Fitch rates Elli debt BB

Fitch Ratings said it assigned a B issuer default rating to Elli Investments Ltd. and a BB/RR1 rating to its senior notes. The agency also assigned BB/RR1 ratings to Elli Finance (UK) plc's senior secured notes and super-senior revolving credit facility. The outlook is stable.

The agency upgraded Four Seasons Health Care (Guernsey) Holdings Ltd.'s long-term issuer default rating to B from CC, removed it from Rating Watch positive and withdrew the rating because the company does not carry any debt under the new ownership structure.

Fitch said the upgrade of Four Seasons' issuer default rating is driven by the completion of the acquisition of the company by Elli Investments, an entity controlled by funds or limited partnerships managed or advised by Terra Firma. The transaction resulted in Four Seasons' existing debt being refinanced and has resolved the company's previously high refinancing risk, Fitch said, and its leverage was reduced to just over 6 times.

Elli Investments' issuer default rating is supported by a leading position in the independent U.K. elderly care market, its solid relationships with local authorities and NHS commissioners and its focus on high dependency services in its elderly care division, which is relatively resistant to the recent trend toward domiciliary care, the agency said.

The issuer default rating is constrained by the company's high dependence on local authorities funding and by relatively weak credit metrics, Fitch said.

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