Morrisons is struggling under the weight of debt from its private equity takeover, a credit rating agency has warned.
The supermarket was slapped with a “speculative” debt rating by Fitch, which indicates “an elevated vulnerability to default risk”.
The agency warned Morrisons’ rating would be even lower were it not for the grocer’s strong management team and profitability.
Morrisons was taken over by New York-based private equity house Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in October for £7bn. The deal saddled it with £5.6bn of debt, which it will have to service, and a pledge that its extensive freeholds will not be sold off.
