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       T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R

                          E U R O P E

          Friday, September 20, 2024, Vol. 25, No. 190

                           Headlines



G E R M A N Y

ASTERIX HOLDCO: S&P Affirms 'B+' ICR & Alters Outlook to Negative


I R E L A N D

SIGNAL HARMONIC CLO III: S&P Assigns B-(sf) Rating on F-2 Notes


L U X E M B O U R G

SK NEPTUNE: S&P Withdraws 'D' LongTerm Issuer Credit Rating


P O R T U G A L

HAITONG BANK: S&P Affirms BB/B ICRs & Alters Outlook to Developing


U N I T E D   K I N G D O M

BLENHEIM RENEWABLES: Begbies Traynor Named as Administrators
CASA EL PASTOR: Quantuma Advisory Named as Administrators
FHP ENGINEERING: KRE Corporate Named as Administrators
IASO LTD: Mercer & Hole Named as Administrators
LIN GROUP: KRE Corporate Named as Joint Administrators

MANIGO SERVICES: KRE Corporate Named as Administrators


X X X X X X X X

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Management Guide to Troubled Companies

                           - - - - -


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G E R M A N Y
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ASTERIX HOLDCO: S&P Affirms 'B+' ICR & Alters Outlook to Negative
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings affirmed the long-term issuer credit and
issuance ratings on Asterix HoldCo GmbH at 'B+'.

The negative outlook reflects uncertainties related to Asterix's
growth prospects and the efficient management of its cost
structure, which could hamper the anticipated recovery in S&P
Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margins. This could come from
increasing product costs and less meaningful improvements in its
fulfilment, marketing, and personnel cost structure. The inability
to moderate working capital and investments could also delay the
meaningful recovery to positive FOCF after leases in 2024 and
2025.

The severe underperformance in the fourth quarter of 2023 raises
concerns about the group's ability to manage the size of the
operations, which has more than tripled since 2021. While the group
increased revenue by 51% to EUR683 million from EUR451 million in
2022, S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA decreased to EUR85 million
from EUR91 million. S&P said, "This is significantly weaker than
our previous expectation of EUR150 million and is driven by EBITDA
turning unexpectedly negative in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Several issues effected this development, the most meaningful being
spiraling marketing, fulfillment, and staff expenses, because the
group anticipated even higher revenue growth than its initial
guidance. This did not materialize however, with the slowdown in
top line in the second half of 2023 to just 30% from 77% in the
first half 2023, indicating lower growth prospects in the German
market. We understand that as part of strategic initiatives, the
group aims to align its cost structure to the slower revenue growth
expectations, reducing fulfillment and fixed costs that will be the
key drivers for higher profitability in 2024. However, cost cutting
measures could be associated with one-off restructuring costs that
could constrain the recovery in profitability and cash flow
generation in the short term. Furthermore, material and product
costs should remain higher for longer as whey prices are volatile
and have increased in 2024. Annual expenses and late invoices were
incurred in the fourth quarter and therefore overstated year to
date in September 2023 management accounts. Overall, we see that
management has been challenged to efficiently operate in the high
growth environment of the last three years but, anticipate that the
sponsors involvement and recent replacement of the CEO should
improve internal controls and coupled with slower growth and focus
on costs should help improve margins by about 330 basis points in
2024 to 15.7%. We expect that this improvement mainly results from
the absence of exceptional costs, streamlining of the organization,
and the roll out of new production capacity."

