Moody’s trims Holland & Barrett

Moody’s Investors Service said it trimmed the backed senior secured credit facilities of L1R HB Finance Ltd. (Holland & Barrett) to Caa1 from B3. The facilities comprise an £825 million equivalent term loan B (split between a £450 million and a euro-denominated £375 million equivalent tranche), and a £75 million revolving credit facility, due in August 2024 and August 2023, respectively. Concurrently, Moody's downgraded to Caa1 from B3 the ratings on the company's corporate family rating and to Caa1-PD from B3-PD the probability of default rating. The outlook was changed to negative from stable.

“Holland & Barrett's results have been weak since before Christmas when the rise in the Omicron variant of Covid led to a reversal of the steady upward trend in footfall to retail stores, in particular in high street and shopping center locations. Rising inflation and the resultant hit to consumer confidence and squeeze on disposable incomes have added to the challenges faced by retailers as they look to contend with the ever evolving mix between online and in-store shopping,” Moody’s said in a press release.

The agency said it forecasts the company's credit metrics will remain weak, with its Moody's-adjusted leverage, measured as Moody's-adjusted debt to EBITDA, rising to close to 8x by the end of the company's fiscal 2022, ending Sept. 30. This compares to the 5.9x leverage ratio at the end of Holland & Barrett's fiscal 2021.

The outlook is negative.

© 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.