Property group in rating review
The exposure of Goodman Group to European-based managed funds, along with falling property valuations, has prompted research house Moody’s Investor Services to reconsider the property group’s ratings.
Moody’s has told the market it is reviewing its ratings on the property group’s issuer and senior unsecured ratings for possible downgrade, while the rating in Goodman’s hybrid securities is also being reviewed for possible downgrade.
A statement from Moody’s said Goodman’s look-through gearing, which incorporates debt in its managed funds, had deteriorated since the end of December last year. The researcher said this was “mainly because of higher stakes in … some of the European-based managed funds”, coupled with falling property valuations.
The researcher said while it “acknowledges Goodman’s track record of managing its capital structure”, it believes its ability to lower its look-though gearing in the near term will be constrained by the challenges facing many property groups: falling asset valuations and difficulty in selling assets and raising capital.
Goodman currently has a ‘Baa1’ issuer and senior unsecured rating and ‘Baa2’ rating on its hybrid securities.
Recommended for you
With the final tally for FY25 now confirmed, how many advisers left during the financial year and how does it compare to the previous year?
HUB24 has appointed Matt Willis from Vanguard as an executive general manager of platform growth to strengthen the platform’s relationships with industry stakeholders.
Investment manager Drummond Capital Partners has announced a raft of adviser-focused updates, including a practice growth division, relaunched manager research capabilities, and a passive model portfolio suite.
When it comes to M&A activity, the share of financial buyers such as private equity firms in Australia fell from 67 per cent to 12 per cent in the last financial year.