While leverage is expected to decrease to 2.8x in 2024 from 4.1x in
2023, a failure to restore margins could indicate a weaker
operating model than originally anticipated. While leverage remains
reasonable despite the contraction in earnings, the group's cash
burn in 2023 showcases the group's limited ability to incur debt,
as it must bear high interest and requires investments into working
capital and facilities to manage the demand for its products. The
vertical integration of the business, due to its in-house
production facilities for whey protein, flavor or shakes, and its
own distribution channel (as the business is >80%
direct-to-customer [D2C]) incurs production and distribution risks.
We also anticipate that operational challenges will persist and the
continued growth, especially growing business-to-business (B2B)
with different demand, profitability, and payment characteristics,
could put additional strain on the group's operations, at a time
where it is realigning to lower revenue growth. S&P said, "In our
view, the influencer model incurs specific reputational risk, as
showcased with slowing sales growth after the issues around More
Nutrition. We think that businesses relying on social media for the
distribution of their product are exposed to a virality phenomenon
that can greatly boost sales but also translate into rapid erosion
if the products sold become badly perceived. Lastly, the group
operates in a growing market, with limited product
differentiation--where it competes with larger consumer products
companies--especially around the B2B space, that can deteriorate
its currently leading market position in some categories, like whey
protein, if it does not keep up with product innovation. Asterix is
entering a new development phase where competitive pressures,
changes to the channel mix, and more limited demand prospects in
its main market Germany (>85% of sales) should transform its
profitability structure and translate to durably lower margins.
While we do not expect the group to resume with an EBITDA margin
north of 20.0%, as it had when we first rated the business, we
expect management's initiatives to translate to an EBITDA margin
exceeding 16.4% in 2025. If the margin does not improve to this
level, it could indicate a business with a less distinctive
value-proposition than initially assumed."

Year to date July 2024 the group posted 10.9% revenue growth, while
profitability remained low. The group posted revenue growth of
10.9% in the first seven months of 2024, while group adjusted
EBITDA decreased by 21% to EUR79 million. The slower revenue growth
is on the back of very strong 2023 performance, before the social
media issues at More Nutrition. Comparability is difficult, with
changes to the presentation of annual expense spread across
quarters, with some provisions already accounted for in the first
seven months. However, S&P forecasts that due to lower exceptional
costs the second half of 2024 should be meaningfully above 2023
levels, this is because of the group adjusted EBITDA margin of
17.1%, which will lead to S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA of
about EUR121 million.

FOCF after leases is low driven by high interest and tax burden in
2024, with a recovery to about EUR50 million expected in 2025.
While profitability recovers, the floating rate debt structure
leads to a high interest expense of about EUR27 million in 2024.
The group faces an additional tax burden for past earnings in 2022
and 2023, and prepayments for 2024, due to its growth trajectory.
Combined with continued investments in facilities and working
capital to cater to the increasing demand, FOCF after leases should
come in at about EUR12 million in 2024 up from negative EUR8
million in 2023. From 2025 onward, higher earnings, lower interest,
and a normalization in tax payments will support FOCF after leases
approaching EUR50 million and enabling the group to improve its
liquidity position thereafter.

There is execution risk associated with the turnaround plan and the
group's geographic expansion strategy. S&P expects a steep
deleveraging by 2024, which will imply a robust growth in absolute
EBITDA of about 42% compared to 2023, leading to adjusted EBITDA of
EUR121 million in 2024 from EUR85 million in 2023. This is
primarily on the back of the group's ability to streamline the cost
structure and from the growth in the international and B2B segment,
which is a new area of expansion, where Asterix has to build brand
reputation with end customers and retailers. There are elevated
risks that the group might not achieve such numbers when
considering the depth of cost savings that need to be implemented
to reach such levels and the relatively untested nature of
Asterix's new markets.

S&P said, "The negative outlook reflects a one-in-three chance that
we could downgrade Asterix within the next 12 months if the group
underperforms our base-case forecast. This could come from
increasing product costs and less meaningful improvements in its
fulfilment, marketing, and personnel costs, that would lead to the
group's S&P Global Ratings-adjusted EBITDA margin remaining below
16%. In addition, the inability to moderate working capital and
investments could hamper the recovery to meaningful positive FOCF
after leases in 2024 and 2025.

"We could lower the rating if the group does not perform according
to our expectations, because of, for example, social media turmoil,
loss of key influencers or market share, or if it undertakes
debt-financed dividend distributions." Specifically, S&P could
lower its rating if:

-- Reported FOCF after leases are not expected to turn
structurally positive such that liquidity weakens;

-- Organic revenue growth stalls or EBITDA margins do not recover
sustainably above 16%; or

-- S&P Global Ratings-adjusted funds from operations (FFO) to debt
remains below 16%.

