Victoria – have the ratings agencies fallen asleep….again?
News that, heavily indebted flooring group, Victoria (AIM:VCP) has secured a BB- rating from S&P has left us scratching our heads in disbelief.
In connection with the launch of its €450 million bond offering of senior secured notes, Victoria has confirmed ratings of BB (stable) and BB- from global ratings agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor’s respectively. With due regard to the fragile nature of Victoria’s balance sheet and worsening cash flow, as reflected in the proforma financial stattements, we are absolutely staggered. Our previous Blog highlighted a balance sheet at 30 June 2018 with net debt of £266.5m and proforma tangible net assets a negative £169m. As at 30 June 2018, Tangible fixed assets of £177m, Inventories of £135m and Trade and…