalf of
FF PLC.

     * In the absence of a Competing Transaction, FF PLC is
expected to sell and Athena Topco is expected to buy the Farfetch
Business, through an English-law pre-pack administration process
(the "Sale"), subject to receipt of requisite regulatory clearances
by Athena Topco.

     * If the Sale is consummated, the Bridge Loans (to the extent
funded) will be exchanged by Athena Topco for the Farfetch Business
and the commitment will otherwise be terminated. Following the
closing of the Sale, one or more obligors under the Term Loans will
make an offer to repurchase 10% of the outstanding principal amount
of the Term Loans at par, pro rata amongst the lenders of the Term
Loans.

     * In connection with the closing of the Sale, Athena Topco
will (i) contribute to the Farfetch Business an amount (to the
extent positive) equal to $300 million less the then outstanding
principal amount of the funded Bridge Loans, and (ii) commit to
provide to the Farfetch Business an additional amount equal to $500
million less the sum of (x) the outstanding principal amount of the
funded Bridge Loans at the closing of the Sale and (y) the amount
funded under clause (i) hereof, at the Farfetch Business's option
within 12-months of the closing of the Sale, the net proceeds of
which will be applied to meet transaction costs and otherwise will
be made available for the working capital and general corporate
needs of the Farfetch Business and its consolidated entities.

Athena Topco will have certain corporate governance and information
rights in connection with the Sale.

The terms of the Support Agreement and related transactions contain
customary covenants, undertakings and conditions for an arrangement
of this type. The transactions are subject to an exclusivity period
through April 30, 2024. If either FF PLC or the AHG announces,
enters into or consummates a Competing Transaction with a third
party on or before the expiry of the Exclusivity Period, FF PLC
will pay a one-time termination fee of $20 million to Athena Topco
within two business days after announcing, entering into or
consummating such Competing Transaction. In addition, the AHG have
agreed not to enter into a Competing Transaction, unless pursuant
to such Competing Transaction, no portion of the debt held by the
AHG would remain outstanding (or would be refinanced in cash or on
a cashless basis by the AHG). FF PLC will reimburse the AHG and
Athena Topco for all reasonable out-of-pocket costs, fees and
expenses incurred in connection with the Bridge

The Sale is subject to certain closing conditions, including (i)
receipt of third-party consents and regulatory approvals, (ii) the
entry into an amendment to the Amended Credit Agreement, and (iii)
Athena Topco acceding to the Amended Credit Agreement as Parent, as
defined in the Credit Agreement.

There can be no assurance that the conditions to the Sale will be
satisfied. Should the Sale fail to close or fail to close in a
timely manner, there is substantial doubt about Farfetch Limited's
ability to continue as a going concern.

Upon consummation of the Sale, Farfetch Limited expects that
holders of its Class A and B ordinary shares and its convertible
notes will not recover any of their outstanding investments in
Farfetch. Farfetch Limited is also expected to be delisted from the
NYSE and to be liquidated.

Additionally, Farfetch Limited, FF PLC, Richemont and Symphony
Global have today agreed to terminate, with immediate effect, FF
PLC's proposed acquisition of 47.5% of Yoox-Net-A-Porter, the
adoption of FARFETCH Platform Solutions by YNAP and the Richemont
Maisons and the launch of Richemont Maison e-concessions on the
FARFETCH Marketplace.

                       About Farfetch Ltd

London, UK-based Farfetch Limited is a global platform for the
luxury fashion industry, operating the Farfetch Marketplace which
connects consumers around the world with over 1,400 brands,
boutiques and department stores. The company's additional
businesses include Browns and Stadium Goods, which offer luxury
products to consumers, New Guards Group, a platform for the
development of global fashion brands, and Farfetch Platform
Solutions, which services enterprise clients with e-commerce and
technology capabilities.

As reported by the Troubled Company Reporter on December 06, 2023,
S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term issuer credit rating on
online luxury fashion platform Farfetch Ltd. and its issue rating
on the group's senior secured term loan B (TLB) to 'CCC+' from
'B-', and placed the ratings on CreditWatch with negative
implications. S&P also revised its liquidity assessment to weak
from adequate and governance factors to negative from moderately
negative on the lack of transparency and reporting.