S&P could revise the outlook to stable if:

-- There is a track record in the recovery of EBITDA margins above
16% while the group maintains its growth momentum;

-- The group effectively manages its working capital and
investments, such that FOCF after leases remains sustainably
positive;

-- Liquidity remains adequate; and

-- S&P Global Ratings-adjusted FFO to debt to be sustainably above
16%.




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I R E L A N D
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SIGNAL HARMONIC CLO III: S&P Assigns B-(sf) Rating on F-2 Notes
---------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings assigned credit ratings to Signal Harmonic CLO
III DAC's class A Loan and class A to F-2 European cash flow CLO
notes. At closing, the issuer issued unrated subordinated notes.

Under the transaction documents, the rated loan and notes pay
quarterly interest unless a frequency switch event occurs.
Following this, the loan and notes will permanently switch to
semiannual payments.

The portfolio's reinvestment period will end approximately 4.9
years after closing, while the non-call period will end 2.0 years
after closing.

The ratings reflect S&P's assessment of:

-- The diversified collateral pool, which primarily comprises
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior secured term loans and
bonds that are governed by collateral quality tests.

-- The credit enhancement provided through the subordination of
cash flows, excess spread, and overcollateralization.

-- The collateral manager's experienced team, which can affect the
performance of the rated loan and notes through collateral
selection, ongoing portfolio management, and trading.

-- The transaction's legal structure, which is bankruptcy remote.

-- The transaction's counterparty risks, which are in line with
S&P's counterparty rating framework.

  Portfolio benchmarks
                                                         CURRENT

  S&P Global Ratings' weighted-average rating factor    2,831.12

  Default rate dispersion                                 564.05

  Weighted-average life (years)                             4.98

  Obligor diversity measure                                96.36

  Industry diversity measure                               23.69

  Regional diversity measure                                1.25


  Transaction key metrics
                                                         CURRENT

  Portfolio weighted-average rating
  derived from S&P's CDO evaluator                             B

  'CCC' category rated assets (%)                           1.25

  'AAA' weighted-average recovery (%)                      38.55

  Weighted-average spread (net of floors; %)                4.21

  Weighted-average coupon (%)*                               N/A

*Weighted-average coupon not applicable as no fixed rate paying
assets are in the portfolio at closing.
N/A--Not applicable.

S&P said, "The portfolio is well-diversified, primarily comprising
broadly syndicated speculative-grade senior secured term loans and
senior secured bonds. Therefore, we have conducted our credit and
cash flow analysis by applying our criteria for corporate cash flow
CDOs.

"In our cash flow analysis, we used the EUR400 million target par
amount, the covenanted weighted-average spread (4.15%), and the
covenanted weighted-average coupon (3.75%) as indicated by the
collateral manager. We have assumed the target weighted-average
recovery at all rating levels, which was marginally higher than the
actual recoveries observed on the portfolio. We applied various
cash flow stress scenarios, using four different default patterns,
in conjunction with different interest rate stress scenarios for
each liability rating category.

"Our credit and cash flow analysis shows that the class B, C, D, E,
F-1, and F-2 notes benefit from break-even default rate and
scenario default rate cushions that we would typically consider to
be in line with higher ratings than those assigned. However, as the
CLO is still in its reinvestment phase, during which the
transaction's credit risk profile could deteriorate, we have capped
our ratings on the notes. The class A notes and class A Loan can
withstand stresses commensurate with the assigned ratings.

"Until the end of the reinvestment period on Aug. 15, 2029, the
collateral manager may substitute assets in the portfolio for so
long as our CDO Monitor test is maintained or improved in relation
to the initial ratings on the notes. This test looks at the total
amount of losses that the transaction can sustain as established by
the initial cash flows for each rating and compares that with the
current portfolio's default potential plus par losses to date. As a
result, until the end of the reinvestment period, the collateral
manager may through trading deteriorate the transaction's current
risk profile, if the initial ratings are maintained.

"Under our structured finance sovereign risk criteria, the
transaction's exposure to country risk is sufficiently mitigated at
the assigned ratings.

"At closing, the transaction's documented counterparty replacement
and remedy mechanisms adequately mitigate its exposure to
counterparty risk under our current counterparty criteria.

