Show Notes
Aston Martin just moved what looks like most of its intellectual property into a chain of Cayman Islands subsidiaries, and bondholders are still trying to figure out how it was allowed. Phoebe Appenteng and Katie McMahon take it on in the latest Credit Lens: Europe & Beyond, joined by Bart Capeci, Senior Covenants Analyst at Octus, and Aditya Khanna, Head of EMEA Legal Research at Octus.
The conversation opens on the £550 million HPS facility, £450 million upfront with a £100 million delayed draw tied to IP transfer (01:00), before working through the joint venture structure that appears to sidestep the J. Crew blocker in the bonds (03:47). Bondholders, now organized at roughly 90%, have filed in New York to compel discovery ahead of an English challenge under the Insolvency Act (05:12). Aditya then widens the lens to why fewer than half of European bond deals carry a J. Crew blocker, and why over two-thirds of those that do have a material defect (16:12).
A grounded look at why the LME playbook is landing in Europe faster than the documentation can catch up. The episode ends with Phoebe on the hot seat for a quick quiz.
----more---- Hosted by Phoebe Appenteng and Katie McMahon. Guests: Bart Capeci, Senior Covenants Analyst, Octus, and Aditya Khanna, Head of EMEA Legal Research, Octus. Produced by Charlie Hall. Edited by Fawaz Muhammed. A Production of The Octus Podcast Network
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Aston Martin has survived seven bankruptcy proceedings in a century, and the eighth chapter is now being written in a bondholder co-op agreement. Phoebe Appenteng and Katie McMahon are joined by Rafi Rees, Credit Analyst at Octus, to work through the iconic British carmaker's latest brush with distress.
Private credit has found a new frontier, and it looks a lot like a football stadium. Phoebe Appenteng and Katie McMahon take it on in the latest Credit Lens: Europe & Beyond, joined by Oscar Laurikka, Head of Europe Private Credit and Deal Origination at Octus. The conversation opens on why private capital is flowing into European sport, from league-level infrastructure and media rights to asset-backed loans against stadiums and parachute payments (01:37). Laurikka works through why CVC and its peers still avoid direct club stakes, and how Germany's 50-plus-one rule is pushing investors toward hybrid capital structures (07:44). The second half turns to Grupo Antolin's Spanish recapitalization, where bondholders face a 32.5% haircut while banks get par reinstatement and the family keeps equity (11:21). Phoebe and Katie also weigh the credibility of the 2029 business plan against four consecutive years of missed EBITDA margin targets (14:35). The episode closes with a higher or lower ranking of British prime ministers by tenure (18:14).