S&P said, "The CreditWatch placement reflects a possibility of a
downgrade by one or more notches on what we see as escalating risk
of a liquidity crisis or an insolvency event, including debt
restructuring, or if we are unable to obtain information indicating
a level of liquidity and earnings generation sufficient to
alleviate our concerns about current and short-term
creditworthiness."

The group's withdrawal of guidance and nonpublication of the
third-quarter results increases uncertainty regarding its operating
performance and liquidity position. Farfetch did not release its
third-quarter results for fiscal 2023 on Nov. 29 as planned. In its
announcement, the group also withdrew any previous guidance and
forecasts shared with the market. S&P said, "We think this
indicates a high risk of the group falling short of its previous
expectations on earnings performance, ability to unwind working
capital, raise additional sources of liquidity, or profitably
implement projects the company shared with the market earlier this
year. We also think there are risks regarding potential
implications to its commercial relationships, including the deal
with Richemont for the acquisition of Yoox Net-A-Porter."

S&P said, "Positive developments we included in our previous
base-case scenario might no longer hold, resulting in what we see
as an escalating risk of a near-term liquidity shortfall. Given
challenging trading conditions affecting the luxury industry
globally, stiff competition from the brands' directly operated
online platforms, and lower growth expectations for digital apparel
sales post-pandemic normalization, we think there are reasonable
concerns that the company will not achieve to top-line growth,
profitability, and working capital management, on which our
assumptions relied upon. We expect the group's operating
performance to have been weaker than anticipated in second-half
2023 owing to lower demand for luxury products than predicted,
given the slower recovery in China and softer U.S. market. In
addition, we expect efforts to monetize the group's working capital
position (by selling down inventory, monetizing tax receivables, or
securing additional sources of liquidity) will not materialize. We
consider that any delay in unwinding the working capital position
will likely further suppress cash generation for the remainder of
2023 and, if structural, beyond. Consequently, we expect liquidity
headroom to be lower than we had estimated, leading to our
liquidity assessment revision to weak.

"We now view the company's capital structure as unsustainable in
the long term absent unforeseen positive developments in trading
conditions or additional sources of support. The current capital
structure includes a $600 million TLB maturing in 2027 and two
convertible notes--$400 million 3.75% notes due 2027 and $600
million 0.00% notes due 2030--on which the group makes quarterly
interest payments. We believe the group's ability to meet its
financial commitments is highly dependent on favorable business,
economic, and financial conditions. Moreover, the indenture of the
convertible notes include a "fundamental change" clause that we
believe may trigger a full early redemption at par of the
convertible notes, although we lack information on that clause's
specifics.

"The CreditWatch placement reflects the possibility that we could
downgrade Farfetch by one or more notches if we saw an escalating
risk of a liquidity crisis or of an insolvency event, including
debt restructuring, or if we were unable to obtain information
indicating a level of liquidity and earnings sufficient to
alleviate our concerns about the group's current and short-term
creditworthiness.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and updates from the
company, and plan to resolve the CreditWatch placement once we
obtain the necessary information to assess the group's liquidity
position and forecast its earnings, cash flows, and capital
structure sustainability."

On December 11, 2023, TCR reported that Fitch Ratings has placed
Farfetch Limited's Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'B-' and senior
secured term loan rating of 'BB-' on Rating Watch Negative (RWN).
As reported on December 15,  Moody's Investors Service has
downgraded to Caa2 from B3 the long term Corporate Family Rating of
Farfetch Limited (Farfetch or the company), the leading global
platform for the luxury fashion industry. Moody's also downgraded
the company's probability of default rating to Caa2-PD from B3-PD
and downgraded to B3 from B1 the rating of the $600 million senior
secured first lien term loan borrowed by the company's subsidiary,
Farfetch US Holdings, Inc. At the same time Moody's placed the
ratings on review for downgrade. Previously, the outlook on both
entities was stable.