"The transaction's legal structure and framework is bankruptcy
remote, in line with our legal criteria.

"Following our analysis of the credit, cash flow, counterparty,
operational, and legal risks, we believe our ratings are
commensurate with the available credit enhancement for the class A
loan and class A to F-2 notes.

"In addition to our standard analysis, to indicate how rising
pressures among speculative-grade corporates could affect our
ratings on European CLO transactions, we have also included the
sensitivity of the ratings on the class A Loan and class A to F-1
notes based on four hypothetical scenarios.

"As our ratings analysis makes additional considerations before
assigning ratings in the 'CCC' category--and we would assign a 'B-'
rating if the criteria for assigning a 'CCC' category rating are
not met--we have not included the above scenario analysis results
for the class F-2 notes."

Environmental, social, and governance

S&P said, "We regard the exposure to environmental, social, and
governance (ESG) credit factors in the transaction as being broadly
in line with our benchmark for the sector. Primarily due to the
diversity of the assets within CLOs, the exposure to environmental
credit factors is viewed as below average, social credit factors
are below average, and governance credit factors are average. The
transaction documents prohibit assets from being related to the
following industries: biological and chemical weapons,
anti-personnel land mines, or cluster weapons; nuclear weapons;
pornography or prostitution; trade of drugs other than for medical
purposes or narcotics. Accordingly, since the exclusion of assets
from these industries does not result in material differences
between the transaction and our ESG benchmark for the sector, no
specific adjustments have been made in our rating analysis to
account for any ESG-related risks or opportunities."

  Ratings list
                      AMOUNT    CREDIT
  CLASS    RATING*  (MIL. EUR)  ENHANCEMENT (%)  INTEREST RATE§

  A        AAA (sf)    207.40    38.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 1.37%

  A Loan   AAA (sf)     40.60    38.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 1.37%

  B        AA (sf)      46.00    26.50    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 2.05%

  C        A (sf)       22.00    21.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 2.60%

  D        BBB- (sf)    28.00    14.00    Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 3.75%

  E        BB- (sf)     18.00    9.50     Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 6.59%

  F-1      B+ (sf)      5.00     8.25     Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 8.01%

  F-2      B- (sf)      6.00     6.75     Three/six-month EURIBOR
                                          plus 9.02%

  Sub      NR           32.80     N/A     N/A

*The ratings assigned to the class A loan and class A and B notes
address timely interest and ultimate principal payments. The
ratings assigned to the class C, D, E, F-1, and F-2 notes address
ultimate interest and principal payments.
§The payment frequency switches to semiannual and the index
switches to six-month EURIBOR when a frequency switch event occurs.

EURIBOR--Euro Interbank Offered Rate.
NR--Not rated.
N/A--Not applicable.




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L U X E M B O U R G
===================

SK NEPTUNE: S&P Withdraws 'D' LongTerm Issuer Credit Rating
-----------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings has withdrawn its 'D' (default) long-term issuer
credit rating on SK Neptune Husky Intermediate IV S.a.r.l. (SK
Neptune), Heubach's parent, at the company's request.

At the same time, S&P withdrew the 'D' issue ratings on SK
Neptune's $610 million senior secured term loan B and the $125
million revolving credit facility, which are due in January 2029
and January 2027, respectively.




===============
P O R T U G A L
===============

HAITONG BANK: S&P Affirms BB/B ICRs & Alters Outlook to Developing
------------------------------------------------------------------
S&P Global Ratings revised to developing from negative the outlook
on its long-term issuer credit rating on Haitong Bank S.A (HB). At
the same time, S&P affirmed its 'BB' long-term and 'B' short-term
issuer credit ratings.

A potential merger between Haitong Securities Co. Ltd. (HTS) and
Guotai Junan Securities Co. Ltd. (GTJA), as announced on Sept. 5,
2024, remains uncertain and could have various implications for
their subsidiaries if it was to materialize.

S&P said, "The developing outlook indicates that we could affirm,
lower, or raise our ratings on HB over the next 12 months.This
captures our view of the uncertain outcome of a proposed merger
between HB's parent, Haitong Securities Co. Ltd. (HTS), and Guotai
Junan Securities Co. Ltd. (GTJA). We will consider the execution of
the merger as well as the impact of this transaction on HB's
strategic positioning and business profile.

