The financial position of the UK’s largest residential care operator, Four Seasons have come under scrutiny in recent months after suffering down ratings by two major credit agencies. Opus provides expert comment for CMM Magazine’s feature.
Unfortunately, Four Seasons is clearly not profitable and two of the world’s leading credit rating agencies have now warned that the debts are unsustainable unless there is a major restructuring. This process will involve delicate negotiations with stakeholders, who will have to be persuaded that the profitability issues at Four Seasons can be resolved.
This is not just about re-jigging the debts to cut the interest bill and reduce the cash flow strain from loan repayments.
Much more fundamental commercial and operational changes are needed to make the business viable; under the current circumstances it’s very hard to see how it can be returned to profit….