GENESIS MORTGAGE 2022-1: DBRS Confirms BB(high) Rating on E Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings Limited took the following credit rating actions on
the notes issued by Genesis Mortgage Funding 2022-1 plc (the
Issuer):

-- Class A confirmed at AAA (sf)
-- Class B confirmed at AA (high) (sf)
-- Class C confirmed at A (high) (sf)
-- Class D confirmed at BBB (high) (sf)
-- Class E confirmed at BB (high) (sf)
-- Class X upgraded to A (low) (sf) from BB (low) (sf)

The credit rating on the Class A notes addresses the timely payment
of interest and the full payment of principal by the legal final
maturity date. The credit ratings on the Class B, Class C, Class D,
and Class E notes address the ultimate payment of interest and
principal, and the timely payment of interest while the senior-most
class outstanding. The credit rating on the Class X notes addresses
the ultimate payment of interest and principal on or before the
legal final maturity date.

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

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults and
losses as of the September 2023 payment date.

-- Portfolio default rate (PD), loss given default (LGD), and
expected loss assumptions on the remaining receivables.

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

The transaction is the second securitization of residential
mortgages originated by Bluestone Mortgage Limited (BML). The asset
portfolio comprises first-lien owner-occupied and buy-to-let (BTL)
mortgages, originated by BML and secured by properties in the
United Kingdom. BML is the mortgage portfolio servicer. In order to
maintain servicing continuity, CSC Capital Markets UK Limited acts
as the backup servicer facilitator.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

As of the September 2023 payment date, loans two to three months in
arrears represented 1.8% of the outstanding portfolio balance, and
loans more than three months in arrears represented 3.3%.
Cumulative defaults amounted to 0.1% of the original portfolio
balance.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar conducted a loan-by-loan analysis of the remaining
pool of receivables and updated its base case PD and LGD
assumptions to 11.6% and 5.3%, respectively.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

As of the September 2023 payment date, the credit enhancement
available to the Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, and Class E
notes was 20.6%, 14.9%, 10.5%, 7.7%, and 4.8%, respectively,
compared with 16.5%, 12.0%, 8.5%, 6.3%, and 4.0%, at closing,
respectively. Credit enhancement consists of subordination of the
junior notes and a general reserve fund (GRF).

The GRF is currently funded to its target level of GBP 3.6 million,
equal to 1.5% of the outstanding balance of the Class A to Class F
notes. The GRF is available to cover senior fees, interest
shortfalls, and principal losses via the principal deficiency
ledgers on the notes.

The liquidity reserve fund (LRF) was funded on the first interest
payment date using available principal funds and is currently
funded to its target level of GBP 3.1 million, equal to 1.5% of the
outstanding balance of the Class A notes. The LRF is available to
cover senior fees and interest shortfall on the Class A notes.

Citibank N.A./London Branch acts as the account bank for the
transaction. Based on the DBRS Morningstar private credit rating of
Citibank N.A./London Branch, the downgrade provisions outlined in
the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors inherent in
the transaction structure, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk
arising from the exposure to the account bank to be consistent with
the credit rating assigned to the Class A notes, as described in
DBRS Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance
Transactions" methodology.

NatWest Markets Plc acts as the swap counterparty for the
transaction. DBRS Morningstar's public Long-Term Critical
Obligations Rating of NatWest Markets Plc at AA (low) is above the
First Rating Threshold as described in DBRS Morningstar's
"Derivative Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions"
methodology.

DBRS Morningstar's credit rating on the notes addresses the credit
risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents.

DBRS Morningstar's credit rating on the notes also addresses the
credit risk associated with the increased rate of interest
applicable to the notes if the notes are not redeemed on the
Optional Redemption Date (as defined in and) in accordance with the
applicable transaction documents.

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

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

Notes: All figures are in British pound sterling unless otherwise
noted.