If the proposed merger materialized, the resulting entity would
likely become a leading securities company in China by total assets
and total equity. This suggests that the resulting group would be
financially stronger than HTS is at this time. HTS would cease to
exist upon the transaction's completion, and GTJA would be the
surviving entity.

Although HB could benefit from a financially stronger parent
following the merger, its role and importance in the merged group
are key considerations in our ratings analysis. S&P said, "We
currently consider HB as a strategically important subsidiary of
higher-rated HTS. This is based on HTS' 100% ownership of and
ongoing commitment to HB, as well as financial support in the form
of funding guarantees and capital. We therefore currently
incorporate two notches of group support into our ratings on HB.
That said, HB operates in different markets than HTS (and GTJA),
and its contribution to the current group remains limited. Any
change in HB's strategic positioning to the surviving group may
prompt a change in our view of group support, thereby potentially
affecting the issuer credit ratings."

S&P said, "We continue to view HB as a small player within the
highly competitive investment banking market. Since 2021, the
management team has consistently focused on strengthening domestic
operations and developing cross-border activities with Chinese
customers, particularly focusing on debt and equity capital markets
activities, asset management, and merger and acquisition advisory
businesses. Although this translated into positive earnings, with
net income reaching EUR17 million as of December 2023, and EUR5
million at end-June 2024, the bank's operating profitability and
franchise remain weak; these are features we expect will persist.

"We expect HB will continue posting positive-but-modest earnings,
with core earnings of less than EUR15 million over the next 12-18
months. This is because we expect net interest income to slightly
decrease along with interest rate cuts. Persisting elevated costs
alongside volatile provisioning needs will also continue hampering
the bank's results. Overall, we expect HB's return on average
common equity will average 1.5% over the next 12-18 months, and its
cost-to-income ratio to average 80%, remaining weaker than that of
local peers and international investment banking players. Yet, the
bank's capitalization will remain strong with a risk-adjusted
capital ratio fluctuating from 14.5%-16.0% over the next 12-18
months, down from the 16.9% at end-2023 (pro forma our sovereign
upgrade to 'A-' and revision to Portugal's economic risk score in
March 2024).

"We withdrew the rating on Haitong Investment Ireland PLC's
outstanding senior unsecured debt.Haitong Investment Ireland's
senior unsecured debt with ISIN XS0236586581 and original maturity
in November 2036, is no longer outstanding, having been already
called. We therefore withdrew the rating on this instrument.

The developing outlook reflects our view that we could raise,
lower, or affirm the issuer credit ratings on HB over the next
12months. This is because the potential merger between HTS and GTJA
raises questions around HB's strategy and operations following the
transaction's completion.

"We could raise our ratings on HB if the merger goes through and
strengthens HTS' credit profile through a financially stronger
merged group and we continue to consider HB as a strategically
important subsidiary of the surviving group.

"We would revise the outlook to negative, and affirm the ratings,
if the merger does not materialize and HTS continues to face
downward trend in business resilience and earnings quality.

"We could lower our ratings on HB if the merger does not
materialize and the parent's capacity to support its Portuguese
subsidiary decreases. This could occur if HTS' legacy portfolio in
Hong Kong incurs additional losses that weigh on the company's
business stability, earnings capacity, or capitalization. Although
remote, we could also lower our ratings on HB if its importance to
HTS or to the surviving group diminishes post-merger."




===========================
U N I T E D   K I N G D O M
===========================

BLENHEIM RENEWABLES: Begbies Traynor Named as Administrators
------------------------------------------------------------
Blenheim Renewables Limited was placed in administration
proceedings in the High Court of Justice, Business and Property
Courts of England and Wales, Insolvency & Companies List (ChD),
Court Number: CR-2024-005184, and Stephen Katz and Asher Miller of
Begbies Traynor (London) LLP were appointed as administrators on
Sept. 6, 2024.  

Blenheim Renewables is a producer of electricity.

