Moody's Investors Service has warned that UK drinks group Allied Domecq will lose its coveted investment grade rating if Pernod Ricard, which bought Allied for £7.6bn (€11.2bn) in June, does not guarantee €1.6bn ($1.9bn) of existing Allied bonds.

Allied, which has already been cut to junk by rival rating agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's, is rated by Moody's at Baa3, its lowest investment grade rating.