HARBOUR NO 1: DBRS Confirms BB(low) Rating on Class G Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings Limited confirmed its credit ratings on the notes
issued by Harbour No. 1 plc (the Issuer) as follows:

-- Class A1 Notes at AAA (sf)
-- Class A2 Notes at AAA (sf)
-- Class B Notes at AA (high) (sf)
-- Class C Notes at AA (sf)
-- Class D Notes at A (high) (sf)
-- Class E Notes at A (low) (sf)
-- Class F Notes at BBB (low) (sf)
-- Class G Notes at BB (low) (sf)
-- Class X Notes at AA (high) (sf)

The credit ratings on the Class A1 and Class A2 Notes address the
timely payment of interest and ultimate repayment of principal on
or before the legal final maturity date. The credit rating on the
Class B Notes addresses the ultimate payment of interest and
principal on or before the legal final maturity date while junior,
and timely payment of interest while the senior-most class
outstanding. The credit ratings on the Class C, Class D, Class E,
Class F, Class G, and Class X Notes address the ultimate payment of
interest and principal on or before the legal final maturity date.

The confirmations follow an annual review of the transaction and
are based on the following analytical considerations:
-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults and
losses, as of the October 2023 payment date.

-- Probability of default (PD), loss given default (LGD), and
expected loss assumptions on the remaining receivables.

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

The transaction is a securitization of owner-occupied and
buy-to-let residential mortgages originated by several defunct
originators. The portfolio was assembled by buying three different
portfolios: the Wall portfolio, the MAQ portfolio, and the Morag
portfolio. Each portfolio is serviced by a different servicer: the
Wall portfolio is serviced by Mars Capital Finance Limited, the MAQ
portfolio is serviced by Pepper (UK) Limited, and the Morag
portfolio is serviced by Topaz Finance Limited.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

As of September 30, 2023, loans two to three months in arrears
represented 4.4% of the outstanding portfolio balance, up from 3.3%
a year prior. Loans more than three months in arrears represented
27.1% of the outstanding portfolio, up from 20.0% a year prior.
Cumulative principal losses were 0.3%.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar conducted a loan-by-loan analysis of the remaining
pool of receivables and updated its base case PD and LGD
assumptions at the B (sf) rating level to 32.6% and 8.1%,
respectively.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

Credit enhancement to the Class A to Class G Notes is provided by
subordination of the junior notes and the general reserve fund
(GRF). As of the October 2023 payment date, credit enhancement had
increased from the DBRS Morningstar Initial Rating as follows:

-- Class A1 Notes: 61.9%, up from 49.3%;
-- Class A2 Notes: 43.7%, up from 34.5%;
-- Class B Notes: 35.1%, up from 27.5%;
-- Class C Notes: 31.4%, up from 24.5%;
-- Class D Notes: 23.7%, up from 18.3%;
-- Class E Notes: 18.2%, up from 13.8%;
-- Class F Notes: 13.8%, up from 10.3%; and
-- Class G Notes: 10.1%, up from 7.3%.

The transaction benefits from a liquidity reserve fund (LRF) of GBP
1.7 million, equal to 0.5% of the initial Class A1 and Class A2
Notes balance. The LRF covers senior fees and interest on the Class
A1 and Class A2 Notes.

The GRF is nonamortizing and covers senior fees, interest on the
Class A to Class G Notes, and principal losses via the principal
deficiency ledgers (PDL) on the Class A to Class G Notes (subject
to a PDL condition of 10% for each class of notes, unless they are
the most senior outstanding). The target balance of the GRF is
1.25% of the initial portfolio balance. The GRF is currently funded
below its target to GBP 4.7 million.

Barclays Bank PLC acts as the account bank for the transaction.
Based on the account bank reference rating of Barclays Bank PLC at
A (high), which is one notch below the DBRS Morningstar public
Long-Term Critical Obligations Rating of AA (low); the downgrade
provisions outlined in the transaction documents; and other
mitigating factors inherent in the transaction structure, DBRS
Morningstar considers the risk arising from the exposure to the
account bank to be consistent with the ratings assigned to the
Class A1 and Class A2 Notes, as described in DBRS Morningstar's
"Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance Transactions"
methodology.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the notes address the credit
risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the notes also address the
credit risk associated with the increased rate of interest
applicable to the notes if the notes are not redeemed on the
Optional Redemption Date (as defined in and) in accordance with the
applicable transaction documents.