Its registered office is at First floor, 29-30 High Holborn,
London, WC1V 6AZ

The administrators can be reached at:

            Stephen Katz
            Asher Miller
            Begbies Traynor (London) LLP
            Pearl Assurance House
            319 Ballards Lane
            London, N12 8LY

For further information, contact:

          Mohamed Islam
          Begbies Traynor (London) LLP
          E-mail: MG-Team@btguk.com
          Tel No: 020 8343 5900


CASA EL PASTOR: Quantuma Advisory Named as Administrators
---------------------------------------------------------
Casa El Pastor Limited was placed into administration proceedings
in the High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts of
England and Wales, Insolvency & Companies List (ChD), Court Number:
CR-2024-05271, and Nicholas Simmonds and Chris Newell of Quantuma
Advisory Limited were appointed as administrators on Sept. 11,
2024.  

Casa El Pastor owns licensed restaurants.

Its registered office is at The Old Hall Main Street, Market
Overton, Oakham, LE15 7PL and it is in the process of being changed
to 1st Floor, 21 Station Road, Watford, WD17 1AP.   Its principal
trading address is at Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, London, N1C
4DQ.

The administrators can be reached at:

           Nicholas Simmonds
           Chris Newell
           Quantuma Advisory Limited
           1st Floor, 21 Station Road
           Watford, WD17 1AP

For further information, contact:

          Clare Vilon
          E-mail: Clare.Vila@quantuma.com
          Tel No: 01923 954 174


FHP ENGINEERING: KRE Corporate Named as Administrators
------------------------------------------------------
Fhp Engineering Services Solutions Limited was placed in
administration proceedings in the High Court of Justice, Court
Number: CR-2024-005298, and David Taylor and Paul Ellison of KRE
Corporate Recovery Limited were appointed as administrators on
Sept. 13, 2024.  

Fhp Engineering provides engineering services.

Its registered office is at Unit 8, The Aquarium 1-7 King Street,
Reading RG1 2AN.  Its principal trading address is at c/o Rayner
Essex LLP, Tavistock House South, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H
9LG.

The administrators can be reached at:

           David Taylor
           Paul Ellison
           KRE Corporate Recovery Limited
           Unit 8, The Aquarium,
           1-7 King Street
           Reading, RG1 2AN

For further details, contact:

           The Joint Administrators
           E-mail: info@krecr.co.uk
           Tel:  01189 479090

Alternative contact: Alison Young


IASO LTD: Mercer & Hole Named as Administrators
-----------------------------------------------
IASO Ltd was placed in administration proceedings in the High Court
of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales,
Insolvency & Companies List (ChD), Court Number: CR-2024-005237,
and Henry Nicholas Page and Dominic Dumville of Mercer & Hole were
appointed as administrators on Sept. 10, 2024.  

IASO Ltd specialized in wholesale of pharmaceutical goods.

Its registered office and principal trading address is:

             c/o CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro
                 Olswang LLP
                 78 Cannon Street
                 London, EC4N 6AF

The administrators can be reached at:

              Henry Nicholas Page
              Dominic Dumville
              Mercer & Hole, 21 Lombard Street
              London, EC3V 9AH

Further information can be obtained from:

               Harry Smart
               E-mail: Harry.Smart@Mercerhole.co.uk
               Tel No: 020 7236 2601


LIN GROUP: KRE Corporate Named as Joint Administrators
------------------------------------------------------
Lin Group Investments Limited was placed in administration
proceedings in the Royal Court of Justice, Court Number:
CR-2024-005105, and David Taylor and Paul Ellison of KRE Corporate
Recovery Limited were appointed as administrators on Sept. 13,
2024.  

Lin Group is a fast food restaurant chain.

Its principal trading address is at 1-3 Bourbon Street, Aylesbury,
Bucks, HP20 2PZ.

The administrators can be reached at:

            David Taylor
            Paul Ellison
            KRE Corporate Recovery Limited
            Unit 8, The Aquarium
            1-7 King Street
            Reading, RG1 2AN

For further details, contact:

           The Joint Administrators
           E-mail: info@krecr.co.uk
           Tel No: 01189 479090

Alternative contact: Alison Young


MANIGO SERVICES: KRE Corporate Named as Administrators
------------------------------------------------------
Manigo Services Ltd Limited was placed in administration
proceedings in the High Court of Justice, Court Number:
CR-2024-005321, and Chris Errington and Paul Ellison of KRE
Corporate Recovery Limited were appointed as administrators on
Sept. 13, 2024.  

