Corporate Financial Distress: A Study of the European Distressed and Defaulted Debt Market

This research paper sets out an analysis of the European distressed and defaulted debt market and presents a sector specific study on financial distress of retail companies. The paper is divided into two sections, section I provides an analysis of the distressed and defaulted debt market canvassing the leveraged finance market, trends and innovations and sets out an analysis of investment opportunities going forward. Section II presents an analysis of financial distress in the retail sector, which is expected to provide significant distressed debt investment opportunities, aiming to identify the key leading indicators of potential distress of sector companies and applying these measures to identify sector companies that could experience financial distress in the next 12 months. The paper concludes by outlining an analysis of Woolworths Group plc as a potential distressed investment opportunity.