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

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

Notes: All figures are in British pound sterling unless otherwise
noted.


MAISON BIDCO: S&P Affirms 'B+' Sr. Sec. Bond Rating, Outlook Neg
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'B+' ratings on U.K. Housebuilder
Maison Bidco Ltd. and its GBP275 million senior secured bond; the
recovery rating remains at '3', indicating its expectation of about
65% recovery (rounded estimate) in the event of a default.

S&P said, "The negative outlook reflects a one-in-three chance that
we would lower our rating on Maison in the next six to 12 months if
markets remain difficult and we believe its adjusted debt to EBITDA
exceeds 4.0x without a short-term recovery potential, or its
interest coverage weakens to below 3.0x.

"We have affirmed our 'B+' rating on Maison because we believe the
weakening of the adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio in 2024 will be
temporary.

"In our updated base case, we now forecast that Maison's operating
metrics will remain under pressure in 2024 due to the tough market
environment. Although we expect a moderate improvement of
macroeconomic conditions in the U.K. through 2024 should make homes
more affordable and boost demand, sustained high interest rates
will continue to constrain demand in our view. We believe Maison
would likely need to reduce its completions volume in 2024 to
accommodate long-term market headwinds. We also take into account
that in the nine months ended July 31, 2023, Maison's completions
increased by around 2.5% year on year to 2,640 units, and its
average selling price increased by 3.7% year on year to GBP207,000,
mostly as a result of a product mix change. We forecast that in
2023 and 2024, Maison's average selling price will remain close to
GBP210,000 before moderately increasing in 2025. We now forecast
that Maison's revenue would remain broadly flat or slightly higher
year on year in fiscal 2023 after GBP839 million in 2022 but
decline to GBP760 million-GBP780 million in 2024 due to fewer
completions. A slight easing of construction cost inflation in the
U.K., coupled with the average selling price growth, supported
Maison's EBITDA margin of close to 10%-11% in 2023, in our
estimates. However, in 2024, Maison's EBITDA margin may weaken,
partly due to a slight decrease in scale, as well as costs to
prepare for expansion in 2025. We now forecast Maison's adjusted
debt to EBITDA at 4.0x-4.5x in fiscal 2024, compared with about
3.0x in fiscal 2023, temporarily exceeding our downside rating
threshold of 4.0x. However, as the market gradually improves
throughout next year, we expect the ratio to recover and surpass
4.0x. We also estimate Maison's interest coverage at 3.0x-3.5x in
2024 down from about 4.5x in 2023, supported by a fixed interest
rate on its GBP275 million senior secured notes, due to mature in
2027, limiting the impact of recently increased interest rates.

"We believe Maison's multi-tenure business model, combining sales
on the open market and to Registered Providers, will moderate
market volatility. We observe that Maison's performance in 2023 has
been steadier than that of many other U.K. homebuilders. We believe
the impact of economic fluctuation is moderated in part due to
Maison's sales coming from partnerships with local authorities and
Registered Providers. These include public- and private-sector
entities registered with the Regulator of Social Housing, which is
funded by the U.K. government and provides affordable housing.
Maison has about 200 partners, with some relationships lasting more
than 20 years. We note that, in the nine months ended July 31,
2023, sales to Registered Providers represented 43.9% of the total
volume, up from 29.8% a year before, which is higher than the
historical average of about 25%. We understand that sales to
councils and Registered Providers are likely to comprise more
affordable homes with fixed-price contracts. That said, margin
pressure is mitigated by Maison's back-to-back contracts with
suppliers and subcontractors, which are reviewed at different
construction stages. We also acknowledge that the company offers a
relatively standard product range focused on single-family homes,
which should also benefit operating efficiency."

A long-term debt maturity profile and absence of shareholder
distributions support our rating on Maison.

