OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has affirmed Taurus CMBS UK 2014-1 Limited's class A, B and C notes due 2022 as follows:

EUR124.2m class A (XS1082235299) affirmed at 'Asf'; Outlook Stable
EUR45.4m class B (XS1082235612) affirmed at 'BBB-sf'; Outlook Stable
EUR27.4m class C (XS1082235703) affirmed at 'BBsf'; Outlook Stable

Taurus CMBS UK 2014-1 Limited is the securitisation of a 95% participation in a GBP222.7m commercial loan granted by Merrill Lynch to 13 cross-defaulted and cross-collateralised borrowers to acquire a portfolio of 132 retail, office, leisure and logistics assets located throughout the UK. The collateral constitutes a distressed portfolio of mainly secondary and tertiary quality assets. The sponsor's business plan envisages an asset liquidation strategy with quarterly amortisation targets. Three assets were sold prior to closing in July 2014.

KEY RATING DRIVERS
The affirmation reflects the stable performance of the sole securitised loan since closing.

By the May 2015 payment date, 10 of the 129 assets at closing have been sold, with little impact on the geographic diversification of the portfolio. The resulting principal repayment of EUR14.5m kept the loan in line with the quarterly maximum repayment target. Failure to miss such a target would not constitute an event of default. Instead, a full cash sweep would apply and amortise the notes sequentially, while sales proceeds are applied on a pro rata basis. Furthermore, two one-year loan extensions would no longer be available past loan maturity in May 2017.

The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio stood at 64.2% in May 2015, slightly reduced from 65% at closing due to applicable release premiums on sold assets (20% for the stronger assets, 10% otherwise). The ratio is based on a 2014 valuation and compares with a 79% LTV covenant. The interest coverage ratio stood at 2.5x, slightly up from 2.3x at closing. Income remains granular, with no tenant accounting for more than 2.6% of total income. By value, the top 10 assets account for almost 54% of the portfolio.

Fitch expects a full loan repayment in 'Bsf' and 'BBsf' stresses.

RATING SENSITIVITIES
Further downturn of the secondary/ tertiary UK property markets beyond Fitch's expectations may result in Outlook revision and/or a downgrade.

DUE DILIGENCE USAGE
No third party due diligence was provided or reviewed in relation to this rating action.

DATA ADEQUACY
Fitch has checked the consistency and plausibility of the information it has received about the performance of the asset pool and the transaction. There were no findings that were material to this analysis. Fitch has not reviewed the results of any third party assessment of the asset portfolio information or conducted a review of origination files as part of its ongoing monitoring.

Fitch did not undertake a review of the information provided about the underlying asset pool ahead of the transaction's initial closing. The subsequent performance of the transaction over the last 12 months is consistent with the agency's expectations given the operating environment and Fitch is therefore satisfied that the asset pool information relied upon for its initial rating analysis was adequately reliable.

Overall, Fitch's assessment of the information relied upon for the agency's rating analysis according to its applicable rating methodologies indicates that it is adequately reliable.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION
The sources of information used to assess these ratings were the issuer, servicer, and periodic cash management and servicer reports.