EP 03: Designer Debt, Petrofac’s Power Play, and the Fish Doorbell of Amsterdam
Credit Lens: Europe & BeyondShow Notes
In Episode 3 of Credit Lens: Europe & Beyond, hosts Chris Haffenden and Phoebe Appenteng break down how fashion, restructuring law, and unexpected animal tech are all making waves in European credit. They open with the rise and fall of high-yield fashion. From Golden Goose’s tight issuance to Isabel Marant’s sinking notes, they examine which brands are holding up and which are losing their luxury shine. Then it’s on to Petrofac, where the UK’s restructuring courts are being tested by a bold plan to offload billions in liability—and competitors are pushing back. Later, they revisit Farfetch, Mulberry, and Burberry, raising questions about value, trust, and brand durability in today’s credit market. And finally, they wrap with “Afternoon Tea,” featuring viral elves, ancient monkey charms, and a fish doorbell that has 2,000 live viewers cheering for carp in Amsterdam. Where else does creditor tension meet collectible chaos? Only here.
More from Credit Lens: Europe & Beyond
Air Baltic has landed in a New York courtroom, and HelloFresh has watched a brand new bond shed 13 points in two months. Phoebe Appenteng and Katie McMahon work through both in the latest Credit Lens: Europe & Beyond.
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.
Europe's rivers are running low, and the credit implications are running deeper than the earnings calls suggest. Phoebe Appenteng and Katie McMahon take it on in the latest Credit Lens: Europe & Beyond, joined by Wayne Jambawo, Financial Analyst at Octus.
A Spanish auto supplier quietly filed for insolvency without telling its bondholders. A UK utility is dangling a golden share at the government to fend off nationalization. Two of the messier situations in European credit right now, worked through in one episode. Phoebe Appenteng and Katie McMahon are joined by Rob Schach, managing editor, EMEA at Octus, to unpack Grupo Antolin's restructuring, from the banks-first deal that offered bondholders a 32.5% haircut (04:10) to the covert Spanish filing that bondholders only discovered through a Chapter 15 petition in the US (05:31). Rob walks through the Rule in Gibbs claim, the winding-up petitions, and where he thinks the leverage actually sits (06:16).
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.