Maison benefits from a long debt maturity profile of close to four
years, driven by the senior secured notes due in 2027, which
represent most of its debt (GBP284 million as of July 2023). S&P
said, "Our debt calculation does not include land payables, which
is in line with our criteria and our assessment of the company's
peers. Maison also has access to a GBP70 million revolving credit
facility (currently undrawn). As of Oct. 31, 2023, Maison had more
than GBP100 million in cash, in our estimates, which it will use to
buy more land in fiscal 2024 since its work-in-progress land had
declined by around 15% as of July 2023. Maison has already secured
all the land it needs for unit deliveries in 2024, 96% for 2025,
and 70% for 2026. We factor in that Maison does not plan to
distribute any dividends, which should help preserve cash and
support its liquidity position."

S&P said, "Our rating factors in Aermont's controlling stake in
Maison, which could lead to a more-aggressive financial policy in
the future. The main shareholder of the company is Aermont Capital.
The majority of Maison's board of directors comprise Aermont
directors alongside the executive directors; there are no
independent members. Although it is not in our base-case scenario,
we think having a financial sponsor as the main shareholder could
eventually push the company toward a more-aggressive financial
strategy, weakening its credit metrics. We note that asset
management company Keppel has recently announced the acquisition of
Aermont, with the first 50% of the equity to be acquired in the
first half of 2024. Our assessment of Maison's financial policy
remains the same.

"The negative outlook reflects one-in-three probability that we may
downgrade Maison in the next six to 12 months if negative
macroeconomic conditions and weaker mortgage affordability do not
improve, hampering the company's prospects for a short-term
recovery.

"We may downgrade Maison if its adjusted debt to EBITDA exceeds
4.0x and its interest coverage deteriorates to below 3x on a
sustained basis with no short-term recovery potential.

"We may change the outlook on our rating to stable if Maison's
adjusted debt to EBITDA remains comfortably below 4.0x and its
interest coverage exceeds 3x on a consistent basis. Maison should
be able to demonstrate adequate liquidity--including sufficient
headroom under its covenants and access to its revolving credit
facility (RCF)--to fund its working capital needs and support its
growth."


MINERVA PARENT: S&P Withdraws 'B' Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating
----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings withdrew its 'B' ratings on U.K.-based Minerva
Parent Ltd. (MGroup Services), including its 'B' long-term issuer
credit rating, at the issuer's request following the refinancing of
the company's senior secured first-lien term loan with portable
private debt. S&P Global Ratings also withdrew its 'B' issue-level
rating and '3' recovery rating on the company's revolving facility,
which has also been refinanced. The outlook on the long-term issuer
credit rating was stable at the time of the withdrawal.


W H BARLEY: Goes Into Administration
------------------------------------
Tim Wallace at Motor Transport reports that Milton Keynes-based
pallet distribution and warehousing firm W H Barley (Transport and
Storage) has entered administration.

According to Motor Transport, in a post on LinkedIn earlier on Dec.
22, chief executive Emma Barber blamed "financial challenges" for
the firm’s collapse and said "increasing cost pressures are
reaching breaking point for many hauliers".

She added that fellow RHA members had told her the lead-up to
Christmas -- traditionally a bumper period for operators moving
retail goods -- is "the worst since 2008".

"It is with great sadness that we must share the difficult news
that W H Barley Transport & Storage has unfortunately gone into
administration," her message read.

"This decision was made after exhausting all available options to
sustain the business, and it comes with heavy hearts as we
acknowledge the impact on our valued employees, clients, and
suppliers.

"The decision to take this step has not been made lightly, and it
follows extensive efforts to explore alternative solutions for our
financial challenges. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we
have reached a point where administration is deemed necessary.
Emma and Peter Barber have tried everything in their power to fund
the business moving forward.

"Freight volumes are down by 10-15 percent with fewer goods being
moved around as the cost-of-living bites.  In short, costs are
still rising faster than inflation, profits are meagre, and
hauliers are saying that customers are not wanting to pay
reasonable prices.

"The worst-case scenario has come true for many. Business failures
are on the rise.  A recent report concluded that a record number of
hauliers (463) have gone bust this year -- more than twice as many
as last year.

