Summary: Ashton Woods USA LLC

Subject to highly cyclical homebuilding market conditions. Smaller scale and less geographic diversity than many public peers. "Asset lite" strategy results in better inventory turnover, but may lead to higher land input costs and limited margin upside. Leverage is improving but remains greater than 5x. No material near-term debt maturities. Liquidity remains "adequate" under our criteria. Our outlook on Ashton Woods USA LLC is positive. We expect the company to produce steady sales growth due to an expanding community count in a strengthening housing market over the next 12 to 24 months. We also expect the company will efficiently manage working capital while maintaining adequate liquidity. On the other hand, we would revise our outlook to stable if leverage levels

RESEARCH Summary: Ashton Woods USA LLC Publication date: 05-Sep-2014 Primary Credit Analyst: Matthew Lynam, CFA, New York (1) 212-438-8002; matthew.lynam@standardandpoors.com Secondary Contact: George A Skoufis, New York (1) 212-438-2608;...

Summary