Manigo Services specialized in information services.  Its principal
trading address is at One Canada Square, Level 39, London, E14 5AB.


The administrators can be reached at:

           Chris Errington
           Paul Ellison
           KRE Corporate Recovery Limited
           Unit 8, The Aquarium,
           1-7 King Street
           Reading, RG1 2AN

For further details, contact:

           The Joint Administrators
           E-mail: info@krecr.co.uk
           Tel:  01189 479090

Alternative contact: Kelly Rumsam




===============
X X X X X X X X
===============

[*] BOOK REVIEW: Management Guide to Troubled Companies
-------------------------------------------------------
Taking Charge: Management Guide to Troubled Companies and
Turnarounds

Author: John O. Whitney
Publisher: Beard Books
Softcover: 283 Pages
List Price: $34.95
Order a copy today at:
http://beardbooks.com/beardbooks/taking_charge.html  

Review by Susan Pannell

Remember when Lee Iacocca was practically a national hero? He won
celebrity status by taking charge at a company so universally known
as troubled that humor columnists joked their kids grew up thinking
the corporate name was "Ayling Chrysler." Whatever else Iacocca may
have been, he was a leader, and leadership is crucial to a
successful turnaround, maintains the author.

Mediagenic names merit only passing references in Whitney's book,
however. The author's own considerable experience as a turnaround
pro has given him more than sufficient perspective and acumen to
guide managers through successful turnarounds without resorting to
name-dropping. While Whitney states that he "share[s] no personal
war stories" in this book, it was, nonetheless, written from inside
the "shoes, skin, and skull of a turnaround leader." That sense of
immediacy, of urgency and intensity, makes Taking Charge compelling
reading even for the executive who feels he or she has already
mastered the literature of turnarounds.

Whitney divides the work into two parts. Part I is succinctly
entitled "Survival," and sets out the rules for taking charge
within the crucial first 120 days. "The leader rarely succeeds who
is not clearly in charge by the end of his fourth month," Whitney
notes. Cash budgeting, the mainstay of a successful turnaround, is
given attention in almost every chapter. Woe to the inexperienced
manager who views accounts receivable management as "an arcane
activity 'handled over in accounting.'" Whitney sets out 50
questions concerning AR that the leader must deal with -- not
academic exercises, but requirements for survival.

Other internal sources for cash, including judiciously managed
accounts payable and inventory, asset restructuring, and expense
cuts, are discussed. External sources of cash, among them banks,
asset lenders, and venture capital funds; factoring receivables;
and the use of trust receipts and field warehousing, are handled in
detail. Although cash, cash, and more cash is the drumbeat of Part
I, Whitney does not slight other subjects requiring attention. Two
chapters, for example, help the turnaround manager assess how the
company got into the mess in the first place, and develop
strategies for getting out of it.

The critical subject of cash continues to resonate throughout Part
II, "Profit and Growth," although here the turnaround leader
consolidates his gains and looks ahead as the turnaround matures.
New financial, new organizational, and new marketing arrangements
are laid out in detail. Whitney also provides a checklist for the
leader to use in brainstorming strategic options for the future.

Whitney's underlying theme -- that a successful business requires
personal leadership as well as bricks and mortar, money and
machinery -- is summed up in a concluding chapter that analyzes the
qualities that make a leader. His advice is as relevant in this
1999 reprint edition as it was in 1987 when first published.

John O. Whitney had a long and distinguished career in academia and
industry. He served as the Lead Director of Church and Dwight Co.,
Inc. and on the Advisory Board of Newsbank Corp. He was Professor
of Management and Executive Director of the Deming Center for
Quality Management at Columbia Business School, which he joined in
1986.  He died in 2013.


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S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

Troubled Company Reporter-Europe is a daily newsletter co-
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Marites O. Claro, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Joy A. Agravante,
Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A. Chapman,
Editors.

Copyright 2024.  All rights reserved.  ISSN 1529-2754.

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