"To our dedicated employees, we regret to inform you that, due to
the company’s closure, there are no longer job opportunities
available.  We understand the challenges this poses for you, and we
want to express our sincere gratitude for your hard work and
commitment during your time with our family business W H Barley
Transport & Storage."


WARWICK FINANCE: DBRS Confirms BB(high) Rating on Class E Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
DBRS Ratings Limited took the following credit rating actions on
the notes issued by Warwick Finance Residential Mortgages Number
Four Plc (the Issuer):

-- Class A confirmed at AAA (sf)
-- Class B upgraded to AA (high) (sf) from AA (sf)
-- Class C upgraded to A (high) (sf) from A (low) (sf)
-- Class D confirmed at BBB (high) (sf)
-- Class E confirmed at BB (high) (sf)

The credit rating on the Class A notes addresses the timely payment
of interest and the ultimate payment of principal on or before the
legal final maturity date in March 2042. The credit rating on the
Class B notes addresses the ultimate payment of interest and
principal while junior, and the timely payment of interest while
the senior-most class outstanding. The credit ratings on the Class
C, Class D, and Class E notes address the ultimate payment of
interest and principal.

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

-- Portfolio performance, in terms of delinquencies, defaults, and
losses.

-- Portfolio default rate (PD), loss given default (LGD), and
expected loss assumptions on the remaining receivables.

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

The Issuer is a bankruptcy-remote special-purpose vehicle
incorporated in the United Kingdom. The issued notes were used to
fund the purchase of seasoned owner-occupied and buy-to-let
nonconforming portfolios of mortgages originated in the United
Kingdom by Platform Funding Limited, Verso Limited, Kensington
Mortgage Company Limited, Southern Pacific Mortgages Limited, and
GMAC-RFC Limited (now Paratus AMC Limited). The loans were sold to
the Issuer at transaction close by The Co-operative Bank plc and
are serviced by Western Mortgages Services Limited.

PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE

As of September 2023, loans two to three months in arrears
represented 1.7% of the outstanding portfolio balance, and loans
more than three months in arrears represented 6.0%. As of the same
date, the cumulative loss ratio was 0.3%.

PORTFOLIO ASSUMPTIONS AND KEY DRIVERS

DBRS Morningstar conducted a loan-by-loan analysis of the remaining
pool of receivables and has updated its base case PD and LGD
assumptions to 13.0% and 5.2%, respectively.

CREDIT ENHANCEMENT

As of the September 2023 payment date, the credit enhancements
available to the Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, and Class E
notes were 26.2%, 18.2%, 12.9%, 10.2%, and 7.6%, respectively, up
from 22.3%, 15.5%, 11.0%, 8.7%, and 6.5% 12 months prior,
respectively. Credit enhancement is provided by the subordination
of junior classes and the residual certificates.

The transaction benefits from a liquidity reserve fund of GBP 2.8
million, available to cover senior fees and interest on the Class A
and Class B notes. The liquidity reserve fund is currently at its
target level, which corresponds to 1.0% of the initial principal
outstanding balance of the Class A and Class B notes.

Citibank N.A./London Branch acts as the account bank for the
transaction. Based on DBRS Morningstar's private credit rating on
Citibank N.A./London Branch, the downgrade provisions outlined in
the transaction documents, and other mitigating factors inherent in
the transaction structure, DBRS Morningstar considers the risk
arising from the exposure to the account bank to be consistent with
the credit rating assigned to the Class A notes, as described in
DBRS Morningstar's "Legal Criteria for European Structured Finance
Transactions" methodology.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the notes address the credit
risk associated with the identified financial obligations in
accordance with the relevant transaction documents.

DBRS Morningstar's credit ratings on the notes also address the
credit risk associated with the increased rate of interest
applicable to the notes if the notes are not redeemed on the
Optional Redemption Date (as defined in and) in accordance with the
applicable transaction documents.

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

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

Notes: All figures are in British pound sterling unless otherwise
noted.

WJ CAPPER: Enters Administration Weeks Following CVA Deal
---------------------------------------------------------
Carol Millett at Motor Transport reports that Shropshire-based WJ
Capper Transport has called in the administrators, just weeks after
agreeing a Companies Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) with creditors.

