Moody's pares PizzaExpress

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded Wheel Bidco Ltd.’s (PizzaExpress) £335 million of backed senior secured notes to B3 from B2 and to Ba3 from Ba2 the company's £30 million super senior secured revolving credit facility both due 2026. The agency also lowered the long-term corporate family rating to B3 from B2 and the probability of default rating to B3-PD from B2-PD.

“The downgrade reflects PizzaExpress' operating performance which has been weak in the face of very high inflation and declining consumer disposable income in the U.K. In Q3 2022 the company reported a 5.3% decline in like-for-like revenue and £12.7 million pre-IFRS 16 EBITDA, which was significantly below the £29 million reported in Q3 2021.

“The company's profitability has been also negatively affected by slowing of the more profitable dine-in sales, while dine-out sales, which have lower profitability due to commissions to delivery platforms as well as a lower mix of higher margin drinks, have remained strong,” Moody’s said in a press release.

The outlook remains stable.

© 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.