S&P might cut House of Fraser

S&P said it placed its CCC+ long-term issuer credit rating on House of Fraser (UK & Ireland) Ltd. on CreditWatch with negative implications.

At the same time, the agency placed the CCC+ long-term issue rating on the group's £175 million senior secured floating-rate notes on CreditWatch negative. S&P revised the recovery rating to 4 from 3, reflecting an expectation of average recovery prospects (30%-50%; rounded estimate: 35%) in the event of default.

The agency said the CreditWatch placement follows the launch of House of Fraser's company voluntary arrangement and the release of preliminary results for the group's first quarter ended April 28.

S&P said the arrangement presents material downside risks if unsuccessful and could lead the company to file for administration if not approved by a qualified majority of its unsecured creditors.

“If the CVA were unsuccessful, we would expect near-term liquidity pressures to accelerate and call in to question House of Fraser's ability to orderly refinance its near-term maturities,” the agency said in a news release.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.