The 66-year-old firm, which had its headquarters in Telford,
specialised in distribution services, freight, full and part load
haulage, groupage, international haulage, pallet deliveries and
warehousing.  It had an operating licence for 30 trucks and 25
trailers and employed around 45 staff.

By October this year the company was struggling, which resulted in
the directors meeting with creditors to agree a CVA on Oct. 3,
Motor Transport discloses.  

Despite these efforts to keep the company afloat, WJ Capper
Transport was forced to appoint administrators early this month,
designating Julie Humphrey and Glyn Mummery of FRP Advisory Trading
as joint administrators, Motor Transport relates.


[*] UK: Construction Insolvencies Up 36% in October 2023
--------------------------------------------------------
Ian Weinfass at Construction News reports that construction
insolvencies in the past year were 36% higher than before the
pandemic, new statistics show.

According to the latest figures from the Insolvency Service, 4,317
construction firms went out of business in the year to October 31,
2023, Construction News discloses.

This was a jump of 9% from the year before, when 4,045 building
firms became insolvent, and an 89% hike from the 12 months to the
end of October 2021, when 2,289 went under, Construction News
states.

Pandemic support measures and a moratorium on winding-up orders
kept many firms afloat in the latter period, Construction News
notes.

But the number of insolvencies in the year to October 31, 2023, is
36% higher than in the year to January 2020, when just 3,218 went
out of business, Construction News discloses.

The Insolvency Service data only stretches back to January 2019,
meaning figures for the full year to October 2019 are not
available.

Construction Products Association economics director Noble Francis,
who highlighted the statistics, said contractor insolvencies are at
the highest level since the financial crisis of 2008/09,
Construction News relates.

He added that they are likely to rise further in 2024, "given that
new housebuilding and [repair, maintenance & improvement] will
remain subdued while government announcements of delays to
infrastructure projects in spring 2023 have not fed through yet".

He added: "In the medium-term, the key concern is that when housing
new-build and [repair, maintenance & improvement] demand recovers,
will the capacity and skills be there? Skilled trades made
unemployed during downturns tend to move to other industries where
there are still skills shortages and, after being burnt by the
industry, do not tend to return.  This occurred after the late
1980s/early 1990s recession and also the 2008 financial crisis."

Specialist contractors made up 58% of the insolvencies in the 12
months to October 31, 2023, Mr. Francis noted, according to
Construction News.


[*] UK: Corporate Insolvencies Rise to 2,466 in November 2023
-------------------------------------------------------------
Alexander Smith at Bournemouth Daily Echo reports that a trade
association is urging business owners to seek help sooner rather
than later if they are facing financial problems.

R3, the trade body for restructuring and insolvency professionals
in Dorset, has said corporate insolvencies have "shot up" by more
than a fifth compared to last year, Bournemouth Daily Echo
relates.

Newly published figures for England and Wales show a rise from
2,032 insolvencies in November 2022 to 2,466 for November of this
year, Bournemouth Daily Echo states.

In 2023, there have been 23,153 insolvencies up to the end of
November, already more than the 22,129 in 2022 with a month still
to go, Bournemouth Daily Echo notes.

According to Bournemouth Daily Echo, Neil Stewart, chair of R3's
Southern and Thames Valley region, including Dorset, said: "The
monthly and year-on-year rise in corporate insolvency levels is
driven by an increase in both creditors' voluntary liquidations, as
more directors choose to close down their businesses while that
choice is still theirs, and compulsory liquidations, as creditors
vigorously pursue debts they are owed as they attempt to balance
their own books.

"But the figures also take 2023's corporate insolvency figures to
the highest annual total since 2009.

"The fact that corporate insolvency numbers have reached a 14-year
high is partly because of the Covid hangover, which was a result of
insolvency numbers being suppressed by Government support measures,
but also as a result of a relay of economic issues that have taken
their toll on businesses."

The trade body has urged directors to seek help as soon as possible
if financial problems arise, rather than waiting for the new year,
Bournemouth Daily Echo relays.



                           *********


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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Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to
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