Moody's Investors Service, the international ratings agency, has downgraded the outlook on GUS's credit rating from stable to negative, after the UK retailer unveiled plans to demerge its Burberry unit at yesterday's full-year results.

Moody's rates GUS, which has about £1.1bn (€1.6bn) of debt, a high triple-B. Changing the outlook raises the prospect of a rating cut that would leave GUS just two notches above high yield.